http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/greenhousegas/ en-us Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:45:43 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134184/posts The amount of methane in Earth’s atmosphere shot up in 2007, bringing to an end approximately a decade in which atmospheric levels of the potent greenhouse gas were essentially stable, according to a new study led by researchers at MIT. The study, published this week in the American Geophysical Union’s Geophysical Research Letters, is based on data from a worldwide NASA-funded measurement network. Methane—which has a global warming potential of 56 over a 20-year time horizon and 21 over a 100-year horizon (compared to CO2’s GWP of 1)—is produced by wetlands, rice paddies, cattle, and the gas and coal industries.... www.greencarcongress.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134184/posts#comment Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:45:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2124234/posts If you haven’t made up your mind who to vote for in tomorrow’s presidential election, I’m not sure that what I am about to tell you will help — but it just might. Both candidates told the web site sciencedebate2008 that they accept the scientific agreement that greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels are changing the Earth’s climate. And both candidates have said they want to cap emissions produced by the burning of those fossil fuels.But only Barack Obama has said he would regulate CO2 as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.President George W. Bush has declined to curb... Red Green and Blue http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2124234/posts#comment Tue, 4 Nov 2008 02:17:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2113640/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) – A potent greenhouse gas many thousands of times more effective at warming the world's atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2) is four times more prevalent than previously thought, according to a study released Thursday. Researchers using a new NASA-funded measurement network discovered there was 4,200 metric tons of the gas nitrogen trifluoride in the atmosphere in 2006, not 1,200 tons as previously estimated for that year. In 2008 there are 5,400 metric tons of the gas in the atmosphere, an average of an 11 percent tonnage increase per year, said Ray Weiss, head of the research team from... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2113640/posts#comment Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:34:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061824/posts A publicly funded, world-class research institute that would develop answers to the threat posed by climate-changing greenhouse gases is being crafted in the Legislature, and is among the last-minute proposals expected to come before the Legislature in the closing days of this year's legislative session. The plan differs sharply from the original blueprint proposed by California's top utilities regulator, state Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey. Legislation encompassing the new, estimated $87 million-a-year plan is likely to be completed within a few days. At time when public attention is focused on California's $15.2 billion budget shortage, the proposed California Institute... Capitol Weekly http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061824/posts#comment Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:27:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053731/posts DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – Social and environmental groups yesterday challenged a multistate proposal to trim greenhouse gas emissions because they fear it would harm low-income communities and be vulnerable to fraud. Protesters showed up outside a meeting of the Western Climate Initiative in San Diego, where leaders from several states and Canadian provinces discussed their pollution-reduction compact. California supports the blueprint, which aims to drop climate pollutants 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. The most controversial aspect is a plan to create a cap-and-trade system for atmospheric pollutants. Once emission limits are set by the 11 participating governments, high-polluting... San Diego Union - Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053731/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:09:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051743/posts SAN FRANCISCO -- California's effort to limit vehicle emissions of gases that contribute to global warming hit a snag Friday when a federal appeals court ruled that the state and environmental groups acted too early when they sued the Bush administration in January for blocking the law. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismissed a lawsuit filed by California, 15 other states and five environmental groups over the Environmental Protection Agency's refusal to let the state enforce its limits on greenhouse gas fumes from new cars and trucks. The court said the Jan. 2 suit was... SFGate.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051743/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:12:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050370/posts Attorney General Jerry Brown sued the county in April 2007, charging that a general plan update approved a month earlier would worsen global warming. The general plan, a blueprint for growth through 2030, projects more homes and increased traffic as the county's population continues to increase. It was the first time the state sued a public agency for not taking into account global warming. State and county officials hailed the greenhouse reduction plan that the county agreed to as groundbreaking. Julie Rynerson Rock, the county's director of land-use services, said the county's plan will be the most far-reaching in the... Press Enterprise http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050370/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:37:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050182/posts California, six other Western states and four Canadian provinces will launch a market-based carbon trading system in a major North American effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, according to a draft proposal released today. When it officially begins in four years, the program would first target heavy polluters such as electric utilities, oil refineries and large industrial and commercial facilities, which would be required to begin reporting emission levels beginning in 2011 to allow participating governments to agree on the maximum level of emissions for the region. The plan also includes an offsets system, part of... