Earthquakes: Risk, Detection, Warning, and Research

Report that discusses: earthquake hazards and risk in the United States, federal programs that support earthquake monitoring, the U.S. capability to detect earthquakes and issue notifications and warnings, and federally supported research to improve the fundamental scientific understanding of earthquakes with a goal of reducing U.S. vulnerability

FutureGen: A Brief History and Issues for Congress

This report briefly summarizes the history of FutureGen, discusses why it has gained interest and support from some Members of Congress and the Administration while remaining in initial stages of development, and offers some policy considerations on barriers that challenge its further development as a model for a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) program

The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP): Issues in Brief

Report that discusses the responsibility of four federal agencies for long-term earthquake risk reduction: the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

The U.S. Tsunami Program: A Brief Overview

This report provides an introduction to U.S. Tsunami warning centers and discusses the national Tsunami hazard mitigation program

Issues and Challenges for Federal Geospatial Information

The report discusses issues that may be of interest to Congress-managing, sharing, and coordinating geospatial information-and includes examples of legislation. The report also summarizes a diverse set of recommendations and proposals from different non-governmental organizations for how to improve the coordination and management of geospatial information at the federal and state levels

Gas Hydrates: Resource and Hazard

Solid gas hydrates are a potentially huge resource of natural gas for the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that there are about 85 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of technically recoverable gas hydrates in northern Alaska. Gas hydrates are both a potential resource and a risk, representing a significant hazard to conventional oil and gas drilling and production operations. This report addresses the issue of cost and method of recovering potential gas hydrates, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of using gas hydrates as a potential energy source. Included is information on the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000 and the Energy Policy Act of 2005

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS): A Primer

Report describing Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), how it is supposed to work, why it has gained the interest and support of some members of Congress, and what some of the challenges are to its implementation and deployment across the United States

Earthquakes: Risk, Detection, Warning, and Research

This report discusses the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), a program under which the federal government supports efforts to assess and monitor earthquake hazards and risk in the United States. This report also discusses earthquake hazards and risk in the United States; federal programs that support earthquake monitoring; the U.S. capability to detect earthquakes and issue notifications and warnings; and federally-supported research to improve the fundamental scientific understanding of earthquakes with a goal of reducing U.S. vulnerability

U.S. Tsunami Programs: A Brief Overview

This report discusses U.S. warning systems and related disaster management programs in place to prepare for and react to tsunamis. This issue is discussed in relation to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan