carbon emissions

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Let's Pay People Not to Cut Down Trees
Let's Pay People 
Not to Cut Down Trees 

analysis

Let's Pay People Not to Cut Down Trees

A deal could curb greenhouse gas emissions by 18%

(Newser) - Deforestation releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, so how about paying people to keep trees standing? A pilot project in Brazil has paid families to do just that, and aroused the interest of world leaders who plan to negotiate a climate deal in Copenhagen in December, the Economist reports. But...

Google Earth, Al Gore Detail Climate Change

Al Gore narrates intro to new feature detailing perils, and solutions

(Newser) - Google—with the help of Al Gore—has introduced new “layers” to its Earth application that detail the possible effects of climate change in the next century. The Nobel laureate narrates an intro to a series of virtual tours that highlight terrifying scenarios and solutions. The upgrade allows users...

Save the Planet: Use a Condom

Studies point to environmental toll of each kid

(Newser) - You’ve got your hybrid, your low-watt bulbs, and your solar panels: what’s the next step to saving the planet? Try a pack of condoms. New studies point to the hefty environmental toll of each child, particularly in America, the Washington Post reports. Every kid born in the US...

Big Business Wants to Put Global Warming on Trial

(Newser) - Facing broad new US regulations on emissions, big business wants to put the science behind global warming before a judge, the Los Angeles Times reports. “It would be evolution versus creationism,” says an executive for the US Chamber of Commerce, which is pushing the idea of a public...

Gore's Climate Crusade Misguided, Wasteful

(Newser) - Global warming is real, but Al Gore’s crusade to curb carbon emissions is misguided and will squander money that could be applied cheaply and efficiently to those problems now, Danish statistician Bjørn Lomborg writes in Esquire. “Here’s the truth: There are better, more cost-effective ways to...

U2 Tour Not So Eco-Friendly
 U2 Tour Not So Eco-Friendly 

U2 Tour Not So Eco-Friendly

No word from Bono on whether or not he's offsetting his emissions

(Newser) - U2 is all about “looking after our planet,” as frontman Bono once said—but they’re not practicing what they preach, according to Carbonfootprint.com: The band’s 44 concerts this year are the equivalent of “the four band members traveling the 34.125 million miles from...

Climate Bill Doesn't Go Far Enough
 Climate Bill Doesn't 
 Go Far Enough 
OPINION

Climate Bill Doesn't Go Far Enough

(Newser) - The Waxman-Markey climate change bill isn’t as bad for business as its detractors claim, and “that’s the problem,” Bryan Walsh writes in Time. Because of concessions to coal and farm states that depend on the carbon economy, the bill is watered down and seeks to achieve...

China Plans Massive Push for Green Power

Country could be world's leader in clean energy by 2020

(Newser) - China is on course to obtain 20% of its energy from wind and solar sources by 2020—a transformation that would make the country the world leader in renewables. Beijing is ramping up its targets for clean energy, helped by the $590 billion stimulus package passed last year, a senior...

Rail Travel Pollutes as Much as Flying: Study

(Newser) - Train riders might not actually have that much to lord over their jet-setting rivals as far as pollution goes, Scientific American reports. A new study shows that although planes emit three times more greenhouse gasses per passenger per mile than trains, the industrial emissions necessary to rail infrastructure makes the...

Calif. Branches Into Forests to Fight Climate Change

(Newser) - The California government is preparing to enter into the "forest bank" business in a bid to save woodlands and battle carbon pollution and climate change, reports the Los Angeles Times. The state is expected to roll out a California "cabon market" that may be expanded elsewhere in the...

Energy Chief: Paint World White to Stop Warming

Chu calls for 'new revolution' to combat climate change

(Newser) - A colossal coat of paint could do as much to slow global warming as removing all cars from the Earth for 11 years, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a climate change conference yesterday. Chu said painting roofs white and making roads a lighter color—which would reflect heat and reduce...

Gore Throws Weight Behind Climate Bill

Former VP dials Congressional Dems to rally support

(Newser) - With controversial cap-and-trade climate legislation now in committee, former vice president Al Gore has mobilized his lobbying organization and grass-roots movement behind the bill, even calling some wavering Democrats personally, Politico reports. While some groups feel the measure is too soft on polluting industries, the Nobel Prize winner supports its...

Electric Bike Performs, Lacks Motorcycle Sound, Speed
Electric Bike Performs, Lacks Motorcycle Sound, Speed
VEHICLE REVIEW

Electric Bike Performs, Lacks Motorcycle Sound, Speed

While nice for urban jaunts, range and speed are limiting

(Newser) - The Zero S electric motorcycle is everything an electric car should be—quiet, emission-free, affordable—but the formula doesn’t necessarily translate well to bikes, Jonathan Welsh writes in the Wall Street Journal. The performance mimics a typical 500cc gas-powered bike, with peppy acceleration, and a city-worthy 60mph top speed,...

US Won't Use Polar Bear to Battle Emissions

Law barring connection between carbon and habitat stands

(Newser) - The Obama administration will not use the plight of polar bears and their melting habitat to regulate greenhouse gases, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that a Bush-era law barring government scientists from considering emissions as they attempt to save the endangered species will stand....

Cap-and-Trade Could Help —Not Hurtthe Economy

Fighting climate change can be profitable: Krugman

(Newser) - Now that Washington finally has the political will to combat climate change, opponents of environmentalism are pushing a new line: limiting emissions would do further damage to a battered economy. For Paul Krugman, those claims are "junk economics" to go with climate change deniers' "junk science." A...

Industry Muffled Own Scientists on Warming

Coal, oil, companies suppressed experts' findings for years

(Newser) - A coalition of industries linked to fossil fuels lobbied for more than a decade to cast doubt on global warming—while the companies' own scientists advised them that climate change was irrefutable, the New York Times reports. The Global Climate Coalition, financed by the oil, coal, and auto industries, conducted...

Fires Fuel Climate Change, More Fires

Scientists warn that fires must be included in climate models

(Newser) - Climate change calculations have missed the blazingly obvious, according to a new report from a global group of scientists. They warn that forest fires—generally considered to be a part of natural cycles—are a key driver of climate change, releasing vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and creating...

California Passes World's First Carbon Fuel Standard

Rule requires vehicle fuel's 'carbon intensity' to be slashed

(Newser) - California has passed a landmark rule to reduce the carbon content of vehicle fuel, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The regulation, the first of its kind in the world, requires refiners and distributors to begin cutting the "carbon intensity" of fuel next year, and reach a 10% reduction by...

Weight a Minute! Fatties Hurt Earth

Heavier people weigh on planet by excess eating, driving

(Newser) - People's carbon footprints grow as their weight increases, Reuters reports. By eating and tending to drive more than average, the world's billion overweight people each create an extra ton of carbon emissions annually,  a recent study has calculated. "When it comes to food consumption, moving about in a...

EPA's Carbon Ruling Puts Heat on Congress
 EPA's Carbon Ruling 
 Puts Heat on Congress 
Analysis

EPA's Carbon Ruling Puts Heat on Congress

(Newser) - By issuing its long-awaited “endangerment finding” on carbon yesterday, the EPA is essentially putting a gun to Congress’ head, writes Bryan Walsh in Time. Capitol Hill is loathe to regulate carbon emissions, with Republicans and coal-state Democrats worried about the economic fallout. But by ruling that carbon is dangerous,...

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