Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Re-Imagining Regulatory Approaches For Methane Emissions, Jongeun You

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took a step-back in regulating the methane released during natural gas extraction. In June 2016, the EPA issued the first federal regulations on methane, estimating methane emissions would decrease by a total of 510,000 short tons in 2025, with a potential net benefit of $160 million. Yet, in October 2018, the EPA released a new proposal that weakened the 2016 methane rules, estimating methane emissions would increase by a total of 380,000 short tons in 2025, with a potential saving of $484 million. This paper explores the EPA’s drastic change between 2016 and …

The Epa's Air Quality Index, And Public Transportation Usage In The Chicago Metro Region, Nicholas R. Rosenberg

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper assesses whether air quality influences public transportation ridership in the city of Chicago. Urban air pollution is a serious health risk, and a priority of urban municipalities. Public transportation is an attractive option for governments attempting to curb urban air emissions. I use data from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and the EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI) to explore the relationship between a day’s air quality and CTA ridership. I employ three different model specifications, rail, bus and total ridership, to test whether high AQI values (poor air quality) result in increased public transportation ridership in the city …

Effects Of The Shape Of The Radiation Dose-Response Curve On Public Acceptance Of Radiation And Nuclear Energy, Audeen W. Fentiman

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “The public generally accepts the premise that exposure to radiation can have an undesirable effect. Furthermore, it believes that as the radiation dose increases, the magnitude of the effect will increase. On the other hand, while the background radiation dose varies from a few hundred millirem/year (a few millisieverts/yr) in some places to a few thousand millirem/yr (tens of millisieverts/yr) in others, researchers have been unable to find a correlation between the level of background radiation and incidence of cancer or other maladies attributable to radiation.

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Because there is considerable controversy about the relationship between radiation dose and …

Schools Respond To Risk Management Programs For Asbestos, Lead In Drinking Water And Radon, Ann Fisher, Lauraine G. Chestnut, Ruth H. Chapman, Robert D. Rowe

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Based on a study of the three EPA-initiated, public school risk management programs noted in the title, the authors find that state agency involvement is an important factor in the success of such programs. They also find, e.g., that school districts are justifiably reluctant to comply with tentative programs

Book Review, Scott Hogan

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: ROBERT A. SHANLEY, PRESIDENTIAL INFLUENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY. (Greenwood Press, 1992) [163 pp.] Abbreviations, acknowledgements, index, introduction, notes, selected bibliography. LC 92-15584; ISBN 0-313-25883-X. [$45.00 cloth. 88 Post Road West; Westport CT 06881.]

Regulating Air Toxics In Rhode Island: Policy Vs. Technical Decisions, Julie A. Roque

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Roqu6 recounts her work as a doctoral candidate at Brown in developing standards for the regulation of airborne carcinogens. Based in part on this experience, she argues that care needs be taken lest those who regulate Risk bury key policy decisions within a mass of often irrelevant technical details.