Apple Quits US Chamber, Slams Climate Stance

(NEWSER) - Facing broad new US regulations on emissions, big business wants to put the science behind global warming before a judge, the Los Angeles Times reports. “It would be evolution versus creationism,” says an executive for the US Chamber of Commerce, which is pushing the idea of a public hearing. “It would be the science of climate change on trial.” More»

Experts warn consequences could be dire

(NEWSER) - Greenhouse gas emissions rose by a record amount in 2010, leading to the worst-ever carbon output in history, according to unpublished International Energy Agency estimates. The record rise—which, contrary to some predictions, even the recession couldn’t curb—means that hopes of keeping global warming to a safe level is nearly out of reach, the Guardian reports in an exclusive. The paper had previously reported that in order to prevent potentially “dangerous climate change,” we must keep the global average temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius . But the IEA's chief economist now says that idea is just “a nice Utopia.” 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»