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The document details two 2008 CARB regulations: a Global Warming Rule targeting heavy-duty truck fuel efficiency through aerodynamic features and tires, and a Smog and Particulate Rule requiring diesel particulate filters for trucks over 14,000 pounds. It highlights projected benefits, including the prevention of 9,400 premature deaths and billions in health cost savings, while suggesting further improvements to the global warming rule to cover more vehicle types.

The clean car standards, initiated by California's AB 1493 and adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), comprise regulations for air quality, global warming, and zero-emission vehicles. These standards aim for a 30% reduction in global warming pollution from new vehicles by 2016 and are more stringent than federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, targeting a fleet average fuel economy equivalent of 39.2 mpg by 2020 compared to the federal 35 mpg. As of January 2009, 13 states and the District of Columbia had adopted these standards, which are projected to reduce cumulative global warming emissions by 451 million metric tons of CO2E by 2020 across those 15 jurisdictions.

The policy brief advocates for a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) as a technology-neutral mechanism to lower the life cycle emissions of transportation fuels. It emphasizes the necessity of 'well-to-wheels' accounting, including indirect land-use changes, to ensure genuine emission reductions. The LCFS is presented as a way to incentivize supply chain improvements, discourage high-carbon fuels like coal-to-liquids, and spur market-driven innovation in low-carbon technologies.

The report projects that Indiana will face significantly hotter summers, increased flooding, and agricultural disruptions if heat-trapping emissions continue to rise. It highlights severe risks to public health from heat waves and poor air quality, and suggests that the state transition from its heavy reliance on coal-fired power to renewable energy and energy efficiency to mitigate these effects.

The document details how rising temperatures in the Northwest are reducing springtime snowpack and shifting streamflow timing, which threatens water supplies, hydropower production, and salmon populations. It also highlights risks of increased forest fires, pest infestations, and coastal erosion due to sea-level rise, particularly in the Puget Sound region.

The document details the risks posed by rising temperatures and sea-level rise in the Southeast US, highlighting threats to energy and transportation infrastructure, agricultural productivity, and native ecosystems.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) developed the Vanguard blueprint to show that current technologies—such as cylinder deactivation, turbocharging, and continuously variable transmissions—can reduce global warming emissions across all vehicle classes. The report argues that while individual components are already used in many 2008 model year vehicles, automakers are resisting the implementation of full technology packages that would meet the 2016 clean car standard. Financial analysis indicates that for various vehicle types, the increase in purchase price for these upgrades would be offset by lifetime consumer savings, with payback periods ranging from 2.1 to 3.6 years.

The report documents an 'epidemic of political interference' in U.S. federal agencies, where political appointees manipulated data, censored scientists, and restructured government rules to prioritize political goals over scientific evidence. It argues that these practices undermine public health, environmental protection, and national security. To remedy this, the Union of Concerned Scientists proposes a five-pronged reform strategy: protecting whistle-blowers, increasing government transparency, reforming the regulatory process to limit White House interference, improving scientific advisory mechanisms, and strengthening environmental monitoring and enforcement.

The report analyzes the CO2 emissions of air, rail, automobile, and motor coach travel for U.S. vacations, concluding that motor coaches and trains are generally the greenest options, while solo driving and first-class flights are the most polluting.

The report argues that RGGI's design, which caps emissions only for power plants within participating states, creates a price advantage for imported electricity from coal-heavy states like West Virginia and Pennsylvania. This 'leakage' is exacerbated by excess capacity in existing coal plants and planned transmission upgrades that facilitate power flow from west to east. The authors suggest that RGGI states should implement retail-level carbon caps, prohibit contracts with high-emission plants, and prioritize transmission projects aligned with climate goals to prevent the expansion of coal-based power.

The report warns that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) risks 'undercutting itself' because it only prices emissions from power plants within its region. This creates an economic incentive for electricity suppliers in RGGI states to import cheaper, carbon-intensive power from coal-producing states like West Virginia and Ohio. The document provides 'carbon math' showing that utilizing excess capacity from 15 existing coal plants could produce pollution 'three and a half times the cuts expected under the initiative,' and that six plants under construction nearby could emit pollution equal to '140 percent of RGGI’s reductions.' To prevent this 'leak,' the authors suggest capping the entire portfolio of local electricity suppliers, limiting contracts with polluting plants, and requiring suppliers to account for emissions from electricity produced outside the region.

