A recent survey conducted by the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association shows that $450 million in federal funding is needed in Fiscal Year 2011 to meet beach funding requirements. Click here to view the full survey...
An Effort to Spread Green Power to Coasts
By Matthew Wald
The New York Times
December 7, 2009
For 40 years, the North American electric system has operated as three loosely linked grids, but a new transmission company is aiming to unite them. That union, if consummated, could have strong implications for renewable energy.
The company, Tres Amigas, proposes a huge power hub near Clovis, N.M., covering more than 20 square miles. It would be remote from populated areas but near the fulcrum of the continent’s wind and solar resources. Tres Amigas plans to make regulatory filings on Tuesday in pursuit of its goal.
The project could, backers say, transform a region that is a sparse frontier for transmission lines into a robust intersection that would allow immense transfers of power across the country. The direction of flow would depend on where the wind was blowing, the sun was shining and the temperatures were creating extra electricaldemand.
M&Co. Report: Summary of Congressional Hazards Caucus Briefing
By Toby Hicks, Legislative Intern
Marlowe & Company
November 19, 2009
Three speakers representing the University of Rhode Island, the United States Geological Survey, and the Environmental Protection Agency reviewed current issues of eroding coastlines and the geological and societal impacts of extreme storms, wetland loss, and sea level rise.
M&Co. Report: Proposed USGS Plan for a National Coastal Program
By Toby Hicks, Legislative Intern
Marlowe & Company Report
November 17, 2009
As population growth expands along U.S. coasts, coastal ecosystems are impacted by urban, industrial, and agricultural development. The U.S.’s coastal region, while only 17% of the area of the contiguous states, includes more than 53% of our population. Between 2009 and 2015 the population in this region will grow by 27 million people and attract 180 visitors annually. But issues that affect the coast – such as shoreline erosion, chemical contamination, algal blooms, habitat loss, and resource exploitation – threaten to diminish the health and economic utility of the coast. North Carolina for example has already lost 34% of its costal wetlands including habitats critical to a fishery industry which contributes more than $1 billion annually to the state’s economy.