Recycling CFLs

Since 2006, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) have seen a sharp increase in sales and now comprise 20% of the U.S. light bulb market, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS). With their increased use, concerns have arisen about the disposal of CFLs because they contain small amounts of mercury and may be deemed household hazardous waste. In light of this designation, the CRS paper includes a discussion of the disposal and recycling of CFLs, and notes recycling programs in Maine and Minnesota, and the Northwest Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) Recycling Project for Oregon and Washington.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs): Issues with Use and Disposal, RS22807, (pdf, 6pp/80kB, from Open CRS), February 13, 2008

Recent CRS reports

Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports from Open CRS:

The Effect of State-Legalized Same-Sex Marriage on Social Security Benefits and Pensions, RS21897 (pdf, 5pp/68kB), Jan. 3, 2008

Same-sex spouses are ineligible for Social Security benefits because of gender-based definitions of "wife" and "husband" in the Social Security Act (42 USC 416 (b) and (f)), and the definition of "marriage" in the Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA, P.L. 104-199 (pdf).

Both federal and private pensions regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) are required to comply with DOMA's definition of a spouse as a "person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife."


Dollar Crisis: Prospect and Implications, RL34311 (pdf, 17pp/124kB), Jan. 8, 2008

Since 2002, the dollar in international exchange has fallen about 29%, accelerating in latter 2007. Among the report's findings are three possible reasons why a dollar crisis won't occur: a large share of a global saving glut is attracted to U.S. asset markets, resulting in large capital inflows to the U.S.; under the current global monetary arrangement known as Breton Woods II, central banks, particularly in Asia, use dollar reserves to stabilize their currencies; and the "dark matter argument"--that large measurement errors in U.S. trade data understate U.S. exports and overstate U.S. net external debt, the dark matter being invisible assets.


Regulation of Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions: State and Federal Standards, RS22788 (pdf, 6pp/76kB), Jan. 11, 2008

This report stems from the denial by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of California's request for a waiver to establish its own greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards and compares them with federal standards. California was denied a waiver because federal fuel economy standards in the 2007 energy bill (P.L. 110-140) "will be more stringent than the California program." CRS cites the two relevant California bills that were enacted: AB1493 (pdf, 8pp), in 2002, requiring GHG reductions for vehicles from model year 2009, and AB32 (pdf, 13pp), in 2006, requiring additional GHG reductions.

See earlier FR posts on the energy bill (H.R. 6 that became P.L. 110-140):
     Smart grid - the bigger picture (1-8-08)
     Smart grid (1-3-08)

State greenhouse gases

This week the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report on state greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The report uses three variables, or emissions drivers, to calculate GHG emissions: population, per capita income, and GHG emissions intensity. Of the three, CRS considers GHG intensity the most relevant to climate change policy. GHG intensity is a measure of GHG emissions from state sources divided by the gross state product (GSP). Hawaii ranks 46th in GHG emissions and drivers. The report also covers CO2 emissions intensity, which account for 85% of GHG emissions in the U.S. In a ranking of CO2 emissions intensity and its drivers, Hawaii ranks 34th.

State Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Comparison and Analysis, CRS Report RL34272 (pdf, 34pp/200kB, from Open CRS), December 5, 2007

Cutting emissions, cutting costs

A New York Times (NYT) article highlights a recently published report by McKinsey & Company which says the United States could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 28% "at fairly modest cost and with only small technology innovations." NYT reports the study finds reductions implementations "would more than pay for themselves in lower energy bills for industries and individual consumers."

There are a significant number of options where the long-term savings in terms of lower operating costs and/or lower energy usage levels outweigh the initial costs of adoptions. In simple terms, the savings outweigh the costs and significant GHG abatement can be achieved.

The study was sponsored by DTE Energy (the parent company of Detroit Edison), Environmental Defense, Honeywell, National Grid, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Pacific Gas & Electric and Shell.

Achieving these reductions at the lowest cost to the economy, however, will require strong, coordinated, economy-wide action that begins in the near future.

Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?
(November 29, 2007, pdf, 107pp/4.11MB)

executive summary (pdf, 10pp/460KB)

Recent CBO reports

Testimony on Approaches to Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions       (pdf, 16pp/116kB), Nov. 1, 2007

The Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) testified before the House Budget Committee on reducing CO2 emissions. He advocated an incentive-based approach as more economically efficient than "command-and-control" policies. Two main incentives would be taxes (to regulate the price of emissions) or a cap and trade system (to regulate the quantity of emissions). Of the two, a "well-designed tax would yield higher net benefits."


