It's Not Easy Building Green

Miami, New Orleans among most endangered

(NEWSER) - By the end of the century, 180 coastal US cities could be partially submerged thanks to rising seas, finds a new study that looked at cities in the Lower 48 with populations of at least 50,000. The climbing sea poses a risk to, on average, 9% of the land in these cities. Those most in jeopardy? Cities that hug the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico: Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, and Virginia Beach. New York City, Washington, DC, and the San Francisco Bay area could face more minor damage, Reuters reports. More»

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 government official told the Guardian. "Due to the impact of global financial crisis, people are all talking about green and sustainable development," he said. More»

Going green will help bring US out of crisis: Klein

(NEWSER) - Detroit's looking for a bailout. China just announced a massive stimulus package, including big investments in transportation and energy. What’s a president-elect to do? Barack Obama would be best served by making good on his promise to create an alternative energy economy, writes Joe Klein in Time. Thankfully, the head of Obama’s transition team runs a think tank-with a proposal for just that. More»

Activist argues for multipronged strategy on climate change

(NEWSER) - The US must overhaul its environmental strategy, alternative-energy advocate Denis Hayes writes in Yale Environment 360, and here's how:

• Cap carbon at its source—coal mines, oil fields, pipelines—not where it leaves the atmosphere.
• Promote renewable energy and buy photovoltaic devices in bulk to drive prices down.

Land likely to be used for production is already helping absorb carbon

(NEWSER) - Biofuels could hurt Earth more than help it, two new studies conclude. Over 30 years, argues one, corn-based ethanol would spout twice the greenhouse gas of regular gasoline; the other notes environmental damage likely to be wreaked by chopping rainforests and other areas for production, the Washington Post reports. The findings question international focus on using biofuel to combat climate change. More»