Since receiving the honor of serving as President of the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP), I have taken a good look at what NAEP is doing for our members, what we are proposing for the future, and what is still necessary. In many ways, this analysis is an outgrowth of the NAEP Board of Directors continuing efforts to improve and redefine what NAEP is and what it means to environmental professionals. Having been a part of these tremendous advances, in my new role I am evaluating our efforts from a different perspective to help steer the future of the association.

The United States (US) Department of Defense (DoD) offers a great opportunity to implement solar energy solutions across its US bases. It is the single largest energy consumer in the federal government and has sufficient land requirements to implement solar energy solutions. By implementing solar energy solutions across its bases in the US, the DoD will be able to realize benefits such as meeting federal policies and mandates, reducing energy intensity from fossil fuel resources (including foreign oil), reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and improving national security and mission readiness. This report describes the current DoD energy landscape for its facilities and nontactical (fleet) vehicles, DoD benefits of implementing solar energy technologies, and research methods and results that will help realize these benefits through the development of a decision model that will augment the implementation of solar energy technologies on DoD bases.

Environmental Practice 13:1–13 (2011)

With energy legislation pending in Congress, research is urgently needed on the public's preferences for environmental policies. This study investigated preferences for government investment in new energy production relative to energy conservation and the variables that influence these preferences among members of the general public and those who live near nuclear and/or coal energy facilities (site-specific sample). A survey using random digit dialing assessed preferences for new energy production relative to energy conservation, beliefs about coal and nuclear energy, cultural worldview, trust in nuclear and coal agencies, environmental activism, and demographics among a general public sample (n = 800) and a site-specific sample (n = 2,400). Results showed that fewer than half of the participants desired more than half of the funding to be invested in new energy production relative to energy conservation. The general public sample's preferences were driven primarily by beliefs about coal, hierarchical values, environmental concern, and gender. The model of the site-specific sample's preferences was more complex and showed that preferences were driven primarily by coal and nuclear beliefs, hierarchical values, environmental concern, age, and race. Overall, the results underline the importance of investigating the underpinnings of beliefs of different groups and being cognizant of the unique factors that influence energy preferences among these groups.

Environmental Practice 13:1–14 (2011)

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are environmental contaminants introduced by the activities of man. PPCPs are not new or emerging from the perspective of knowing about them, but they are of growing interest due to reports in the popular media on occurrence and environmental impacts. As a result, PPCPs may be deemed as emerging issues by the public and utilities. Likewise, the biological constituents are not new—but, for reasons that are unclear, certain ones appear to pose a greater risk to consumers today than they have in the past. Similarly, Cryptosporidium parvum did not appear to pose a risk until 400,000 people became ill, and approximately 100 people died of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee's water service area in 1993. Today, regulators and public health scientists are trying to identify microbes that pose a similar risk in the future. If these constituents occur in raw water supplies, they may need monitoring and treatment prior to these waters entering the potable water distribution system. The Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) developed by United States Environmental Protection Agency outlines a series of biological contaminants of concern that are not currently regulated but may pose a threat. Should these contaminants move from the CCL to a regulatory framework, water supply utilities will incur added monitoring and testing of their water supply sources, and potentially added monitoring and treatment costs in their operations.

Environmental Practice 13:198–215 (2011)

The main concept in this article is that the federal government has fallen behind in implementing its basic law for protecting the environment, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, Public Law 91-190, as amended. This idea is not new, as pointed out in our overview. This report is a broad-brush approach to a series of critical NEPA implementation issues. Any one of these issues warrants more in depth research and analysis. Our dual purpose is to broach these issues to spur further discourse so that NEPA can be strengthened.

Environmental Practice 13:1–11 (2011)

In practice, building collaborative relationships between environmental groups and industry is not an easy task during environmental rulemaking. However, this article uses original interview data to document a different perspective from agency officials and stakeholders across two case studies within the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ): the renewable fuels standard and the locomotive and marine engine rule. This article argues that OTAQ used a new approach, shuttle diplomacy, in these particular cases to negotiate stakeholder differences prior to publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The findings from these interviews suggest that the intent of this rule development approach is to provide an atmosphere where stakeholders begin to trust in the process because they are helping to create it.

