Environmental regulations attempt to protect public health and the environment from pollution by industry and development. RAND research has sought to develop methods for collecting interpretable, quantitative information about the costs and benefits of environmental regulations in areas where compliance imposes a financial burden, awareness of the health risks of noncompliance is lower, and officials are less trusting of the data on which regulations are based.
Report
If policies aimed at large reductions of carbon dioxide emissions are enacted, more carbon capture and storage will be needed. RAND researchers explored the ability of the industrial base to support the expansion of carbon storage.
Report
This is a comparative study of the practice of those who are subject to regulatory requirements in the health research, medical drugs, environmental and financial sectors conducted to assist understanding of health research governance in the UK.
Commentary
Further study, including primary data collection in regions where extraction is occurring, will be important to track the magnitude of emissions and to insure that the DEP's permit requirements are adequate to protect human health and the environment, writes Aimee Curtright.
Commentary
Carbon dioxide has garnered the most attention in the climate change debate because it accounts for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions. But there is good reason to worry about methane, say Nicholas Burger and Noreen Clancy.
Journal Article
Producing natural gas from shale generates air pollutant emissions. RAND researchers provided a first-order estimate of air emissions, and the monetary value of the associated damages, from the extraction of shale gas in Pennsylvania.
Report
A RAND study evaluated U.S. Department of State contributions to the Global Methane Initiative, an international partnership to promote methane recovery and reuse. The study focused on the strategic contributions and program activities and outcomes.
News Release
A federal government corporation and an independent government agency are the two most promising models for a new organization to manage and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States.
Report
A federal government corporation and an independent government agency are the two most promising models for a new organization to manage and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States.
Research Brief
RAND researchers describe the attributes of potential organizational models and the steps needed to choose the form of a new organization charged with managing and disposing of commercial and defense high-level radioactive materials.
Content
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags offer benefits to product lifecycle management but also introduce extraneous materials into the recycling stream. RAND Europe explored the environmental impact of RFID tags as well as the environmental advantages that their use can provide.
Report
Applies robust decision methods to evaluate California's transportation policies that considers multiple views of the future, and identifies strategies that consistently reduce emissions at acceptable costs regardless of future conditions.
Report
Biomass is an increasingly important source of electricity, heat, and liquid fuel. One near-term option for using it to generate electricity is to cofire biomass in coal-fired electricity plants. Factors to consider are plant-site modifications, changes in operations, costs, and logistical issues with delivering biomass to the plant.
Report
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ended a voluntary national program that encouraged facilities to improve all aspects of their environmental performance. The significant environmental challenges that the U.S. faces require it to continue to seek complements to traditional regulatory approaches.
Report
RAND researchers address pressing issues of relevance to U.S. and international audiences such as environmental quality and regulation, energy resources and systems, water resources and systems, climate change, and natural hazards and disasters.
News Release
Alternative sources of fossil fuels such as oil sands and coal-to-liquids have significant economic promise, but the environmental consequences must also be considered.
Report
What are the differential effects of regulation and policy on small businesses? What is the impact of special regulatory treatment for small businesses? This book offers analysis of key public policy issues with implications for small businesses.
News Release
May 3, 2007 news release: RAND Says Further Study Warranted on Save the World Air Technology.
Commentary
Published commentary by RAND staff: Green But Unsafe, in Wall Street Journal, Europe Edition.
Report
Particulate matter (PM) comes from a variety of sources and is a mixture of many pollutants made up of several different chemical species. Monitoring to determine whether an area has met EPA standards requires a comprehensive approach.
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