WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R46994) on Dec. 20, 2021, entitled "Proposals for a COVID-19 Congressional Advisory Commission in the 117th Congress: A Comparative Analysis" by Congress specialist Jacob R. Straus: * * * SUMMARY Historically, Congress creates temporary advisory commissions to assist in the development of public policy. Among other contexts, Congress has created commissions following a crisis, including the September 11  more

CHARLESTON, West Virginia, Dec. 23 -- Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 22, 2021: U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, reflected on the Committee's historic work and accomplishments in 2021. "I am incredibly proud of everything we accomplished during my first year as Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I   more

BASEL, Switzerland, Dec. 23 -- Geosciences, a peer-reviewed open access journal that says it focuses on interdisciplinary aspects of the Earth and planetary sciences, published research articles, including the following topics, in its December 2021 edition: Articles: * Cultural Heritage and Rockfalls: Analysis of Multi-Scale Processes Nearby the Lucus Angitiae Archaeological Site (Central Italy) * Fracture Spacing Variability and the Distribution of Fracture Patterns in Granitic Geothermal R  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 -- The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis issued the following testimony by Amy Myers Jaffe, research professor at Tufts University, involving a hybrid hearing on Dec. 9, 2021, entitled "Cleaner, Cheaper Energy: Climate Investments to Help Families and Businesses". Jaffe is also the managing director of the Climate Policy Lab at Fletcher School. * * * My name is Amy Myers Jaffe and I lead U.S. and global climate policy research at the Fletcher School at Tufts Uni  more

VIENNA, Austria, Dec. 23 -- The International Atomic Energy Agency issued the following news release: Several countries have come together at the IAEA to discuss their plans for developing and deploying advanced High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors (HTGRs) to help decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as industry and transport and achieve a successful energy transition to net zero by 2050. The three-day meeting of the IAEA's Technical Working Group on Gas Cooled Reactors (TWG-GCR) took place   more

HANOI, Vietnam, Dec. 23 -- The International Finance Corp., a member of the World Bank Group, issued the following news release on Dec. 22, 2021: As Vietnam accelerates efforts to transition to low-carbon growth, IFC is providing a $70 million loan to Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank)--one of the country's leading banks in climate finance--to increase its funding for renewable energy projects in Vietnam. With the loan, HDBank expects to expand its climate financ  more

OXFORD, England, Dec. 23 -- National Science Review, a peer-reviewed journal that says it features natural sciences, physics and mathematics, chemistry, life, earth, materials and information sciences, published research articles, including the following topics, in its December 2021 edition: PERSPECTIVES: * Perspective of drug design with high-performance computing * A call for international research on COVID-19-induced brain dysfunctions BRIEF COMMUNICATION: * Genomic evidence of lung carc  more

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 23 (TNSRep) -- Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association issued the following news release on Dec. 22, 2021: A new whitepaper by Texans for Natural Gas, a project of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO), takes a closer look at how liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the key to a sustainable and reliable global energy future. LNG will reduce air pollution in India, power ever-growing cities like Beijing and will keep the lights o  more

DENVER, Colorado, Dec. 23 -- Sen. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colorado, issued the following news release: Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), U.S. Representative Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and a group of their colleagues in a bicameral letter urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address the ongoing energy crisis and its effect on families served by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The cost of home heating is   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, issued the following news release: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Representative Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and a bicameral group of their colleagues in urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address the ongoing energy crisis and its impact on families served by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The cost of home heating is estimated to increase by 30   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (TNSPol) -- The Sierra Club issued the following news release on Dec. 22, 2021: Yesterday, a host of extremist groups and dark money-backed organizations submitted amicus briefs in support of the right-wing politicians and coal companies who are petitioning the United States Supreme Court in West Virginia v. EPA. The case before the Supreme Court focuses on the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to curb climate-disrupting greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's c  more

BRISTOL, England, Dec. 23 (TNSJou) -- The University of Bristol issued the following news release on Dec. 21, 2021: A new extinct reptile species has shed light on how our earliest ancestors became top predators by modifying their teeth in response to environmental instability around 300 million years ago. In findings published in Royal Society Open Science, researchers at the University of Bristol have discovered that this evolutionary adaptation laid the foundations for the incisor, canine a  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 -- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined her colleagues in a bicameral letter urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address the ongoing energy crisis and ensure families that rely the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) have the resources needed to stay safe throughout the winter. The cost of home heating is expected to increase by 30% nationwide this winter for the   more