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Governor of New York Launches Massive Training Program for Citizen Preparedness

Wed, 2014-01-29 16:25 — debbiefook

Governor of New York Launches Massive Training Program for Citizen Preparedness

On Feb. 1 New York’s Governor Cuomo will launch the Citizen Preparedness Corps Training Program.

According to an article from longisland.com, the program is designed to give 100,000 New Yorkers the training they need to be better prepared for emergencies and disasters. Not only will this training enable them to help themselves in a crisis, it will also teach them how to help their families and neighbors.

“Severe weather events are becoming more frequent and extreme and to make sure that our communities are safe, we need more New Yorkers than ever to be prepared and trained to respond,” said Cuomo in the article.

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FEMA to Ask States to Account for Climate Change in Disaster Plans

Wed, 2014-01-29 15:55 — debbiefook

FEMA to Ask States to Account for Climate Change in Disaster Plans

Switchboard, the Natural Resources Defense Council staff blog, has published a report on the recently announced changes to FEMA’s Blue Book.

According to Switchboard, FEMA plans to edit its guidelines to require state governments to consider climate change when making their hazard mitigation plans. The article says a revised draft from FEMA is expected to be available to the public as early as summer this year.

The Blue Book, as it is commonly known, is FEMA’s State Multi-Hazard Mitigation Planning Guidance document. It was created to help states understand the mitigation planning regulations found in the Code of Federal Regulations.

The Switchboard article explains that until now, FEMA has not required state governments to consider climate change and its potential impacts when preparing their hazard mitigation plans. These plans are made by governments “in order to assess their risk of natural disasters and to identify and implement actions they can take to reduce those risks”.

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Administration Is Seen as Retreating on Environment in Talks on Pacific Trade

Mon, 2014-01-20 15:45 — Maeryn Obley

nytimes.com - January 15th, 2014 - Coral Davenport

The Obama administration is retreating from previous demands of strong international environmental protections in order to reach agreement on a sweeping Pacific trade deal that is a pillar of President Obama’s strategic shift to Asia, according to documents obtained by WikiLeaks, environmentalists and people close to the contentious trade talks.

The negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would be one of the world’s biggest trade agreements, have exposed deep rifts over environmental policy between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations. As it stands now, the documents, viewed by The New York Times, show that the disputes could undo key global environmental protections.

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Environmental groups say Obama needs to address climate change more aggressively

Mon, 2014-01-20 14:03 — Maeryn Obley

The new pressure from both sides could have an impact on critical permitting decisions on issues ranging from the Keystone XL pipeline to natural gas exports and federal coal leases. Nati Harnik/AP

Image: The new pressure from both sides could have an impact on critical permitting decisions on issues ranging from the Keystone XL pipeline to natural gas exports and federal coal leases. Nati Harnik/AP

washingtonpost.com - January 16th, 2014 - Juliet Eilperin and Lenny Bernstein

A group of the nation’s leading environmental organizations is breaking with the administration over its energy policy, arguing that the White House needs to apply a strict climate test to all of its energy decisions or risk undermining one of the president’s top ­second-term priorities.

The rift — reflected in a letter sent to President Obama by 18 groups, including the Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Fund and Earthjustice — signals that the administration is under pressure to confront the fossil-fuel industry or risk losing support from a critical part of its political base during an already difficult election year.

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Stanford Professor on Letterman: Powering Entire World on Renewable Energy No Problem

Sun, 2014-01-19 21:20 — Kathy Gilbeaux

ecowatch.com - by Brandon Baker - December 31, 2013

It wasn’t what Professor Mark Jacobson was saying—if you’re an advocate of renewable energy, you hear this kind of talk on a daily basis—as much as it was the platform. Solar and wind energy simply don’t get the late-night limelight.

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Federal Climate Change Expenditures - Report to Congress

Fri, 2014-01-17 13:13 — Kathy Gilbeaux

whitehouse.gov - August 2013

The following is an accounting of Federal funding for climate change programs and activities, both domestic and international, included in the fiscal year (FY) 2014 President’s Budget.

Federal Climate Change Expenditures - Report to Congress (48 page .PDF report)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/legislative_reports/fcce-report-to-congress.pdf

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Natural Gas Loses to Solar on Costs, A First

Sun, 2014-01-12 20:38 — Kathy Gilbeaux

huffingtonpost.com - by Lewis Milford - January 7, 2014

For those who already think natural gas will win out over renewable power, a judge has said, not so fast.

In what may be the first time a U.S. solar power project has been declared cost-competitive against natural gas in a competitive bidding process, a judge has said solar is cheaper than natural gas. The ruling could be a road map for avoiding a new fossil fuel age dominated by big natural gas.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Judge Rules Exxon Must Face Criminal Charges Over 50,000 Gallon Fracking Waste Spill

Sun, 2014-01-12 09:08 — Maeryn Obley

Image: Fracking opponents protest before the Tom Corbett inauguration to become the 46th governor of Pennsylvania at the state capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. CREDIT: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Image: Fracking opponents protest before the Tom Corbett inauguration to become the 46th governor of Pennsylvania at the state capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. CREDIT: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

thinkprogress.org - January 3rd 2014 - Emily Atkin

Exxon Mobil Corp. subsidiary XTO Energy will have to face criminal charges for allegedly dumping tens of thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracturing waste at a Marcellus Shale drilling site in 2010, according to a Pennsylvania judge’s ruling on Thursday.

Following a preliminary hearing, Magisterial District Judge James G. Carn decided that all eight charges against Exxon — including violations of both the state Clean Streams Law and the Solid Waste Management Act — will be “held for court,” meaning there is enough evidence to take the fossil fuel giant to trial over felony offenses.

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Key Senate Vote on Flood Insurance Rate Delay Pushed to Next Week

Thu, 2014-01-09 18:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

insurancejournal.com - by Andrew G. Simpson - January 7, 2014

The U.S. Senate is expected to take a key vote soon on a bill that would delay some of the flood insurance rate hikes triggered by the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. . .

. . . The procedural vote on S.1846 was originally planned for Wednesday, but the Senate is still dealing with an extension of federal unemployment benefits, delaying consideration of the flood bill. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), a major advocate for the bill, told USA Today that  “next week is more realistic” for any vote on the flood bill.

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Funding Problems Threaten US Disaster Preparedness

Thu, 2014-01-09 15:55 — Kathy Gilbeaux

eurekalert.org

A study by researchers at the George Washington University, the University of Southern California, and the Cabarrus Health Alliance lists seven recommendations to enhance preparedness for public health emergencies in the US

WASHINGTON (Jan. 9, 2013) –The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York City prompted large increases in government funding to help communities respond and recover after man-made and natural disasters. But, this funding has fallen considerably since the economic crisis in 2008. Furthermore, disaster funding distribution is deeply inefficient: huge cash infusions are disbursed right after a disaster, only to fall abruptly after interest wanes. These issues have exposed significant problems with our nation's preparedness for public health emergencies.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Funding problems threaten US disaster preparedness (28 page .PDF report)

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