If Democrats backing a carbon tax agree to use the revenue to reduce personal and corporate income taxes, congressional Republicans could sign on, says Harvard economist N. Gregory Mankiw, who served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. Most economists agree a carbon tax is a less expensive way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions than current federal policies, such as the corporate average fuel economy (CAFÉ) standards for automobiles.

More: The New York Times

NRC Seeks Comment on Yucca Mt. Spending

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comments on how to spend the remaining $11 million in its budget for licensing a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The project has been in limbo since 2011 due to opposition from Congress and the Obama administration. On Aug. 13, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the NRC to continue the work required to issue a decision on licensing the facility.

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Enviro Groups Seek to Resurrect CSAPR

Environmental groups urged the Supreme Court to revive the Environmental Protection Agency’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), saying that a lower court’s nullification would prevent regulators from ever tackling unhealthy power plant emissions that cross state lines. The lower court ruling “would force EPA to follow unworkable judicial algorithms that Congress never enacted,” the Environmental Defense Fund, the American Lung Association and others said in a brief filed Wednesday.

The Supreme Court agreed in June to review the appellate decision vacating the 2011 regulation. The rule would force cuts in smog- and soot-forming power plant emissions in more than two dozen states in the eastern half of the country.

More: The Hill

Solar Panels Reinstalled at White House

Three years after the Obama administration announced plans to return solar power to the White House, workers have completed the installation. President Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the White House roof in the late 1970s for heating water. They were removed during a roofing job in 1986 under President Ronald Reagan.

More: Greentech Media