carbon emissions

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Report: Tourism Much Worse for Planet Than Thought

Carbon emissions are around 3 times earlier estimates, researchers say

(Newser) - Globe-trotting tourists are doing a lot more damage to the planet than previously thought, according to a new study that takes more than just air miles into consideration. In the study, published in the journal Nature , researchers determined that tourism accounts for around 8% of global carbon emissions, around three...

China's Pollution Problem Just Got Much Worse

'China has been burning so much more coal than we believed'

(Newser) - We already knew China emitted a huge amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It turns out it's worse than we thought. "China has been burning so much more coal than we believed,” Yang Fuqiang, a former Chinese energy official, tells the New York Times . “This...

All Antarctic Ice Would Melt If We Burned All Fossil Fuels

Seas could rise 160 feet: study

(Newser) - If we were to burn all of the planet's fossil fuel reserves, we would be saying goodbye to the entire Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. That's the takeaway from an international study announced today, Reuters reports. "To be blunt: If we burn it all, we melt it...

Climate Deal Goes From 'Weak to Weaker to Weakest'

Delegates sign off on 'watered-down' deal in Peru

(Newser) - Climate negotiators salvaged a compromise deal in Lima early today that sets the stage for a global pact in Paris next year, but rejected a rigorous review of greenhouse gas emissions limits. More than 30 hours behind schedule, delegates from more than 190 countries agreed on what information should go...

Supreme Court Wades Into Major Environmental Case

The high court will hear arguments regarding EPA emissions standards

(Newser) - The Supreme Court is stepping into a new case about Obama administration environmental rules, agreeing to review a ruling that upholds emission standards for mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants. The justices today said they would hear arguments from industry groups and states that...

Plants Suck Up More CO2 Than Thought
 Plants Suck Up More 
 CO2 Than Thought 
STUDY SAYS
Oct 15, 2014 2:04 AM CDT

Plants Suck Up More CO2 Than Thought

Finding makes climate fight 'slightly easier,' experts say

(Newser) - Some rare good news in the fight against climate change: Plants are an even greater ally than we knew, absorbing around 16% more carbon than previously thought, according to new research. University of Texas researchers took a fresh look at climate models and at how CO2 is absorbed by plants,...

Pentagon: Climate Change Is Military Threat

Chuck Hagel releases report at meeting in Peru

(Newser) - The Pentagon released a report today saying US military strategy must adapt to climate change because it's threatening national security, the New York Times reports. Disease, rising waters, food shortages, violent storms, droughts, and worldwide poverty could undermine US security by creating instability and mass migration, according to the...

White House: Cut Carbon Now, or Pay $150B a Year Later

Climate change costs could jump 40% each decade

(Newser) - When it comes to climate change, the United States can pay to cut carbon emissions now, or we can pay about $150 billion a year down the road as costs soar by about 40% a decade, according to a White House Council of Economic Advisers analysis out today, as per...

World's Worst Polluter Moves to Cap Carbon Emissions

China's bold declaration, combined with the US' gives hope for climate talks

(Newser) - China plans to put an absolute cap on its CO2 emissions starting in 2016, the chairman of China's Advisory Committee on Climate Change told a conference in Beijing yesterday, a potentially massive development given that China is the world's top emitter. "The government will use two ways...

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...

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