Dedicated to where the energy geosciences, public policy, politics, and business meet—both in the United States and abroad.
However you define it sequestration has its own definition in Washington, DC. Sequestration is a requirement of the budget reconciliation process of 2011. It required that if a special bipartisan committee could not agree on about $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over 10 years, those cuts would be automatically applied on January 1, 2013, with half applied to defense programs and half to non-defense programs. Not unexpectedly, the bipartisan committee failed. Last minute legislation delayed the sequestration implementation until March 1.
In late December the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued “Study of the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources: Progress Report.”
Vehicle fuel efficiency standards increased in 2011 after almost 30 years without changes. Corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) standards for cars and light trucks were instituted in 1975 in response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo. As a result of the standards, car efficiency rose from 12.9 to 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) in ten years.
Several opportunities are available for persons interested in the intersection of science and policy in Washington, D.C.
Hydraulic fracturing and shale gas have had a uneven run in documentary films, from “Gasland” to “Truthland.” Now hydraulic fracturing is getting the Hollywood treatment.
On Thursday, January 17, 2013 the Division of Professional Affairs of the AAPG is sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to introduce Edie Allison, the new director of the GEO-DC Office. She will be speaking on the activities of the GEO-DC office and its impact on AAPG members. All AAPG members are invited. DPA members are encouraged to attend and invite prospective DPA members to the meeting.
On December 5 the U.S. Department of Energy released its analysis of the impact of liquified natural gas (LNG) exports to countries without free-trade agreements with the U.S., which include Japan, China and India.The report is available at www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/gasregulation/LNGStudy.html.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just published its preliminary list of candidates for their Secretary’s Advisory Board (SAB), Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel. The list is at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebProjectsRequestsforCommentsBOARD/B436304BA804E3F885257A5B00521B3B?OpenDocument&TableR
EIA Shale Gas Production The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that it is soliciting public assistance in identifying relevant data and scientific literature specific to inform its research study on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. EPA’s goal is to ensure that it has up-to-date information on evolving hydraulic fracturing practices and technologies.
To twist an old saying – everybody complains about gasoline taxes, but nobody does anything about them. But time and more fuel-efficient vehicles have weakened their grasp on our wallets. The decline in tax collections relative to miles driven has also reduced the relative benefit of government funding of highway construction and maintenance, even as our infrastructure is deteriorating.
AAPG Energy Policy Blog RSS