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050182/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:25:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050033/posts A former global warming alarmist and creator of the model that measures Australia's compliance with the Kyoto Protocol says that while global warming is real, there is no evidence that the main cause is carbon emissions. David Evans says that C02 emissions play - at most - a minor role. Evans writes in The Australian newspaper that if global warming was caused by C02, scientists would have found hot spots about six miles up in the earth's atmosphere over the Tropics. Evans describes those hot spots as the signature of the greenhouse effect. He says scientists have been trying to... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050033/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:30:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047985/posts "Today EPA released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking soliciting public input on the effects of climate change and the potential ramifications of the Clean Air Act in relation to greenhouse gas emmisions." EPA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047985/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:44:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039521/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) - Giving one million dairy cows a growth hormone makes them produce more milk would cut greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 400,000 cars off the road, a US study found. Large scale cow milk production requires the use of huge amounts of land, water and feed resources, noted Judith Capper, a researcher at Cornell University in New York. But using rbST -- the first biotech product used on US farms which has been in farm use for about 15 years -- can help reduce the "carbon hoofprint" while still meeting dairy demand, she explained. Known as either... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039521/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jul 2008 01:53:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039002/posts Georgia court cites carbon in coal-plant ruling Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:18pm EDT HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Georgia state court on Monday invalidated a permit to build a 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power plant, citing the developers' failure to limit emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas blamed for global warming. An environmental group immediately praised the decision, predicting it would lead to reconsideration of many coal-fired power plants under development in the country. The order, from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore, reversed an air permit issued earlier this year.... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039002/posts#comment Tue, 1 Jul 2008 05:19:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038354/posts White House Blocks EPA Emissions Draft Document Outlines Keys To Regulating Greenhouse Gases By IAN TALLEY and SIOBHAN HUGHES June 30, 2008 WASHINGTON -- The White House is trying to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from publishing a document that could become the legal roadmap for regulating greenhouse-gas emissions in the U.S., said people close to the matter. The fight over the document is the latest development in a long-running conflict between the EPA and the White House over climate-change policy. It will likely intensify ongoing Congressional investigations into the Bush administration's involvement in the agency's policymaking. The draft document,... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038354/posts#comment Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:50:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035698/posts SACRAMENTO – California's top air-quality agency for the first time on Thursday will reveal a long-awaited strategy for how it expects business and the public to respond to the challenge of dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions from factories, power plants and cars. By itself, the draft plan before the Air Resources Board will not impose specific regulations to curb greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming. Instead, the plan is widely expected to set the course for establishing state policies that will redefine energy use in California. No sector will be excused. The proposal will lay out blueprints for refineries,... San Diego Union - Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035698/posts#comment Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:41:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034645/posts Of all the things gearheads making the 2,600-mile Great American Run through the West will worry about -- avoiding the cops, keeping the car intact, finding a bathroom before their bladders burst -- the size of their carbon footprint is at the bottom of the list. ) What a footprint it is. The 200 or so cars competing in the second annual race -- an update of the famed Cannonball Run -- will spew about as much CO2 in seven days as the average person generates in 16 years. Mention that to the drivers and they'll probably ask, "Yeah? And?"... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034645/posts#comment Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:38:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023000/posts Thus far, California’s landmark law to cut greenhouse gases from its factories and businesses—a law that has given Gov. Schwarzenegger an international image of environmental activist—has been mostly talk and little action. Rules covering perhaps 60 percent of the reductions needed to meet the targets are already in place or soon will be, the result of other laws, covering such things as renewable energy standards, energy efficiency, clean-car rules, low-carbon fuel standards and others. One key component, to cut greenhouse gases from car tailpipes, is stalled pending a federal waiver, although that permission is all but certain after President Bush... Capitol Weekly http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023000/posts#comment Thu, 29 May 2008 15:57:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019067/posts Researchers in Wyoming report development of a low-cost carbon filter that can remove 90 percent of carbon dioxide gas from the smokestacks of electric power plants that burn coal and other fossil fuels. Maciej Radosz and colleagues at Wyoming's Soft Materials Laboratory cite the pressing need for simple, inexpensive new technologies to remove carbon dioxide from smokestack gases. Coal-burning