Home/Posts Tagged ‘co2’
Posts Tagged ‘co2’
Climate & Change, Politics, Nov 7th, 2011,
A recent BBC News article concerning the upcoming climate change summit in Durban, South Africa, which takes place at the end of the month, includes a carbon emissions chart according to countries or political/geographic areas. The article, by Richard Black, outlines the major conflicts and cleavages between various individual and groups of countries. The large rapidly industrializing BASIC group of Brazil, South Africa, India and China form one bloc with the position that they should be allowed to develop and emit, as they do not have anything near the cumulative, historic emissions of the US and Europe. The US, Japan,…
Tags: China, co2, countries, emissions, EU, US
Climate & Change, Politics, Jul 5th, 2011,
In 1991 American industrialist Warren Buffet stated that in over 100 years of human flight, investors had never made any money from the airline industry. So if flying is a net loss industry, which has historically relied on government subsidies, why is it at the same times taxed so heavily? Conversely, if flying is such a money-loser as well as a huge climate change driver, why is it so heavily subsidized? I’m guessing it has something to due with lobbying by other groups within the tourism industry, including the governments of popular destinations and of course the airlines themselves. Such…
Tags: airlines, carbon, co2, emissions, EU, flying, tax, trading scheme
Climate & Change, Pollution, Feb 24th, 2011,
A new UN report concentrates on the warming effects of black carbon (soot) and ground-level ozone like methane. Both are considered “short-lived climate forcers”, which have more immediate effects on temperatures than CO2. Therefore limiting their production would also have a more immediate impact on the climate. In the past this strategy has been largely ignored in favor of plans to limit CO2 emissions, which have so far proved ineffective and lack the immediacy of results that can be so problematic in terms of politics and public opinion. The Guardian reports: Soot is a particular problem because when it falls…
Tags: black carbon, co2, emissions, ground-level ozone, Health, methane, UN, warming
Climate & Change, Politics, Science & Technology, Sustainable living, Nov 8th, 2010,
Biofuel production is an odd thing. At least that’s how I look at it. As a derivative of biomass, biofuel is created using plants, trees, grass and any other natural component that can ferment and produce bioethanol. But now there’s the first real problem. Although the idea sounds great – “let’s use natural waste to produce fuel” – the impact on the environment could be catastrophic, as where money and business is concerned it’s hard to imagine waste material alone will do. This is precisely what the IEEP concludes in their study. By studying the indirect land use change or…
Tags: 2020 targets, bioethanol, biofuel production, biofuels, carbon dioxide, climate change, co2, European biofuel industry, European carbon reductions, IEEP, natural waste
Climate & Change, Science & Technology, Sustainable living, Nov 5th, 2010,
According to a recent article in Science Daily every living person emits about two tons of carbon dioxide a year just from eating. The study considers the eating process from the time food is produced to when the human body has fully processed it. Doing so, the CO2 emissions from human eating account for 20% of total yearly carbon emissions, at least in Spain. The study, by the Spanish Universidad de Ameria, also confirms for the first time that human waste contributes to water pollution, primarily with nitrogen and phosphorus. Read the full story on the Science Daily website.
Tags: carbon emissions, carbon emissions from eating, co2, human CO2 emissions, science daily, spanish study
Business, Sustainable living, Oct 1st, 2010,
Since the human species has more or less successfully extricated itself from the food chain, death just isn’t eco-friendly anymore. The old ‘food for worms’ adage is no longer apt, since worms apparently don’t really fancy formaldehyde. Humans don’t like it in their drinking water either, oddly enough. It seems that these days dying green can be even harder than living green. The modern funeral involves deforestation (in the form of expensive hardwood coffins), chemical pollution of groundwater and both toxic and greenhouse gas emissions from cremation. According to an article in The Economist, an Australian study found that cremation…
Tags: biodegradable, body, burial, co2, coffin, funeral, Green
Climate & Change, Science & Technology, Sep 16th, 2010,
Future fossil fuel infrastructure set to be built between now and 2060 will have the strongest effect on climate change, according to a report in the journal Science. The global demand for energy is quickly rising, while political agreements and regulations to curb the resultant rise in greenhouse gas emissions have so far failed. A new study from scientists in the US and Canada has calculated that most of the ‘key’ impacts of climate change could be avoided if no further CO2 power plants were built and that the real risks come from fossil fuel-based energy infrastructure which has yet…
Tags: China, climate change, co2, coal, emissions, energy, fossil fuel, future, greenhouse gas, infrastucture, science
Climate & Change, Science & Technology, Sep 10th, 2010,
IPCC Climate scientists have already stated that air travel contributes to climate change though emitting CO2, water vapor, nitrous oxides, sulfate aerosols and soot. Each of these varieties of airplane emissions factor into global warming in different ways, including short and long-term warming effects. A new scientific paper from Norway compares the climate impact of different modes of both passenger and freight transport. The study puts ocean and rail as having the lowest impact in terms of freight, with light trucks and air having the highest across the board. In the case of passenger travel, ‘rail, coach or two- and…
Tags: aerosols, air, cars, climate change, co2, freight, global warming, impact, long term, nitrous oxide, planes, rail, short term, transport, travel, vapor
Ask Joanna, Aug 18th, 2010,
A: The environmental impact of meat and dairy products is a complex problem. The livestock industry is damaging our planet in many ways. It is polluting the air – according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report, it generates more greenhouse gas emissions, including CO2 (18%) and methane, than the whole world’s transport (13,5 %). It is polluting the water – gigantic containers called “lagoons”, where livestock animals’ manure and urine are stored, may leak or even break under heavy rains and storms. The waste is highly toxic and very often contains lots of antibiotics and dangerous bacteria….
