HARC Newsletter Oct-2016

HARC Newsletter | October 2016

Newsletter

October 2016

Ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate: What's Next?

In December 2015, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change convened the annual Conference of Parties (COP 21) in Paris. A significant step was taken toward the decarbonization of the planet. At COP 21, 195 countries came together to adopt the Paris Agreement. The primary goal of this Agreement is to implement carbon reduction programs and technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale. The expectation is that these efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will limit global temperature rise below a 2 degree Celsius increase, and ideally below a 1.5 degree Celsius increase.

Clean Energy Policy Adoption

Much work has been done to describe and evaluate the efficacy of clean energy policy. Much less attention has been paid to the factors that drive the adoption and diffusion of these policies across the United States, at both the state and local government level. A better understanding of this process can help with policy planning and policy making.

This project is driven by the observation that at the state, as well as local level, clean energy policies are adopted across a number of jurisdictions and then inevitably stop diffusing.

Featured Researcher

Jay Olaguer, PhD

Program Director, Air Quality Science

Eduardo (Jay) Olaguer holds a Ph.D. in Meteorology from MIT, and is a Senior Research Scientist and Program Director for Air Quality Science at HARC. Dr. Olaguer has designed and built complex 3-D models of the global atmosphere and urban air quality, including a global, radiative-dynamical-chemical model of the lower and middle atmospheres, and the HARC neighborhood (forward and adjoint) air quality model. He also contributed to the development of EPA’s HAPEM and pNEM models of human exposure.

Announcements & Upcoming Events

HARC at Restore America's Estuaries-The Coastal Society Summit 2016

HARC's Lisa Gonzalez, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Stephanie Glenn, Program Director, Hydrology and Watersheds, will present at the Restore America's Estuaries-The Coastal Society Summit 2016. The summit will be held December 10-15, 2016 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The U.S. DOE Southwest CHP TAP and Pacific CHP TAP will present the CHP in Hospitals – Improving Resilience and Lowering Energy Costs Webinar on December 7, 2016 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CST.

Upcoming Webinar: Combined Heat and Power (CHP) in Breweries - Better Beer at Lower Costs - presented by HARC's Gavin Dillingham and Siemens Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy Southwest CHP TAP, in partnership with Siemens Energy, will present CHP in Breweries and Distilleries on Nov 17, 2016 at 2:00 pm.

HARC partners with Lime Energy Co. to coordinate energy efficiency program for low-income communities

HARC will partner with Lime Energy Co. to launch an energy efficiency program, "Achieving Energy Efficiency in Small Businesses in Low-Income Areas," in the Houston area.

Carolyn LaFleur featured in Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America video

HARC Carolyn LaFleur discusses EFD Technology Integration Program funded by RPSEA at the “Best of RPSEA 10 Years of Research: Ultra-Deepwater and Onshore Technology Conference,” August 30-31, 2016 in Galveston.

HARC in the news

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Texas leads US in use of renewable energy

HARC's Jennifer Ronk discusses the importance of developing both wind and solar for electrical energy production.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Renewables in the Longhorn State

"I don't think the world is going to shut off all major power plants everywhere and run everything on solar. That's not where we are going long-term. I think there is a mix of solutions that are going to the optimal outcome," said HARC's Jennifer Ronk.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Op-ed: Leaders need to step up STEM education

HARC's Rich Haut co-authors article on the "rising consensus that our nation’s future economic competitiveness depends upon strengthening our students’ skills in STEM."

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View this and prior newsletters in our archive

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