electric power plants are major sources of the greenhouse gas, and control measures may be required in the future. The study describes a new carbon dioxide-capture process, called a Carbon Filter Process, designed to meet the need. It uses a simple,... ScienceDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019067/posts#comment Wed, 21 May 2008 10:41:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016990/posts While carbon dioxide has been getting lots of publicity in climate change, reactive forms of nitrogen are also building up in the environment, scientists warn. "The public does not yet know much about nitrogen, but in many ways it is as big an issue as carbon, and due to the interactions of nitrogen and carbon, makes the challenge of providing food and energy to the world's peoples without harming the global environment a tremendous challenge," University of Virginia environmental sciences professor James Galloway said in a statement. "We are accumulating reactive nitrogen in the environment at alarming rates, and this... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016990/posts#comment Fri, 16 May 2008 18:44:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015964/posts The ice core boring at Dome C in Antarctica shows that the curves for the temperature and the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane follow each other over the past 800,000 years -- with few deviations. (See arrows) Credit: Professor Thomas Blunier, Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen The newest analysis of trace gases trapped in Antarctic ice cores now provide a reasonable view of greenhouse gas concentrations as much as 800,000 years into the past, and are further confirming the link between greenhouse gas levels and global warming, scientists reported today in the... www.physorg.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015964/posts#comment Wed, 14 May 2008 20:14:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015303/posts WASHINGTON – Sen. John McCain called Monday for reductions in carbon emissions and criticized the Bush administration for failing to lead the fight against climate change. "We have many advantages in the fight against global warming, but time is not one of them. … We stand warned by serious and credible scientists across the world that time is short and the dangers are great," the Arizona Republican said in a speech delivered at a wind-energy facility in Portland, Ore. "The most relevant question is whether our own government is equal to the challenge." McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, proposed... Sac Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015303/posts#comment Tue, 13 May 2008 16:14:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987818/posts WASHINGTON – The amount of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, released by the nation's power plants grew by nearly 3 percent last year, the largest annual increase in nearly a decade, an environmental group said Tuesday. The analysis of government emissions figures covered more than 1,000 plants including those burning coal, natural gas and oil. The report by the Environmental Integrity Project, a Washington-based advocacy group, said that the 2.9 percent increase in CO2 releases outpaced a 2.3 percent year-to-year increase in electricity production. “Carbon emissions actually increased faster than (electricity) demand,” said Eric Schaeffer, the group's executive director.... ap on San Diego Union - Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987818/posts#comment Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:10:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1983143/posts Canada warns US over oil sands By Sheila McNulty in Houston Published: March 9 2008 20:47 | Last updated: March 9 2008 22:12 Canada has warned the US government that a narrow interpretation of new energy legislation would prohibit its neighbour buying fuel from AlbertaÂ’s vast oil sands, with “unintended consequences for both countries”. In a letter to Robert Gates, US defence secretary, Canada said that it “would not want to see an expansive interpretation” of the Energy Independence and Security Act 2007. A copy of the letter, from Michael Wilson, Canadian ambassador, and copied to Condoleezza Rice, US secretary... FT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1983143/posts#comment Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:01:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967715/posts Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded. The benefits of biofuels have come under increasing attack in recent months, as scientists took a closer look at the global environmental cost of their production. These latest studies, published in the prestigious journal Science, are likely to add to the controversy. These studies for the first time take a detailed, comprehensive look at the emissions effects of the huge amount of natural land that is... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967715/posts#comment Sat, 9 Feb 2008 18:57:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1966974/posts Biofuels emissions may be 'worse than petrol' 19:00 07 February 2008 NewScientist.com news service Jim Giles Biofuels, once seen as a useful way of combating climate change, could actually increase greenhouse gas emissions, say two major new studies. And it may take tens or hundreds of years to pay back the "carbon debt" accrued by growing biofuels in the first place, say researchers. The calculations join a growing list of studies questioning whether switching to biofuels really will help combat climate change. Biofuel production has accelerated over the last 5 years, spurred in part by a US drive to produce... New Scientist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1966974/posts#comment Fri, 8 Feb 2008 12:29:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961971/posts During Deglaciation; Production of the Gas Was Relatively Rapid Researchers from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Amherst College have linked the methane production of a subsurface consortium of fermentative and methanogenic bacteria in shale rock to increases in concentrations of atmospheric methane associated with the retreat of the continental ice sheets. The study also concluded that these bacteria produced large amounts of methane in a relatively short time. Steven Petsch, assistant professor Geosciences at U Mass-Amherst, and his colleagues studied natural gas reservoirs in Michigan’s Antrim Shale. Their results are published in the February issue of the journal Geology. Bacteria... www.greencarcongress.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961971/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:48:43 GMT