The Long-Term Outlook for Health Care Spending
      (pdf, 35pp/552kB), November 2007

This study gives CBO's projections of health care spending over the next 75 years under current federal law. In view of rising health costs, CBO assumes that employers, households, and insurance firms, to avoid reducing consumption of other goods and services, will change their behavior, e.g., higher cost sharing, increased utilization management, reduced insurance coverage by employers, and greater scrutiny of new technologies.

See related FR post, "Medicare and nursing homes" (8/1/07)


Long-Term Unemployment (pdf, 34pp/476kB), Oct. 2007

Unemployment lasting more than six months has increased. This report examines such long-term unemployed workers during 2001-2003 - their characteristics, sources of income, and subsequent activities.

Climate change impacts public sector budgets

University of Maryland's Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER) released their report examining direct and indirect costs of climate change to America as a nation and to the many communities within.

The direct costs of not taking on the challenges posed by climate change are often neglected - and typically not calculated. The indirect effects are considered even less frequently, yet can be substantial ... All sectors of the economy will be affected.

Climate change impacts placing "immense strains on public sector budgets" and the uneven distribution of impacts across the country are two of several key lessons presented and supported in this study.

Recent estimates indicate that a sea-level rise of nearly 20 inches (50 cm) by 2100 would cause $23-170 billion in damages to coastal property throughout the US. In Hawaii, sea level rise will require upgrades to the drinking and wastewater infrastructures -- at a cost that exceeds $1 .9 billion over the next 20 years...

The biggest threats to [Hawaii's] already burdened infrastructure will be sea level rise and tropical storms.

CIER, established in 2006 as a multidisciplinary environmental research and collaboration group, works to develop "strategies and tools to guide policy and investment decisions, particularly to help mitigate climate impacts."

The US Economic Impacts of Climate Change and the Costs of Inaction
(October 2007, pdf, 51pp/5.2MB)

Executive Summary (pdf, 12pp/1.7MB)

Regional Highlight: Hawaii and US Affiliated Islands (pdf, 2pp/136KB)

Breast cancer and early puberty

The younger girls are when they get their first periods, the greater their risk of breast cancer later in life. In fact, first menstruation (menarche) before age 12 raises breast cancer risk by 50 percent compared to menarche at age 16.

The Breast Cancer Fund recently published their report reviewing current scientific literature on the timing of puberty and examining "the nutritional, psychosocial and environmental factors that contribute to its timing." The report's author, Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., writes:

We know that endocrine disrupting chemicals are a possible cause of early puberty but we also know that exposure to these chemicals in utero or early in life can also lead to low birth weight and obesity, which are themselves possible causes of early puberty.

Key findings include possible risk factors of early puberty:

• depression
• eating disorders
• suicide attempts
• early alcohol abuse
• violent victimization
• teenage sexual activity
• lower academic achievement

Dr. Steingraber recommends particular actions to protect the young:

• Combat childhood obesity by promoting breastfeeding early in life and supporting school-based healthy school lunch and obesity prevention programs for older children
• Support efforts to improve access to healthy foods in urban, low-income areas
• Eliminate fetal exposures to toxic chemicals in our everyday lives
• Support the phase-out of endocrine disrupting chemicals
• Support organic agriculture at home and in schools

The Falling Age of Puberty in U.S. Girls: What We Know, What We Need to Know
(August 2007, 73pp/pdf, 1.3MB)

Advocate's Guide
(August 2007, 9pp/pdf, 1MB)

State e-waste laws

Twelve states (AR, CA, CT, ME, MD, MA, MN, NH, OR, RI, TX, and WA) have enacted laws on managing electronic waste. A recent report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyzes these laws - discussing the issues leading to state action, their common elements, and an overview of each law.

CRS considers the following issues as spurring state legislation: the volume and bulky nature of e-waste, hazardous components of e-waste, cost of recycling electronics, and the inability of stakeholders to agree on a national system. The common provisions of the laws noted by CRS are: definition of "covered electronic devices" (CEDs); funding mechanism (consumer or producer pays); collection and recycling criteria (banning landfill disposal, restricting e-waste exports, setting recycling standards, and prohibiting prison labor); and product restrictions (labeling and registration requirements, restrictions on using certain materials, and restrictions on retailers).