Tags: Air Pollution, biodiversity, co2, dairy, ecosystem collapse, environment, lagoons, livestock, meat, methane, overfishing, TOXIC, water pollution
Climate & Change, Politics, Science & Technology, Jul 17th, 2010,
According to the recently released yearly study Energy Revolution (conducted by Greenpeace and the EREC – European Renewable Energy Council) Europe could reduce it’s CO2 emissions with 95 percent by 2050. The results of the study show that Europe could achieve this spectacular reduction in CO2 emissions by producing up to 97 percent of its electricity and 92 percent of its total energy needs from renewable energy sources. But to achieve these numbers a real energy revolution is required. As an example, today’s plans from European countries to build new nuclear power plants needs to be set aside in favor…
Tags: 2020, 2050, co2, emissions, Energy Revolution, EREC, Europe, Greenpeace, reduction
Climate & Change, sustainable living, Jul 5th, 2010,
Since I eat a banana almost every day I admit I’ve dreaded cutting down or giving them up based on the fact that they are not a local food and therefore not environmentally right-on. I naturally assumed they were not energy efficient due to their having to be shipped from Costa Rica or some such far-off tropical place, but at the same time I didn’t really know. A new book by Mike Berners-Lee entitled ‘How Bad are Bananas?’ attempts to measure the carbon footprint of, yes, bananas, but pretty much everything else too. Both the Guardian and The Ecologist have…
Tags: bananas, Berners-Lee, book, carbon, co2, ecologist, footprint, Guardian, Mike
Climate & Change, Politics, Sustainable living, Jun 29th, 2010,
A new campaign by the Japanese government encourages people to go to bed one hour earlier in order to save energy and cut down on CO2 emissions. Not watching TV and having lights on late at night could cut household energy consumption by up to 20% The campaign, launched by Japan’s Environment Ministry, is called ‘Morning Challenge’ is designed to change morning sunlight for nighttime energy use in the home. From an article in the Independent: A study by the Japanese ministry of environment has found that 20 percent of Japan’s electricity is consumed within the final hour before bed….
