carbon emissions

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EPA to Seek 30% Drop in Carbon Emissions

Environmental Protection Agency will unveil plan tomorrow

(Newser) - Heads up, coal plants: The EPA plans to unveil a new rule tomorrow seeking a 30% drop in carbon-dioxide emissions from existing power plants by 2030, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The federal government will let states choose how to implement the rule—with more renewable energy, cap-and-trade programs,...

UN Panel: Cost to Fight Climate Change Still 'Modest'

But only if the world acts soon, experts say

(Newser) - The cost of keeping global warming in check is "relatively modest," but only if the world acts quickly to reverse the buildup of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, the head of the UN's expert panel on climate change said today. Such gases, mainly CO2 from the burning...

4 Mystery Gases Eat Up Ozone Layer

Scientists suspect manufacturers in the northern hemisphere

(Newser) - Scientists have spotted four mysterious ozone-depleting gases in Earth's atmosphere, two of which are still accumulating and causing researchers some concern, AFP reports. Three of them are chlorofluorocarbons—which were mostly banned by the 1987 Montreal Protocol—and one is another ozone-destroying gas called a hydrochlorofluorocarbon. The scientific team...

Carbon Tax Looming, Big Business Gets Ready to Pay Up

Dozens of US companies factoring price into financial plans

(Newser) - First came news that 90 companies are to blame for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions. Now, more than two dozen big US corporations are planning for a future that involves paying for their pollution. A survey by green-data firm CDP shows that 29 companies, including Exxon, Chevron, and Walmart,...

Obama to Bypass Congress, Put Limits on Power Plants

EPA to make announcement today

(Newser) - For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency will set limits on the greenhouse gases power plants can emit. Today, the agency will announce that new coal plants' carbon emissions must stay below 1,100 pounds per megawatt hour, while new natural gas plants must maintain emissions below 1,000...

'Carbon Saturation' Close for Europe's Forests

Carbon sink at risk, study warns

(Newser) - Yet more bad news for the climate: Europe's forests are approaching the peak of their ability to absorb carbon and may not be able to suck up the same level of emissions in future, according to a new study. Scientists say that while Europe is at its most forested...

What to Watch for in Today's Climate Speech

Obama to set out landmark regulations, but rocky road ahead

(Newser) - Today, President Obama will unveil his plans to fight climate change—"the global threat of our time," he said last week—in a speech at Georgetown University. He's taking on the threat without help from Congress , though lawmakers could potentially seize on a law that lets them...

Obama to Tackle Climate Change— Without Congress

Big focus: tackling the pollutants produced by coal-fired power plants

(Newser) - Fewer nukes , less pollution: It was a big day for Barack Obama and his potential legacy, with a late-in-the-day announcement that he is planning a major push to tackle the pollution blamed for global warming—and he'll do it without Congress. Senior energy and climate adviser Heather Zichal...

CO2 Report Portends 'Disaster for All Countries'

Worldwide emissions hit new record last year

(Newser) - The planet's carbon emissions rose last year to a record 31.6 gigatons, marking a 1.4% increase, according to a new report. That puts us on track for a surge in temperature far exceeding international benchmarks—a "disaster for all countries," says the chief economist for...

CO2 Levels Are Super-Sizing Crabs

Crustaceans bulk up as carbon levels rise

(Newser) - Carbon emissions usually make news for their effect on the climate, but they're also having a major impact on marine ecosystems in the form of creating huge crustaceans, the Washington Post finds. In the Chesapeake Bay area and many others, oyster and scallop populations are dropping as crabs—who...

GOP Lawmaker: Bicycles Pollute Worse Than Cars

Washington state Rep. Ed Orcutt takes a stab at science

(Newser) - All that sweaty cycling can kick up a lot of carbon dioxide—right? So said House Republican Ed Orcutt in an email as he defended a bike tax proposed for Washington state, reports the Seattle Bike Blog . Writing a constituent, Orcutt wrote that bicyclists emit more CO2 than car drivers...

State of the Union to Target Emissions Cuts

EPA could move to limit existing plants' greenhouse gases

(Newser) - President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address will follow up on his inaugural call to arms against climate change, insiders say. Though the specifics aren't clear yet, it's likely Obama will discuss limiting existing power plants' emissions—a plan that could depend on his use of...

World Carbon Emissions Hit New Record in 2011

Climate change goals moving out of reach, scientists warn

(Newser) - Neither concern for the planet nor a weak global economy have been able to keep carbon emissions down, researchers say. Emissions rose 3.6% to a new record last year and have risen another 2.6% so far this year, putting the planet on what now appears to be an...

UN Climate Summit Meets Today, Doomed as Usual

Kyoto extension the top item on the docket

(Newser) - Seventeen thousand delegates from 194 countries are meeting in Doha, Qatar, today for the 18th UN climate change conference, and pretty much no one is expecting anything useful to emerge from it. Here's what you need to know:
  • The stakes are especially high this year because the Kyoto Protocol
...

US CO2 Emissions Dive to 20-Year Low

Cheap natural gas has made a huge difference

(Newser) - America's carbon emissions have, amazingly, dropped to levels near where they would be in an alternate reality where President Al Gore signed the Kyoto Protocol. Emissions of the greenhouse gas are at their lowest in 20 years and government officials say the dramatic fall is thanks to cheap natural...

Carbon Dioxide Levels Pass 'Depressing' Milestone

Levels of gas in Arctic hit level not seen for 800K years

(Newser) - In a development climate scientists are calling "depressing" and "troubling"—but not the least bit surprising—the level of the main global warming pollutant has passed a new milestone. Monitoring stations all over the Arctic are measuring more than 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide in...

The Coal-Powered Secret of Some Electric Cars

Coal-powered states make it dirty to 'em power up

(Newser) - Your electric car (or the one you dream of having) is greener than your neighbor's gas guzzler—right? Well, scientists now say it depends on where you live, the New York Times reports. For people in states that use natural gas, nuclear power, or hydroelectric power to fire up...

Oceans Acidifying at Highest Rate in 300M Years

Columbia researchers warn of dangers to marine life

(Newser) - Industrial emissions are causing the oceans to acidify at a fast rate—the fastest in 300 million years, say researchers from Columbia University. That could spell danger for sea creatures. In the last century alone, the pH of the oceans dropped by 0.1 units. That's 10 times faster...

CO2 Emissions 'Will Defer Ice Age'

Carbon dioxide levels creating long 'interglacial' period

(Newser) - On the glass-half-full side, our carbon dioxide emissions may fend off the next Ice Age, the BBC reports. Researchers say the Ice Age due in about 1,500 years won't happen because CO2 levels will be too high: "At current levels of CO2, even if emissions stopped now...

Canada Slammed for Kyoto Pullout

Canada gov't says fines huge, no real environmental help

(Newser) - Countries and environmentalist groups around the world are slamming Canada for pulling out of the Kyoto climate treaty on Monday, reports the Guardian . "Preposterous" and "an excuse to shirk responsibility," was how the withdrawal was described by China, the world's largest carbon dioxide producer . The UN...

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