Managing Electronic Waste: An Analysis of State E-Waste Legislation, CRS Report RL34147 (pdf, 24pp/156kB, from Open CRS), August 29, 2007

Congress and climate change

On June 27 Reuters reported that the U.S. House passed a bill "recognizing the 'reality' of climate change," increasing federal funding for research on climate change, and establishing a new commission to address scientific questions.

The bill is HR 2643 (pdf). Title V therein (p. 111, et seq.) expresses "the sense of the Congress" that there should be a program of limits on greenhouse gases. The new commission is established in Title II (at p. 56).

In a related matter, on June 25 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report on the the role of carbon dioxide in climate change. Recognizing that "Congress is considering several legislative strategies that would reduce U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases--primarily carbon dioxide (CO2)," CRS examines the global carbon cycle, which is the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere, the oceans, and Earth's land surface. From the Summary:

Less than half of the total amount of CO2 released from burning fossil fuels during the past 250 years has remained in the atmosphere because two huge reservoirs for carbon--the global oceans and the land surface--take up more carbon than they release. They are net sinks for carbon. If the oceans, vegetation, and soils did not accumulate as much carbon as they do today, then the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere would increase even more rapidly. . . .

Congress may opt to consider how land management practices, such as afforestation, conservation tillage, and other techniques, might increase the net flux of carbon from the atmosphere to the land surface.

The Carbon Cycle: Implications for Climate Change and Congress, CRS Report RL34059 (pdf, 14pp/240kB, from Open CRS), June 25, 2007

Good-bye, trash

Yesterday both Honolulu dailies, the Advertiser and the Star Bulletin, published articles on the city's plans to send its trash to the mainland beginning in early 2008. The Advertiser cited a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (pdf) upholding "flow control" ordinances that would support Honolulu's plans. (Today the Advertiser reported briefly on Oahu's limited landfill options.)

For a national overview, last week the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report on interstate shipment of solid waste (the data being generally from 2005). According to CRS, the largest waste importer is Pennsylvania, receiving over 7.9 million tons, most of it from New York and New Jersey; NY and NJ are the largest exporters. For Oahu's waste, the Advertiser reported that three companies are considering shipping trash to Washington or Oregon. In the CRS report, Oregon imported over 1.7 million tons and Washington over 147,000 tons of waste, both as of 2005.

Interstate Shipment of Municipal Solid Waste: 2007 Update, CRS Report RL34043 (pdf, 30pp/260kB, from Open CRS), June 13, 2007

State flowers at risk

An AP article May 19 reported on the publication of The Gardener's Guide to Global Warming (pdf, 40pp/1.54MB) from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). According to the report, global warming threatens 18 state flowers and 17 state trees.

Shifts in average temperatures, precipitation patterns, and other changes due to global warming will mean that many native and iconic plants may no longer find suitable climate conditions in major portions of their historic range. In fact, many states across the country may lose their official State Trees and State Flowers. Imagine Kansas without the sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and Ohio without the Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra)!

"Maybe in 100 years the Texas bluebonnet will be the Kansas state flower," a horticulturist commented in the article. NWF has provided a map showing the vulnerable states. Fortunately for Hawaii, the yellow hibiscus is not threatened.

Yellow hibiscus (pua ma'o hau hele; Hibiscus brackenridgei); photo courtesy of State of Hawaii, DBEDT

Greenhouse gas emissions

Two reports on greenhouse gas emissions issued last month by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), one on state actions and the other from an international perspective, were provided on Open CRS.

According to the report on state actions, since there is no federal program mandating greenhouse gas reductions, many states have addressed this issue. However, California and several Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states have taken "the most aggressive actions." CRS devotes the first part of its report to California and the second part to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a collaboration of 8 states - CT, DE, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, and VT - to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. From January 2009, the initiative will begin a mandatory cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide, setting a cap on emissions and allocating credits among individual sources. (The concluding section of the report reviews issues for Congress presented by these state actions.)

In the international report, CRS discusses the interactions of three variables in measuring greenhouse gas emissions: population, income, and intensity of emissions. The report refers to three initiatives addressing climate change and the growth in greenhouse gases: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the Kyoto Protocol (Wikipedia); and the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP). CRS notes the great divide between developed and less-developed nations. While developed countries may practice conservation and energy efficiency, population and economic growth increase total energy use. In less-developed countries, increases in emissions result from energy expended for economic development.

