WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2015
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that rural agricultural producers and small business owners can now apply for resources to purchase and install renewable energy systems or make energy efficiency improvements. These efforts help farmers, ranchers and other small business owners save money on their energy bills, reduce America's dependence on foreign oil, support America's clean energy economy, and cut carbon pollution. The resources... read more
Rural Climate Policy Meeting Notes
Monday December 15th and Tuesday December 16th 2014
Meeting goals:
1. Build a shared understanding of U.S. and international climate policy context.
... read more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, has been working on a commonsense approach to cut carbon pollution from power plants. The science shows that climate change is already posing risks to our health and our economy. The Clean Power Plan for Existing Power Plants and the Carbon Pollution Standards for New Power Plants will maintain an affordable, reliable energy system, while cutting pollution and protecting our health and environment now and... read more
A new study links the March 2014 earthquakes in Poland Township, Ohio to hydraulic fracturing that activated a previously unknown fault. The induced seismic sequence included a rare felt earthquake of magnitude 3.0, according to research published online by the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA). The full news release is linked above.
The President's State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience was established in 2013 to provide the President with recommendations on how the Federal Government can respond to the needs of communities dealing with the impacts of climate change. The Task Force consists of 26 governors, mayors, county officials, and tribal leaders from across the United States. Read the Executive Summary below and click the above links to read the report in full.
... read more
The IPCC released the 5th Assessment report in November 2014 with strong recommendations for swift climate action.
... read more
This study from the Audubon Society outlines future climate impacts on North American bird populations. From the study's website:
"Audubon scientists have used hundreds of thousands of citizen-science observations and sophisticated climate models to predict how birds in the U.S. and Canada will react to climate change. Our work defines the climate conditions birds need to survive, then maps where those conditions will be found in the future... read more
Understanding and Assessing Climate Change: Implications for Nebraska documents many of the key challenges that Nebraska will face as a result of climate change. Commentaries from experts on Nebraska's water resources, energy supply and use, agriculture, forests, health, ecosystems, urban systems and rural communities, and infrastructure and vulnerabilities raise serious concerns about the impacts of projected changes in climate, but they also provide a starting point for... read more
This report, published by the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, discusses climate change impacts on Minnesota's natural resources and economy. Featured sectors include transportation, energy, agriculture, natural resources, and health.
