greenhouse gas

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lied to Congress about his rejection of a request from California intended curb global warming emissions, according to United States Senator from California Barbara Boxer

Old growth forests (like our boreal forest here in Canada) have recently been a topic of discussion in environmental news and politics as new research has led to the discovery that they are not carbon neutral (as earlier thought) but in fact still contribute to the scrubbing of carbon from the atmosphere.   They do Not collect Social Security and do NOT complain about the weather and kids these days.

A number of highly reputable official greenhouse gas data for the pollution caused by cities is highly exaggerated, according to a new study published in next month’s issue of the journal Environment and Urbanization. The article points out that while Western cities are not directly as polluting as they are believed to be, they house people responsible for the bulk of our planet's environmental problems; the shop till you drop consumer.

The Senate met today to review Bush’s environmental record. It was sparked by the EPA’s denial of a California waiver to regulate automotive greenhouse gases.

GHG inventories, are they really worthwhile? Some may argue that it ’s wiser to skip straight to energy efficiency and clean technology solutions that have already proven effective. And let’s face it, what CEOs want to spend a small fortune having some green-collar consultant tell them just how bad the situation really is. But the truth is...

Did you know that cement is the third largest source of greenhouse gas pollutants and contributes over 5% of the earths CO2 emissions?   I did not know that until i read this article from ENN.com

According to said article, cement is bad mmm k.  For every one tonne of cement produced, one tonne of greenhouse gases are released into our atmosphere, making cement one of the worst offenders of any manufactured product. 

And so, after scouring the web, the awards for the widgets with the greatest ‘coolness factor’ and the ones you can actually use to measure and improve your organization’s sustainability bottom line go to…

Best C02 tracking widget: C02 Stats Who: Yale and Harvard research whizzes Dr. Alexander Wissner-Gross and Timothy M. Sullivan.

And so, after scouring the web, the awards for the widgets with the greatest ‘coolness factor’ and the ones you can actually use to measure and improve your organization’s sustainability bottom line go to…

Best C02 tracking widget: C02 Stats Who: Yale and Harvard research whizzes Dr. Alexander Wissner-Gross and Timothy M. Sullivan.

Never ones to miss a hot investment opportunity, the banks are jumping all over green and sustainable technology right now.

The latest is Bank of America, which has just announced an undisclosed investment in a tech company called Field Diagnostic Services Inc (FDSI). The bank plans to use the energy management tech across its banking centres in the US to cut energy costs and carbon footprint by 50 per cent more than what it calls “traditional service methods” – not cut its total energy costs and carbon footprint by 50 per cent, as some publications have mistakenly reported.

Interview with President of SustainableWebsites.com on: Do you think companies should use carbon offsets to mitigate their global warming emissions?

World leaders at the G-8 Summit announced today that they will work together to halve world greenhouses gas emissions by 2050.

GHG management is most often still the domain of environmental professionals, but because GHG emissions may be viewed as potential liabilities, and present financial opportunities for some, in the near future, company executives are increasingly looking for greater visibility into the data.

Fireworks displays create surges of pollutant ozone in lower levels of the atmosphere, where it is a respiratory irritant, greenhouse gas, and plant toxin.  Some scientists believe fireworks are  an “insignificant source of pollution”, because they occur infrequently; however, no source of greenhouse gases is insignificant considering our current climate crisis, not to mention the heavy metals and potassium perchlorate in these grand patriotic displays.

Ever wondered how much energy and thought it took to produce that shiny brochure your marketing staff handed to you this week? And no, it’s not just the brand and visual design genius we’re talking about.

Thanks to Al Gore, we all know by now about the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the resulting impact on global climate. Now, 2 researchers from UCSD have developed a prototype device that can capture energy from the sun, convert it to electrical energy and “split” carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide (CO) and oxygen.

As reported by By Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post Staff Writer: “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson favored giving California some authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks … before he consulted with the White House and reversed course, congressional investigators said yesterday.”

Lester Brown, Author of Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, discusses the need for the United States to control its greenhouse gas emissions in order to ensure the security of the worldwide food supply. Brown outlines how market forces and societal pressure can encourage those reductions.

What happens to the money spent on offsets, and how does it affect the environment now and in coming years?

Xerox has long been known for innovation and recently they released an online Flash-application-based Sustainability Calculator, which helps companies understand the savings they will achieve by reductions in the number of printers they have.

For too long Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson has used his position to weaken regulation meant to protect the environment. The latest abuse of his position was his denial of California's request to set greenhouse gas emissions standards for motor vehicles.

How can you find out if carbon offsets are really reducing greenhouse gas emissions? The Federal Trade Commission and other groups are working on solutions.

Victoria in Australia has created a wonderful tv commercial which represents greenhouse gases being produced by normal home appliances as black balloons. Very illustrating, and very frightening.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released today a final notice officially denying California's request for a Clean Air Act waiver to set greenhouse gas emissions standards for motor vehicles.

United Nations climate change summit held in Bali went past its deadline yesterday. American and European ministers tried to reach a deal on Washington’s opposition to mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

The process of turning coal into liquid (liquefaction by hydrogenation) actually produces nearly double the level of carbon dioxide emissions that conventional gasoline does, and it is considered by many environmentalists as a huge step backward for combating global warming. Other popular alternative fuels, such as corn ethanol, can also be more polluting. Whether corn ethanol is more or less polluting than gasoline will depend on how it the cord is grown, the study reports, and how the ethanol is produced.

Emissions of greenhouse gases will rise by 57 percent by 2030 compared to current levels, leading to a rise in Earth's surface temperature of at least three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit), the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) discusses growing demand to address climate change the effects of that demand on the marketplace and questions congressional witnesses about fossil fuel use.

The Indonesian government is recruiting other developing nations in an attempt to pressure richer governments to provide incentives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Some see the government’s request for money as a type of environmental hostage taking, and many feel that Indonesia’s request smacks of hypocrisy in light of its own poor record.

Australia is the developed world's biggest greenhouse polluter, with average emissions of 26 tonnes of carbon dioxide a person, according to new United Nations report.

Conservation scientist and Australian of the Year Tim Flannery has revealed the contents of a crucial Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which will be released in November. He says the report shows that greenhouse gas levels are at levels far higher than has ever been publicly admitted before.