Greenhouse Gas Reductions: California Action and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, CRS Report RL33962 (pdf, 21pp/148kB), April 13, 2007

Greenhouse Gas Emission Drivers: Population, Economic Development and Growth, and Energy Use, CRS Report RL33970 (pdf, 36pp/280kB), April 24, 2007

Little green schoolhouse

"Building design, materials, operation, maintenance, and cleaning practices can affect occupants' health and development," so The National Academies Press (NAP) introduces its study on the health and productivity benefits of green schools.

...students in buildings that rated as poor had test scores that were, on average, 5 percent lower than students in school buildings categorized as fair and 10 percent lower than students in buildings categorized as excellent.

Buildings account for 40 percent of U.S. energy use and 40 percent of atmospheric emissions, greenhouse gases, and other pollutants. The report undertakes the complex task of comparing studies which analyze overall building condition with student achievement and examine the total building health environment (dampness, mold, lighting, fresh air, etc) affecting not only students' performance but that of the professional stakeholder group, i.e., teachers, administrators (principals, financial staff, counselors, librarians) and support staff . The quality of building support staff "may significantly affect the performance of building systems, the timeliness and quality of maintenance repair, and cleaning practices." As buildings deteriorate, performance suffers and development is affected.

Of course, the issue is more than buildings.

Given the complexity of the interaction between people and their environments, establishing cause-and-effect relationships between an attribute of a green school or other building and its effect on people is very difficult.

Though the many societal factors influencing student and teacher health, productivity and learning are complex, the study concludes it may be possible to further determine whether and how a green school may be of benefit:

Future green school guidelines should place greater emphasis, on building systems...identify potential interactions between building systems, occupants, and operation and maintenance practices and identify conflicts that will necessitate tradeoffs among building features to meet differing objectives

Green Schools: Attributes for Health and Learning
(an Open Book from NAP, 2006, 208 pp)

Executive Summary
(pdf, 25pp/220kB)

Swimming with the fishes

The coral reef ecosystems of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands suffer from contamination by considerable amounts of derelict fishing gear from North Pacific Ocean fisheries washed in by ocean currents.

Greenpeace released a report last week examining the "vast vortex of plastic trash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean," so described by Reuters. The report finds that the coral reef sytems of the NWHI, the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, and, worldwide, "at least 267 species -- including seabirds, turtles, seals, sea lions, whales and fish" are vulnerable to the contamination caused by tourism, sewage, fishing and waste from ships and boats. Derelict fishing gear includes, "fishing lines and nets, fishing pots and strapping bands from bait boxes that are lost accidentally by commercial fishing boats or are deliberately dumped into the ocean."

The research predicted that most debris is moved towards the mid-latitudes. This is in agreement with observations from other studies which showed higher concentrations of debris in such areas compared to nearer the poles. It also identified areas where ocean movements results in particularly high concentrations of debris such as north of Hawaii.

According to the Reuters story, Greenpeace is calling for "a global network of marine reserves, covering 40 percent of the world's oceans."

Plastic Debris in the World's Oceans
(November 2006, pdf, 44pp/1MB)

Photo Credit: © Greenpeace / Alex Hofford

Meeting disaster

The Disasters Roundtable (DR), of the Division of Earth & Life Studies (DELS), a division of the National Academies of Sciences (NAS), convened a workshop, their sixteenth in the series, on March 20, 2006 to examine "community resilience in the face of disaster."

pre-disaster preparedness planning efforts involving all relevant stakeholders are also needed to guide emergency responses...Participants focused on the local level, where the greatest impact of disasters is felt...

The workshop program is available on the Roundtable's pages of the DELS web site. Several of the presentations can be downloaded as pdf, including Community Diversity, Vulnerability and Resilience: What's the Connection?; Measuring Community Emergency Preparedness; and Lessons Learned About Recovery in the Business and Other Sectors. The summary of the roundtable is published as an Open Book by National Academies Press (NAP).

