Scientists stumped by mysterious range as large as the Alps
BBC Oct 15, 08 6:35 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A unique expedition will explore a mysterious mountain range buried deep within the Antarctic, reports the BBC. Scientists, engineers, and pilots from the US, UK, Germany, Australia, China, and Japan will use ice-penetrating radar and other high tech equipment in a bid to determine how the Gamburtsev mountains—equal in scale to the Alps—formed and endured beneath the ice and snow.
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Coal-burning facility stores CO2, sends it deep underground
Der Spiegel Sep 10, 08 10:28 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Germany is pioneering industrial efficiency with a new coal-fueled power plant that captures and stores its own CO2 emissions, Der Spiegel reports. The Bavarian power station began testing its system of collecting carbon dioxide and pumping it into a depleted underground natural gas reservoir. A few problems remain, though.
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Potent greenhouse gas means popular appliances aren't very Earth-friendly
Guardian (UK) Jul 3, 08 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Soaring demand for flat-screen TVs could accelerate global warming faster than coal-fired power stations, the Guardian reports. A leading environmental scientist warns that a gas used in their manufacture and not controlled in the Kyoto treaty—as other greenhouse gases are—is 17,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide and is being made in escalating amounts.
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Device in the works sucks greenhouse gas from the air
Guardian (UK) May 31, 08 1:30 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A team of American scientists says it's taken an important first step toward creating a so-called carbon scrubber that can rid greenhouse gases from the air, the Guardian reports. The scientists, led by a Columbia University physicist, have a prototype in the works that can suck a ton of carbon dioxide out of the air per day—and do so economically.
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Plans to scrub coal-plant emissions hit money wall
New York Times May 30, 08 2:45 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Ambitious plans to combat global warming by pumping carbon dioxide from coal-burning power plants into the ground have been delayed or canned due to spiraling costs, the New York Times reports. Scientists now fear that the next generation of coal-burning plants will be built using old, emission-spewing technology, spelling disaster for the climate.
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Regulations would require CO2, gas mileage info in every advertisement
Der Spiegel May 16, 08 2:22 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Car ads in Europe will soon have to highlight gas mileage and carbon dioxide emissions under regulations in the works from the European Union, Der Spiegel reports. EU commissioners hope regulating ads will motivate more Europeans to ditch gas-guzzling models, but manufacturers and media execs aren’t happy. The plan could push some automakers to drop their advertising altogether.
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Jets will put 1.5B tons into the air by 2025 — half of EU's current emissions total
Wired May 8, 08 2:49 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Bad news on the climate-change front: Airplanes are emitting 20% more carbon dioxide than anyone thought. According to a newly disclosed report, they could release 1.5 billion tons a year by 2025—compared to 3.1 billion tons a year now released by all the citizens of the EU, reports Wired. The study also predicted growing airplane noise pollution.
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'We're talking about decades' before cars can be weaned off fossil fuels
Der Spiegel Mar 5, 08 12:00 PM CST
(Newser)
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Green was the color of opening day yesterday at the International Auto Salon in Geneva, another show full of hybrids and other low-emission vehicles, with green lighting and nature-friendly slogans to prove car companies care, Der Spiegel reports. Still, cautions General Motors' CEO to those set to pronounce the gasoline era dead, "We're just at the beginning of this changeover."
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Scientists make botanical breakthrough
BBC Feb 28, 08 2:45 AM CST
(Newser)
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Scientists have discovered a gene that controls how plants absorb carbon dioxide and release moisture in a breakthrough discovery that could help develop drought-resistant crops, reports the BBC. The gene that regulates the work of stomata, or pores on plant leaves, has been sought by biologists for decades. The gene also controls the amount of water vapor a plant releases into the atmosphere, and its manipulation could affect climate change.
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Stanford study may bolster states' case against EPA
Wired Jan 3, 08 6:28 PM CST
(Newser)
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A Stanford University scientist has found for the first time a direct correlation between rising atmospheric carbon dioxide and increased human mortality—potentially aiding 16 states in their fight to regulate auto emissions. The air pollution spurred by each 1 degree Celsius caused by carbon dioxide leads to 1,000 US deaths—and as many as 20,000 worldwide, Wired reports.
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Rich countries balk at paying poorer nations to stop hacking trees
Washington Post Dec 8, 07 5:37 PM CST
(Newser)
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The triumph of the Bali summit may be its plan to stop deforestation, but rich and poor nations are still clashing over details, the Washington Post reports. A dozen developing countries want incentives to stop tree-cutting, but some developed nations wince at paying them for actions not taken. "The problems tend to start when you get down to the small print," said a UN official.
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Warming blamed on bacteria; pundits trumpeted the news
New York Times Nov 12, 07 7:45 PM CST
(Newser)
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Turns out undersea bacteria don’t cause global warming after all. But they were on trial for 70 minutes last week after a British prof's email chain linked to a sham study. Climate skeptics and conservatives—Rush Limbaugh included—trumpeted the study until a University of Colorado prof smelled something rotten. “Call me a skeptic skeptic—I smell a hoax,” he posted.
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But global survey
mixed on higher
fuel taxes
BBC Nov 6, 07 7:45 AM CST
(Newser)
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Four out of five people worldwide indicated they're ready to make personal lifestyle changes to combat global warming—even those from the worst carbon dioxide spewers, China and the US, according to a BBC poll of 22,000 people. Support was mixed, however, on increasing taxes on coal and oil, though most agreed a price increase would curb their use.
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