Toyota: Not Easy Seeming Green

It throws out US standards for SUVs and minivans

(NEWSER) - Environmentalist groups rejoiced today after a federal appeals court struck down upcoming fuel-economy standards for some SUVs, minivans, and small trucks, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The court ruled that regulators refused to treat carbon dioxide emissions as a serious threat to global warming and ordered the government to review the standards, which would have gone into effect next year. More»

(NEWSER) - Toyota plans to keep its lead in the environmentally friendly vehicle market with a new car to be released in 2011, Bloomberg reports. The vehicle, to be based on the company's Vitz compact, will be around 5% more fuel-efficient than its Prius and will sell for around $15,600, according to reports in Japanese media. The company plans to market the car in Japan, the US, and Europe. More»

West Texas scientist aims to win over skeptics

(NEWSER) - Who better to talk about global warming in West Texas than an evangelical Christian? That's what gives geoscientist Katharine Hayhoe an edge in her crusade to convince people around Lubbock, Texas, that greenhouse gases are harming the environment, the Miami Herald reports. "People ask me if I believe in global warming," says the Texas Tech professor. "I tell them, 'No, I don't,' because belief is faith. ... Science is evidence of things seen." More»

Rising greenhouse gasses will worsen climate change, say scientists

(NEWSER) - Carbon dioxide emissions around their world jumped by the largest amount ever last year, increasing by half a billion tons, reports the New York Times . As a percentage, the 5.9% rise was the largest since 2003 and a sign that 2009's drop of 1.4% was an aberration cause by the worldwide recession. Scientists say they expect carbon dioxide output to continue climbing by some 3% a year for the rest of this decade, increasing the dangers of climate change from greenhouse gasses. More»

Carbon dioxide emissions take biggest jump on record

(NEWSER) - Carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases continued to build in the atmosphere last year, a federal report finds: Between 2009 and 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s yearly index of greenhouse gases—which measures said gases' combined heating effect—jumped 1.5%, to 1.29. It has climbed 29% since 1990, the Los Angeles Times reports. That number isn't the equivalent to a change in our temperature in degrees, but as it rises, so too does our warming potential, says a NOAA director. More»