Community Disaster Resilience: A Summary of the March 20, 2006 Workshop of the Disasters Roundtable
(2006, Open Book, 15 pp)

Fright night

U.N.: Global Warming Gases on Rise Again "'This means that industrialized countries will need to intensify their efforts to implement strong policies which reduce greenhouse gas emissions,' said Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. climate treaty secretariat, referring to taxes on carbon-based fuels, energy-efficiency regulations and other steps." (AP)

Budgets Falling in Race to Fight Global Warming "...research into energy technologies by both government and industry has not been rising, but rather falling." (New York Times)

Warned of costs, world seeks way to fight warming "On Monday, the most comprehensive review of the economics of climate change warned that costs of inaction in fighting global warming could cause an economic downturn on a scale associated with world wars or the 1930s depression...The White House Council on Environmental Quality called the report 'another contribution' to an 'abundance of economic analysis' on the issue of climate change. And OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said the report had 'no foundations in either science or economics.'" (Reuters)

Damage to Coral Reefs Threatens Tourism "'You cannot separate the environment and the economy. They are one,' said Billy Causey, a regional director of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's marine sanctuaries...Studies show greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels are increasing the ocean's acidity, making it harder for coral to grow and reproduce." (AP)

Meanwhile...

GAO Chief Warns Economic Disaster Looms "If the United States government conducts business as usual over the next few decades, a national debt that is already $8.5 trillion could reach $46 trillion or more, adjusted for inflation. " (AP)

Upper limit in the depths

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requested The National Academies' Ocean Studies Board (OSB) examine "the impacts of fishing on non-target resources and habitat." Finding more severe changes than anticipated to "the genetic structure and age composition of fished stocks, as well as decreasing the diversity of marine communities," the panel concluded:

• Identifying and understanding these potential impacts and interactions will be essential for developing future management actions.
• Fisheries management strategies currently employed in the United States generally do not take into account ecosystem effects and multi-species interactions.
• New governance and management instruments that create stewardship incentives among user groups should be evaluated and considered for adoption in the United States for multi-species fisheries management.
• Promoting Better Stewardship of the Marine Environment Fisheries management structures should ensure that a broad spectrum of social values is included in policy and management decisions.
• Research should also be conducted on how ecosystem management objectives can be incorporated into incentive-based governance mechanisms.
• There is an additional need for a repository and data management system for ecosystem-level research that will allow access to data through multiple-user portals.

The panel further finds, "Seventy-six percent of the world's stocks are fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted," with few resources remaining for future development of new sustainable fisheries.

Whether the unwanted, negative influences of fishing on marine food webs and communities can be reversed is generally unknown.

Dynamic Changes in Marine Ecosystems: Fishing, Food Webs, and Future Options (2006, NAP Open Book, 154pp)

See also, FR post, Offshore aquaculture

Separate but tougher

The Mercury News published an AP story on a study released March 16 by the National Academies' National Research Council. As noted in the report's 27-page summary (pdf, 620KB), Congress requested the EPA "to arrange for an independent study of the practices and procedures by which states develop separate emission standards." The study not only found early successes resulting from California's tougher than the federal Clean Air Act standards in vehicle emissions, but recommended California,

continue its pioneering role in setting mobile-source emissions standards...[and] continue to be a proving ground for new emissions-control technologies that benefit California and the rest of the nation.

The news article noted a number of states have recently adopted California's mobile emission regulations (as allowed under amendment to section 177 of the Clean Air Act): Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. (See FR, Coast states drive to regulate vehicle emissions.)

Though the auto industry claimed the tougher standards result in significant costs for consumers, the study concluded, "that the California program has been beneficial overall for air quality by improving mobile-source emissions control." On possible issues arising as more states move to follow California, the summary suggested:

EPA could alleviate such disputes either by providing formal but nonbinding guidance or by being given the power to grant or, in limited circumstances, deny a waiver allowing states to adopt California standards.

State and Federal Standards for Mobile Source Emissions
(available as an Open Book from National Academies Press)

Just in...Hawaii's Birds

The Hawaii Audubon Society has just published the sixth edition of its classic field guide, Hawaii's Birds. This sixth edition features text revisions and updates by Dr. Eric VanderWerf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with fresh avian images donated by several fine photographers, including Dr. Tom Dove, a local cardiologist "with a passion for birds," Cynthia Vanderlip, Senior Biological Technician at Kure Atoll for Hawaii's Division of Foresty and Wildlife, and Maui wildlife photographer, Eric Nishibayashi. (Ref. QL684 H3 S42)