Environmental Practice 13:1–8 (2011)

On December 31, 2009, President Barack Obama proclaimed the 40th anniversary of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), a landmark “conservation” law. During this 40-year period, NEPA has been hailed as a champion of American “environmental rights” and criticized as an obstacle to economic progress. In the view of some critics, NEPA uselessly exploits private and public time and resources. It is remarkable that NEPA, although battered and worn, has survived virtually intact for four decades. This article is not a “how to” dissertation containing new or revised prescriptions for preparing defendable environmental impact statements (EISs), environmental assessments (EAs), and other action-forcing documents prepared by federal agencies. It is not a recitation of main provisions in the NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act of 1969] with which most readers are familiar. Instead, it selects 10 of a plethora of problems blockading responsible NEPA process implementation: seven historic and persistent and three new or emerging. This selection is by no means an all-inclusive list. Finally, the article reviews NEPA's development and looks to some future steps that might be taken to implement NEPA as its founders intended.

Environmental Practice 13:235–249 (2011)

The electric industry is experiencing notable changes with the implementation of communication and automation technology, many of which are part of the smart grid movement. Similar to other critical infrastructure industries such as banking, transportation, and the cross-sector critical information infrastructure industry, the electric industry must protect itself from intentional and unintentional security breaches and incidents to ensure uninterrupted operations of essential services. Of the critical infrastructure industries, the electric industry is the only private-sector industry subject to government-enforced mandatory cybersecurity standards. This article presents an overview of the eight mandatory cybersecurity standards by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. As an example of how standards are evolving, it discusses CIP-002 (Critical Cyber Asset Identification) in depth because it establishes whether the remaining seven standards apply. This article then compares the North American Electric Reliability Corporation regulatory framework against critical information infrastructure goals. The comparison finds that, at least on a basic level, the electric industry's mandatory cybersecurity standards meet the critical information infrastructure goals and work to secure information networks, resources, and systems from cyber and physical threats. The mandatory cybersecurity standards promote an increase in technological products, better security management, personnel and public education, and trust in the industry. Even though the electric industry's mandatory standards are imperfect, the fact it satisfies the goals of the cross-sector critical information infrastructure indicates that the framework is sound. The electric industry's experience with mandatory cybersecurity standards is a valuable source of information, and the regulatory framework itself can be a helpful model for other industries looking to develop their own security protection systems.

Environmental Practice 13:250–264 (2011)

Feed-in tariffs require by law that electric utility companies purchase renewable electric energy and capacity, and purchase these at specified prices. The pricing of feed-in tariffs has three essential characteristics. First, the utility is required to guarantee a renewable energy generator a higher price than what the utility pays for fossil fuels (Metcalf and Weisbach, 2009, pp. 554–556). Second, each source of renewable energy (e.g., solar, wind, biomass) is assigned a unique rate that is determined by the capital costs of investing in that specific renewable, traditionally a 10- to 20-year maturity term, and specific internal rates of return (Lythgoe, 2009, pp. 315–321). Third, the individual prices the utility must pay reduce over time so that, for example, a solar generator that locks into a feed-in rate in 2011 will receive a lower rate than a solar generator from 2010 (Rickerson, Bennhold, and Bradbury, 2009, p. 2). The structure of feed-in tariffs offers a reliable, stable monetary incentive for investment in renewable energy sources. Investors considering financing new renewable energy projects under feed-in regulations remain confident because the rate of return is guaranteed and therefore the financial risk is low and predictable.

The perspective of policy makers and pundits too often seems to be one of unending growth of energy consumption that must be met through supply-side options. That ignores, however, the very important role of demand-side energy efficiency in the energy markets. Unlike traditional energy conservation (e.g., “Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater”), energy efficiency is a technology-driven process that seeks to provide the same level of energy service—the work, comfort, and functionality we obtain from the use of energy—while using less energy supply (e.g., “Add insulation so the furnace doesn't need to run as often to maintain the same comfort level”). Reducing the quantity of energy demanded by customers over time [kilowatt-hours (kWh)] via energy efficiency is a fast-growing segment of the energy industry and has being embraced by utilities, builders, business and homeowners, politicians, and other stakeholders around the country.