2010 Saw Shock Rise in Carbon Emissions

Computer giant goes with outward flow over lobbyist's climate position

(NEWSER) - Apple has joined a growing list of companies to ditch the US Chamber of Commerce over its skeptical view of climate change. “We strongly object to the Chamber’s recent comments” calling for a “Scopes Monkey Trial for the 21st century” to expose climate change fallacies, says a company statement. Big energy concerns such as Exelon and Pacific Gas have done the same, and Nike resigned its spot on the group's board last week, notes Politico. More»

(NEWSER) - Train riders might not actually have that much to lord over their jet-setting rivals as far as pollution goes, Scientific American reports. A new study shows that although planes emit three times more greenhouse gasses per passenger per mile than trains, the industrial emissions necessary to rail infrastructure makes the environmental damage equal. More»

Expert warns that CO2 has triggered 1,000 years of change

(NEWSER) - The damage from global warming will continue for centuries even if emissions could possibly be brought under control immediately, warns one of the world's leading climate experts. The heat and carbon dioxide being soaked up by the world's oceans now will be released regardless of what's done to mitigate the disaster, causing "an irreversible change that will last for more than a thousand years," a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tells NPR. More»

Plan to reduce carbon emissions by 15%

(NEWSER) - California regulators have adopted an ambitious, comprehensive blueprint to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2020, reports the Los Angeles Times. The plan, the first of its kind in the nation, calls for 33% of the state's electric power to come from solar power and wind farms, and includes controversial measures to crack down on carbon dioxide emissions from cars. The plan will be implemented over the next two years. More»

As Wall Street falters, ambitions to fight global warming are being checked

(NEWSER) - Bad days on Wall Street are bad news for environmentalists, too. The financial crisis doubles as a boon for critics of proposed greenhouse gas regulations, writes Margaret Kriz for Yale Environment 360. In its aftermath, politicians will be loath to pass laws that hike carbon-based fuel prices and wary of a "cap-and-trade" system that hands control of greenhouse gas emissions to commodities traders. More»