The report finds that REDD is a low-cost climate mitigation strategy, with $20 billion in annual funding potentially reducing 2020 deforestation emissions by 50%. However, it argues that political and institutional constraints—specifically the capacity and interest of major emitters like Brazil and Indonesia—will likely delay the implementation of a comprehensive global system until 2020 or later.

The Union of Concerned Scientists analysis indicates that retrofitting new and existing heavy-duty trucks with aerodynamic technologies and fuel-efficient tires could reduce national global warming pollution by 17 million metric tons of CO2eq by 2020. Such improvements could save over 1.4 billion gallons of diesel fuel nationally and 200 million gallons annually in California by 2020, while providing net savings of over $30,000 over the life of a typical new long-range truck.

The BX-1 is a small, maneuverable companion satellite released by the Shenzhou 7 mission to test rendezvous and formation flying capabilities. Analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests that because the satellite relies on ground-based guidance and lacks high-accuracy distance-determination sensors, it is unlikely to be capable of close-range maneuvering around non-cooperative foreign satellites.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) evaluated 15 US federal agencies on their media communication openness, assigning separate grades for official policy and actual practice. The study found significant disparities between written rules and scientist perceptions, with the CDC receiving the highest policy grade (A) and the NSF the highest practice grade (O). The analysis highlights systemic issues such as the lack of explicit 'Right of Last Review' and 'Personal Views Exception' in many agency policies, as well as perceived interference and restrictive pre-approval requirements in practice.

The report analyzes how global warming affects Pennsylvania's environment and economy, projecting severe risks under a higher-emissions scenario, such as the disappearance of snowmobiling, declines in dairy and fruit yields, and increased urban heat stress. It advocates for a transition to clean energy, citing Pennsylvania's role as the third-highest fossil fuel emitter in the U.S., and suggests specific adaptation strategies for infrastructure and natural resources.

The Union of Concerned Scientists argues that the United States must stop building new coal plants without carbon capture and storage (CCS) to avoid locking in decades of high carbon emissions. The report recommends funding 5 to 10 commercial-scale CCS demonstration projects, implementing a strong economy-wide cap-and-trade program, and shifting federal R&D funding toward energy efficiency and renewable energy. It also highlights the severe environmental and health costs of the coal fuel cycle, specifically calling for a ban on mountaintop removal mining and the elimination of subsidies for coal-to-liquid technology. Internationally, the report advocates for sharing CCS technological lessons with developing nations, particularly China and India, to curb their expanding use of conventional coal.

The report examines the high risk of reactor core meltdown due to fire hazards and the NRC's failure to enforce safety regulations. It details the 1975 Browns Ferry fire, the subsequent failure of fire barrier materials like Thermo-Lag and Hemyc, and the problematic reliance on unapproved manual operator actions as a substitute for physical safety barriers. Using the Shearon Harris plant as a case study, the document asserts that the NRC has allowed plants to operate in violation of safety laws for decades through excessive 'enforcement discretion'.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) warns that using food crops like corn and soybeans for biofuels increases food prices, degrades ecosystems, and can raise global warming pollution through land conversion. The UCS advocates for a shift toward 'better' biofuels derived from waste or non-food biomass, supported by a low-carbon fuel standard and performance-based public funding. While the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) provides a foundation by requiring pollution reductions from new facilities, the UCS argues for broader sustainability criteria to prevent deforestation and protect biodiversity.

The 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) aims to reduce global warming pollution from U.S. transportation fuels by mandating renewable fuel use and requiring life-cycle carbon reductions for new facilities. While it targets a reduction of 6 percent in pollution from cars and light trucks by 2022, the Union of Concerned Scientists warns that a loophole exempting most corn ethanol and the lack of regulation for other fossil fuels could negate these benefits. The document advocates for a low-carbon fuel standard to regulate the entire fuel market.