“Recess briefings” By: Laurie Hakes Recess weeks are often my busiest weeks as an intern. They provide an opportunity to work on longer-range projects without interruptions and also give the committee’s staff time to provide substantive feedback. Last week was my slowest recess yet, but I still managed to attend several briefings and start reading up on the hearings this week. My first briefing last week was on the EPA’s new Clean Power Plan, which cuts carbon pollution from existing power plants. Overall, the regulations require the US power sector to lower emissions 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. Today’s emissions are already down from 2005 levels, so we’re around halfway to meeting this target. The EPA released the regulations under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, which gives the EPA the authority to regulate stationary sources of pollution. Like other Clean Air Act rules, the EPA has laid out regulatory guidelines for each state and each state is responsible for coming up with a plan to meet these targets. The state-by-state implementation is important since different states have different energy profiles. For example, hydropower capabilities in Oregon mean that state has a larger reduction target than a coal-dependent state like Kentucky. I also attended a briefing on the Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program. Four representatives from different parts of BER spoke about their work. I was expecting to hear a lot about biofuels but most of the presentations focused on BER’s user facilities. These facilities provide access to powerful imaging and computing capabilities. For example, any scientists with projects that fit DOE’s mission can use the Joint Genome Institute’s sequencing capabilities, so long as the researchers make the data they obtain public. Rapid growth in DNA sequencing capabilities has outpaced Moore’s Law, meaning we need even better algorithms to process the wealth of data. (Moore’s Law says computer processing speed doubles every 2 years.) Thousands of industry and university scientists use DOE’s user facilities every year.
Posted on: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 19:21:24 +0000
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