Policy Topics

Energy and Environment

Showing 271 - 300 of 653 results

IEEP

American Views on Fracking

May 1, 2016

Since becoming an economically viable means of extracting oil and gas in the early 21st century, hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking” as the process is commonly known) has become a major component of the American and world energy sectors. In 2015,...

Student Working Papers

The Struggle for Shared Governance in Hydraulic Fracturing Policy: An Interstate Comparison of Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado

February 1, 2016

Carolyn Rice, CLOSUP Policy Analyst

This paper seeks to explore the issue of unilateral state authority over hydraulic fracturing policy and the possibility/ merits of a shared government model that incorporates local input. This analysis explores the balance of state and local power...

IEEP

American Attitudes about the Clean Power Plan and Policies for Compliance

December 1, 2015

In August 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the final rule of the Clean Power Plan, setting carbon dioxide emission reduction targets for each state’s existing power plants. A month later, the National Surveys on Energy and the...

IEEP

Acceptance of Global Warming Rising for Americans of all Religious Beliefs

November 1, 2015

The release earlier this year of the Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si’, and the visit of Pope Francis to the United States have reinvigorated the discussion of the relationship between religion and perceptions of global warming. This report, pulling...

IEEP

Acceptance of Global Warming Among Americans Reaches Highest Level Since 2008

October 1, 2015

For the first time since 2008 at least 7 out of 10 Americans indicate that they believe there is solid evidence of global warming over the past four decades. This 70% belief level is the second highest mark in the history of the National Surveys on...

Working Papers

Trusting in the Future: The Re-Emergence of State Trust Funds in the Shale Era

August 12, 2015

Barry Rabe, Rachel Hampton

Energy-producing states confront numerous challenges related to the boom-and-bust of resource extraction, including substantial fluctuation in revenue produced by severance taxes. Revenues surge as drilling expands during booms, creating many...

IEEP

Belief in Global Warming Among Americans Gradually Increases Following the Winter of 2015

July 1, 2015

In the wake of a memorable winter season in the United States that included both record cold and snow in the Northeast and historic warmth and drought in the West, American views regarding the existence of global warming remain largely unchanged...

Working Papers

Seasons Gone By: An Examination of Individual Perceptions of Past Weather and Their Views on Global Warming

June 1, 2015

Christopher Borick, Erick Lachapelle, Barry Rabe

A growing body of literature has demonstrated a relationship between an individual’s personal experience with weather and their views on the existence of global warming. In particular recent studies have shown that temperature and precipitation...

Student Working Papers

The Status of New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme

June 1, 2015

Kerri Metz, CLOSUP Policy Analyst, Nina Tannenbaum, CLOSUP Policy Analyst

The aspects of New Zealand’s program under the Kyoto Protocol, as well as several others, will be analyzed to determine their success in reducing New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions since the nation’s commitment and subsequent creation of the ETS...

IEEP

Widespread Public Support for Renewable Energy Mandates Despite Proposed Rollbacks

June 1, 2015

In light of recent attempts in many state legislatures to repeal or weaken renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) in the 29 states that have adopted them, the latest version of the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) gauged public...

IEEP

Cap-and-Trade Support Linked to Revenue Use

June 1, 2015

The Obama Administration’s creation of the Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electric power sector has renewed interest in possible state or regional adoption of cap-and-trade programs to meet mandatory reduction targets....

IEEP

Neighbors Diverge: An Explanation for the Differences in Silica Sand Mining Activity in Wisconsin and Minnesota

May 1, 2015

This paper provides a brief discussion on the demand for silica sand mining in Wisconsin and Minnesota and explores the reasons for different levels of industry development in the two states. These reasons include geology, rail transportation...

IEEP

Public Perceptions of Hydraulic Fracturing in Three Marcellus Shale States

May 1, 2015

Extraction from the Marcellus Shale—one of the most robust natural gas deposits in North America—represents the potential for economic growth and environmental degradation. There is little federal oversight concerning natural gas extraction...

Working Papers

The Durability of Carbon Cap‐and‐Trade Policy

April 1, 2015

Barry Rabe

The surge of American states’ adoption of policies to mitigate climate change in the late 1990s and 2000s appeared to constitute a first wave of expanding use of market-based policy tools such as carbon cap-and-trade in the absence of binding...

