Oil Prices and Speculation
May 2
At this RFF First Wednesday Seminar, moderated by RFF Gilbert F. White Fellow James L. Smith, panelists discussed the influx of speculators that may have driven the price of oil to unprecedented heights in 2008.
Convening Thought Leaders
Ecosystem Services Policy
May 8
RFF’s Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth co-hosted an inaugural policy forum in collaboration with the National Ecosystem Services Partnership. The forum aimed to promote shared learning across federal agencies and to further an understanding of how ecosystem services approaches can be integrated into federal planning, spending, and program practices.
Carbon Tax
May 16
RFF hosted the second Carbon Tax Expert Engagement Meeting, presenting findings from new work on carbon tax revenue reliability by RFF Center Fellow Anthony Paul, RFF Senior Fellow Carolyn Fischer, and US International Trade Commission Economist Alan Fox.
Building Partnerships
Ocean Protection
April 8
James Boyd, RFF senior fellow and co-director of the Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth, presented on interdisciplinary ecological science and decisionmaking at the California Ocean Protection Council’s Joint Science Advisory Team Meeting, “Knowledge to Action: Theory to Practice.”
Alternative Fuels and Vehicles
April 15
RFF Post-Doctoral Researcher Beia Spiller presented at a symposium on regulations and incentives for alternative fuels and vehicles at the MIT Energy Institute.
Marcellus Shale Development
April 18
RFF Fellow Sheila Olmstead spoke at a panel discussion, “Marcellus Shale Development: Communities, People, Health, Economics,” sponsored by the Environmental Initiative, the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, the Cluster for Sustainable Development, and Lehigh University.
Long-Term Environmental Threats
April 27
Johns Hopkins University’s Systems Institute and Environment, Energy, Sustainability, and Health Institute hosted a lecture by RFF Vice President for Research Molly Macauley titled “Forever Ours: Technology, Economics, and Institutions for Managing Long-Lived Environmental Problems.”
Energy and Government
May 21
At the Wilson Center’s panel discussion on Congress and the Global Energy Crunch, RFF President Phil Sharp discussed the uncertainty of predictions about future energy supplies.
Flood Insurance
May 21
RFF Fellow Carolyn Kousky explained the National Flood Insurance Program as part of C-SPAN’s “Your Money” series.
Energy Policy
June 13
Ray Kopp, RFF senior fellow and director of the Center for Climate and Electricity Policy, discussed the feasibility of pricing carbon as part of a panel presentation, “Out of the Box Thinking: New Approaches to National Energy Policy,” hosted by Environmental Entrepreneurs, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and RFF.
Energy and Environmental Economics
June 25
RFF Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow Dallas Burtraw gave a keynote address at the 5th Atlantic Workshop on Energy and Environmental Economics hosted by Fundación Barrié, Economics for Energy, and the research group “rede” at the University of Vigo in Spain.
Natural Gas
June 27
Alan Krupnick, RFF senior fellow and director of the Center for Energy Economics and Policy, presented on natural gas as a transportation fuel at a conference hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, “Understanding the New Energy Landscape: Technological Change and Global Market Integration.”
Water Quality and Shale Gas
July 12
RFF Fellow Yusuke Kuwayama presented on the water quality impacts of shale gas development at The Nature Conservancy’s "Reducing Energy’s Impacts to Water and Biodiversity" conference.
Engaging Congress
Tropical Forest Management
April 16
Lynn Scarlett, RFF visiting scholar and co-director of the Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth, spoke at The Lacey Act and Tropical Forest Protection Briefing on Capitol Hill.
Clean Energy Standards
May 17
RFF Research Director and Senior Fellow Karen Palmer testified at the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on The Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012. She discussed the expected effects of the proposed policy on electricity prices and carbon dioxide emissions.
Energy Policy and Tax Reform
June 12
RFF President Phil Sharp testified at the US Senate Committee on Finance hearing on Tax Reform: Impact on US Energy Policy, providing a history of national energy policies and an overview of the US energy market.
