Global Climate Change


New Biofuel Sustainability Assessment Tool and Greenhouse Gas Calculator Released

Researchers at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have together with their colleagues at the Swiss Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) and the HTW Berlin, Germany, developed an online tool to assess the sustainability of biofuel production.

Solar Photovoltaics Poised to Challenge Fossil Fuels: IEEE Solar Experts

Within the next 10 years, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have the potential to be the most economical form of generating electricity, even compared to traditional fossil fuels, say solar energy experts from IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association.

Scientific Societies Release Official Position on Climate Change

The significance of climate change to the practice of agriculture, soils, and land management has led the 10,000-plus members of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) to develop a position statement on climate change, based on a review of current scientific knowledge and understanding.

UC San Diego Obtains Variance to Avoid Potent GHG in Lab Safety Test

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal-OSHA) has dropped a requirement that University of California labs use a potent greenhouse gas in a required laboratory safety test.

Pair of Kenyan Carbon Forestry Projects Are First to Reach CCB Standards

Two carbon forestry projects have reached verification status against the climate, community and biodiversity (CCB) standards, meaning that the projects have been implemented using best practices for community engagement and have generated benefits for local communities and biodiversity as well as for the climate.

Voluntary Carbon Markets Surge to Record Year on Corporate Buying and Forestry

The voluntary carbon market shrugged off policy failures and the closure of the Chicago Climate Exchange in 2010 to post a 34 percent surge in volume to a record 131 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) worth at least $424 million, according to a new report.

Study: Climate Projections Don't Take Soil Carbon Release Into Account

A new study concludes that models may be predicting releases of atmospheric carbon dioxide that are either too high or too low, depending on the region, because they don't adequately reflect variable temperatures that can affect the amount of carbon released from soil.

U.S. Postal Service Downsizes its Carbon Footprint

The U.S. Postal Service reported an 8 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from a fiscal year (FY) 2008 baseline. The reduction of 1,067,834 metric tons of carbon dioxide is an amount equal to the annual emissions of approximately 204,000 passenger vehicles.



C40 and ICLEI to Establish Global Standard for Cities’ GHG Emissions

The two organizations will establish a global standard for accounting and reporting community-scale greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that can be used across multiple platforms.

Study: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy May be Safe for Soil Animals

A new study has found that an emerging tool for combating climate change may cause less harm to some soil animals than initial studies suggested.

NASA Map Reveals Detailed Patterns of Tropical Forest Carbon Storage

The data are expected to provide a baseline for ongoing carbon monitoring and research and serve as a useful resource for managing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

Researchers: Effect of Rising Oceans on Humans Will Extend Well Beyond Coasts

Identifying the human impact of rising sea levels is far more complex than just looking at coastal cities on a map. Rather, estimates that are based on current, static population data can greatly misrepresent the true extent – and the pronounced variability – of the human toll of climate change, said University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

Report: Cost Obstructs Path to Alagae-Based Biofuel Market Worth Billions

According to a recent report from Pike Research, despite limited production to date, the scale-up potential of algae is substantial compared to other non-food based feedstocks.

IEA: 2010 Saw CO2 Emissions at Highest Levels Ever

The prospect of limiting temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius is looking bleaker, officials at the International Energy Agency said.

EPA's GreenChill Program Works to Revolutionize Supermarket Refrigeration

Supermarkets are among the most energy-intensive buildings around, and refrigeration uses more than half of that energy. That doesn't even include the harm that leaking refrigerants cause to the ozone layer. EPA's GreenChill program works with companies and their refrigeration engineers across the country to help program participants lower their refrigeration emissions of all kinds.

Study Rebuts Conclusion That Bacteria Consumed Deepwater Horizon Methane

A technical comment published in the current edition of the journal Science casts doubt on a widely publicized study that concluded that a bacterial bloom in the Gulf of Mexico consumed the methane discharged from the Deepwater Horizon well.

EPA, DOT Unveil Revamped Fuel-Efficiency Labels for New Cars

Spurred by a desire to increase sales of fuel-efficient cars, The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation announced an overhaul of the fuel-efficiency labels affixed to windows of new cars starting in 2013.

Report: U.S. Can Curb Carbon Emissions While Boosting Domestic Oil Production

A report from MIT and The University of Texas at Austin urges the United States to accelerate efforts to pursue carbon capture and storage in combination with enhanced oil recovery, a practice that could increase domestic oil production while significantly curbing emissions of carbon dioxide.

Beyond the Barn: Keeping Dairy Cows Outside is Good for the Outdoors

Computer simulation studies by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests that a dairy cow living year-round in the great outdoors may leave a markedly smaller ecological hoofprint than its more sheltered sisters.

GE Secures 630 MW of Commitments For its New Wind Turbine

GE unveiled its latest wind turbine technology, the 1.6-100, at the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) Windpower 2011 Conference & Exhibition. The company has already secured nearly 630 megawatts of commitments for the evolutionary 1.6-100, which has been designed for increased performance in areas with lower wind resources