Tags: campaign, carbon, co2, emissions, energy, environment, government, japan, Japanese, ministry, night, TV, UK, watching
Climate & Change, Science & Technology, Jun 23rd, 2010,
I’ll bet when you think of all the studies being done on CO2 and Global Warming, you probably figure a lot of it has to do with the atmosphere or the ocean or plants of some kind—since that’s what it seems to affect the most. However, scientists have recently developed a method for finding and tracking CO2 underground. Why underground? Well, consider that a lot of emissions come from power plants—coal plants and the like—so, scientists started investigating underground caverns, fissures and coal beds to find places where those emissions can be stored; thus reducing the amount of greenhouse gases…
Tags: atmosphere, carbon dioxide, co2, coal beds, coal seam, global warming, greenhouse gases, New Mexico, perfluorocarbon, tracing, tracking, underground
Climate & Change, Science & Technology, sustainable living, Weird & Wonderful, Jun 9th, 2010,
There are 3 basic things that are generally considered bad in the green world: plastics, BPA in plastics, and excessive CO2 emissions. Imagine if some of these things could be combined and used for the greater good. It seems unlikely, right? Well, guess what? Scientists are currently working on this very thing and they are making progress. Researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore have identified classes of organic chemicals that are capable of capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and then be used to make BPA-free plastics. They discovered that “the coupling of epoxide with CO2 to…
Tags: BPA-free, capture, carbon dioxide, climate change, co2, global warming, imidazolium, petroleum, plastic, research, Singapore
Business, Climate & Change, Science & Technology, Jun 7th, 2010,
We’ve all heard of super-heroes and super-villains, but did you know there are also super-greenhouse gases? Recently, a rather serious issue was brought to my attention and now I am bringing it to yours. Lurking about our world are things known as HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons). They are man-made gases used as refrigerants and can be found in a particular appliance that gives us much comfort during those scorching hot days: air conditioners. They are also rapidly increasing and causing much concern among scientists and conservationists. In fact, according to the Fifth US Climate Action Report, these HFCs are predicted to more…
Tags: aggressive, air conditioning, climate change, co2, elimination, emissions, global warming, HCFCs, HFCs, hydrofluorocarbons, Montreal Protocol, refrigerant, super greenhouse gases
Climate & Change, Nature, Sustainable living, Jun 5th, 2010,
Palm oil has made its way into countless processed foods, soaps and cosmetics. It is also used to make ‘biofuel’ and even napalm – the gelled gasoline used to horrifying effect during the Vietnam War. Now palm oil is engaged in another war – a war of the environment. Palm oil cultivation often destroys vital natural resources via the utilization of slash and burn agriculture and rainforest clearing in Indonesia and Malaysia. This type of cultivation not only results in the loss of habitats for many species including vulnerable Sumatran tigers and orangutans, but the burning of the forests releases…
Tags: co2, cosmetics, environment, forests, Lush, oil, palm, palm oil, plantations, rainforest, soap, UK, war
Business, Climate & Change, Science & Technology, Sustainable living, sustainable living, May 31st, 2010,
You’ve probably heard all the reports about how Climate Change will damage our crops and livelihoods via drought, flooding (from rising sea levels), and so forth. However, I’ll bet you haven’t heard about the latest threat climate change poses to crops: decreased nutritional value. A study, published in Science magazine, shows that increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere could reduce crop protein by 20%. Scientists tested the 2 main types of soil nitrogen available to plants (nitrate and ammonium) and the affect they had on 2 major types of plants (monocotyledons and dicotyledons) that were exposed to an atmosphere…
Tags: ammonium, carbon dioxide, climate change, co2, crops, global warming, nitrate, nutritional value, protein, science, soil nitrogen, study
Climate & Change, Science & Technology, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 29th, 2010,
It would seem that scientists have come up with yet another reason to put a stop to whale hunting. Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division have discovered that whale fecal matter is an effective, plant-friendly fertilizer for the ocean. The research suggests if whale populations are allowed to flourish, their waste could also help marine plant life to flourish. This would improve the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2. Most of their bodily waste comes from their consumption of krill and according to scientist, Steve Nicol: “When whales consume the iron-rich krill, they excrete most of the iron back into the…
Tags: algae, climate change, co2, fertilizer, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, iron, krill, research, waste, whales
Climate & Change, Nature, Science & Technology, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 26th, 2010,
Many people love going to the beach. I’m actually heading there tomorrow. There are so many things you can do at (or in) the ocean, such as swimming, surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing, kayaking, whale watching, and so forth. It is an extremely vast ecosystem with so many life forms that scientists still haven’t finished counting them all yet and they’re still discovering more! However, it’s also changed a lot. According to the National Research Council, the chemistry of the oceans is changing faster now than it did hundreds of thousands of years ago, because of all the CO2 being…
Tags: acidity, carbon dioxide, changes, chemistry, climate change, co2, emissions, global warming, measurement, ocean, pH, study
Business, Climate & Change, Politics, Science & Technology, Apr 3rd, 2010,
Residents of Canada and the US can expect some changes in future vehicles and their emissions. What kind of changes? Well, check this out: All cars and trucks are required to have an average of 35.5 miles per gallon (15 km per liter) by 2016. Average vehicle emissions will be limited to 295 grams of CO2 per mile by 2012 and then down to 250 grams by 2016. The US will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and 960 million tons of CO2 emissions over the life of the vehicles—that would be like taking 58 million cars off the road…
Tags: Canada, carbon dioxide, co2, driving, greenhouse gases, new emissions standards, US, vehicles