Working Papers

Taxing Fracking: The Politics of State Severance Taxes in the Shale Era

April 1, 2015

Barry Rabe, Rachel Hampton, University of Michigan

States producing gas and oil have long levied severance taxes at the point of extraction, commonly placing most revenues into general funds. These taxes have assumed new meaning in many states amid the expansion of gas and oil production...

Working Papers

A Survey of Environmental Policies Among the States: 2015

March 1, 2015

Heather Kirkpatrick

The purpose of this study is to begin to develop a comprehensive assessment of the relative activity of the US states in developing environmental policies. We did this by developing eleven policy categories varying across different environmental and...

Acceptance of Global Warming Among Americans Moderately Increases in Late 2014

February 1, 2015

The fall 2014 version of the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) finds 60% of Americans believe that there is solid evidence of increasing temperatures on Earth. These findings represent a moderate rebound from the three-year low...

IEEP

Public Support for Regulation of Power Plant Emissions Under the Clean Power Plan

January 15, 2015

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a major new greenhouse gas reduction initiative in June 2014 through the release of its proposed Carbon Pollution Standards for Existing Power Plants. Better known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP), EPA...

Farming the Wind: The Impact of Wind Energy on Farming

January 1, 2015

Sarah Mills

In February 2014, owners of farmland in 14 townships in Michigan were sent a mail survey about their opinions of wind energy, recent investments in their homes and farms, and their future plans for their land. A total of 1,210 landowners—72% of all...

IEEP

Opportunity, Risk, and Public Acceptability: The Question of Shale Gas Exploitation in Québec

October 1, 2014

The Canadian province of Québec has the largest reserves of shale gas in Eastern Canada, but Québeckers are in the midst of a heated debate over the desirability of exploiting this resource. At issue is the controversial technique of hydraulic...

IEEP

Public Opinion on Hydraulic Fracturing in the province of Quebec: A Comparison with Michigan and Pennsylvania

October 1, 2014

This report summarizes main findings of a comparative survey project, with a focus on explaining why attitudes toward fracking in Quebec are markedly different than in Pennsylvania and Michigan. The report is divided into three main parts. First the...

IEEP

Shale Governance in the European Union: Principles and Practice

October 1, 2014

The extraction of shale gas—mainly through the process of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”—has become a central if contentious area of energy policy in the European Union (EU). Like their US counterparts, European policymakers are attracted by the...

MPPS

Beyond the coast, a tenuous relationship between Michigan local governments and the Great Lakes

September 1, 2014

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the bonds – economic and otherwise – between their jurisdictions and the Great Lakes, their support or opposition to policies designed to protect the health of the...

IEEP

Public Perceptions of Shale Gas Extraction and Hydraulic Fracturing in New York and Pennsylvania

September 1, 2014

Given the large economic, environmental, and social implications from the issue of shale gas and the process to extract it of hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling (or “fracking” as it is commonly known), it is not surprising that...

IEEP

Public Views on a Carbon Tax Depend on the Proposed Use of Revenue

July 1, 2014

Conventional wisdom holds that a carbon tax is a political non-starter. However, results from the latest version of the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) provide evidence of substantial public support for a tax on the carbon content...

MPPS

Wind power as a community issue in Michigan

July 1, 2014

This report presents the opinions of Michigan local government leaders on issues related to wind energy. It looks at the prevalence of wind turbines in jurisdictions across the state, opinions about the benefits and drawbacks of wind energy, sources...

IEEP

Public Opinion on Climate Change and Support for Various Policy Instruments in Canada and the US

June 1, 2014

This report summarizes results from national-level surveys on public attitudes toward climate change administered in Canada and the US in Fall 2013. Since 2008, the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (formerly the National Surveys of...

MPPS

Fracking as a community issue in Michigan

June 1, 2014

This report presents the opinions of Michigan local government leaders on issues in their communities related to the process of extracting natural gas through high-volume hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling of underground shale deposits,...

IEEP

American Acceptance of Global Warming Retreats in Wake of Winter 2014

June 1, 2014

The winter of 2014 took its toll on many aspects of life in the United States. From individual level costs such as increased heating expenses and disrupted work schedules to broad economic effects including strained public works budgets and slower...

IEEP

Environmental Policy in the Great Lakes Region: Current Issues and Public Opinion

April 2, 2014

This report reviews historical and current environmental problems in the Great Lakes and discusses attempts to address them through both joint (Canada-US) and unilateral policy. It then presents the results of a telephone survey of 1,247 residents...