The policy implications of changing climatic conditions in the Arctic region, and specifically the record loss of ice cover, are explored in a newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service. See Changes in the Arctic, March 17, 2015.
“There are only eight nations in the world whose territory above the Arctic Circle gives them the right to claim being an Arctic nation,” said Adm. Robert Papp, Jr., the U.S. Special Representative for the Arctic, at a congressional hearing last December. “The United States is one, although it has been my experience that Americans do not embrace or fully understand the concept of being an Arctic nation.”
Other new and updated CRS products that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following.
Energy Tax Incentives: Measuring Value Across Different Types of Energy Resources, March 19, 2015
Recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, CRS Fact Sheet, March 19, 2015
“Holds” in the Senate, March 19, 2015
Increased Campaign Contribution Limits in the FY2015 Omnibus Appropriations Law: Frequently Asked Questions, March 17, 2015
U.S. Manufacturing in International Perspective, March 17, 2015
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): Background and Reauthorization, March 13, 2015
International Drug Control Policy: Background and U.S. Responses, March 16, 2015
Congress should establish a Modeling, Analysis, and Technical Talent for Energy Regulation Hub (MATTER Hub) within the Department of Energy (DOE).
Western states functionally manage trillions in global climate risk (permafrost, forest carbon, etc.) and can do so in ways that drive state economic development.
Implementation will not be easy. Several of the plan’s critical strategies challenge established utility business models.
AI’s high-stakes outputs directly shape American economic, industrial, and technological outcomes. They must not be accepted entirely on the basis of institutional faith rather than verifiable evidence.