carbon dioxide

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Canada Slammed for Kyoto Pullout

Canada gov't says fines huge, no real environmental help

(Newser) - Countries and environmentalist groups around the world are slamming Canada for pulling out of the Kyoto climate treaty on Monday, reports the Guardian . "Preposterous" and "an excuse to shirk responsibility," was how the withdrawal was described by China, the world's largest carbon dioxide producer . The UN...

Global Carbon Emissions in Biggest Jump Ever

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...

Dying Forests May Mean Hotter World

We're losing a major sponge of carbon dioxide: New York Times

(Newser) - The New York Times has a gloomy story on the state of forests in the US and around the world and the potential effect on the environment. Vast swaths are dying off: Pine beetles that used to be kept in check by cold winters are gorging on trees in the...

Soda Fountain Gas Blamed for McDonald's Death

Carbon dioxide left woman, 80, unable to breathe

(Newser) - A soda fountain is to blame in the death of an 80-year-old woman who was found unconscious last week in a McDonald’s restroom in Georgia, police say. Carbon dioxide, used to carbonate the beverages and normally harmless, was accidentally piped through leaky gas lines in the walls between the...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Track to Set Record

If economy continues to recover, emissions likely to rise

(Newser) - The bad news: Greenhouse gas emissions could hit record highs this year, a new study shows. The kinda good news: Researchers say a recovering economy is to blame. Scientists found that—despite the financial crisis—global carbon dioxide emissions only dropped by 1.3% last year compared to 2008's record...

Near-Death 'Heavenly Lights' Linked to CO 2
 Near-Death 'Heavenly 
 Lights' Linked to CO2 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 10, 2010 6:52 AM CDT

Near-Death 'Heavenly Lights' Linked to CO2

Study ties carbon dioxide to eerie visions

(Newser) - That "heavenly" light at the end of the tunnel may have more to do with carbon dioxide than an afterlife, a new study finds. Slovenian researchers studying near-death experiences found that people who reported seeing their life—or light—flash before their eyes had higher levels of CO2 in...

Volcano Eruptions Led to Rise of Dinosaurs

The lava all but wiped out main competitors

(Newser) - An explosion of volcanic activity 200 million years ago may have been responsible for the mass extinction that left dinosaurs with few competitors and allowed them to dominate the Earth for almost 150 million years. Researchers have discovered evidence of massive lava flows concurrent with elevated levels of CO2 in...

Aussies Bicker Over How to Murder Toads

State would prefer folks bludgeon, not suffocate invasive species

(Newser) - Residents of Western Australia, Oz’s largest state, are incensed by a government mandate that might seem odd to those in, say, Kansas: When engaged in the mass killing of cane toads, use the cricket bat instead of the bag of carbon dioxide. Aussies have long made a sport of...

Your Guide to Greenhouse Gases
 Your Guide to 
 Greenhouse Gases 
A COPENHAGEN PRIMER
Dec 13, 2009 3:35 PM CST

Your Guide to Greenhouse Gases

Carbon dioxide you know, but what about perfluorocarbons?

(Newser) - With things set to really heat up next week at the Copenhagen climate summit, the Guardian runs down greenhouse gases you oughta know:
  • Carbon dioxide (CO2): Industrialization and deforestation have produced high levels of this gas, which helps trap heat inside Earth’s atmosphere.
  • Methane (CH4): Thirty times more dangerous
...

EPA Declares CO2 a Pollutant
 EPA Declares CO2 a Pollutant 
UPDATED
Dec 7, 2009 3:35 PM CST

EPA Declares CO2 a Pollutant

Agency can regulate greenhouse gases under Clean Air Act

(Newser) - It's official: the Obama administration today declared greenhouse gases a threat to public health, which will allow the agency to use the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions without congressional approval, the Washington Post reports. "There are no more excuses for delay," said EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, who...

EPA Move to Curb Carbon Trumps Copenhagen
EPA Move to Curb Carbon Trumps Copenhagen
business not happy
Dec 7, 2009 9:28 AM CST

EPA Move to Curb Carbon Trumps Copenhagen

Regulation of greenhouse gasses will have more immediate impact

(Newser) - No matter what happens in Copenhagen, the Obama administration is preparing to make a move to curb greenhouse gases at home that has businesses up in arms. As early as today the EPA is expected to announce that carbon dioxide has officially been classified as a dangerous pollutant, meaning that...

Calif. Scientists Trim Forest, Create 'Carbon Bank'

Researchers look for the most efficient way to store emissions

(Newser) - Researchers in California are perfecting the science of carbon dioxide "banking"—tweaking a forest to store the maximum amount of the gas. In Big River forest, scientists have cleared some undergrowth, leaving the state's iconic redwoods to grow bigger thanks to lack of competition. The idea is that...

'Counterproductive' Offsets Ditched

Green flying schemes salve consciences, not environment

(Newser) - Carbon offsets are becoming big business, but many emissions experts say green travel is too good to be true. Responsible Travel was one of the first travel firms to offer customers the chance to pay extra money to help offset emissions caused by their air miles. But it has now...

Acid Ocean Will Dissolve Sea Creatures' Shells

Researchers uncover another devastating impact of global warming

(Newser) - Waters around the North Pole are absorbing so much carbon dioxide that acid in the ocean will soon begin dissolving sea creatures' shells, scientists warn. By 2018 10% of the Arctic Ocean will be corrosive, spelling potential disaster for the food chain as crustaceans begin to die off, reports the...

EPA Gets Nod to Crack Down on Industrial Greenhouse Gas

Big industrial plants to be targeted, not 'cows and Dunkin' Donuts'

(Newser) - The Obama administration has given the EPA the green light to start moving for the first time toward limiting greenhouse-gas emissions from major industrial sources. The proposed new rules would affect only large facilities that emit 25,000 tons or more of carbon dioxide annually, instead of applying to "...

Charcoal Is Hot Again —and May Save the Planet

'Biochar' could curb global warming: scientists

(Newser) - Mass-production of charcoal is so 18th century—but call it "biochar" and it may help save the planet, the Economist reports. Farmers could burn millions of plants into charcoal each year before the plants die and release stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, scientists say. Then, with the Earth's...

The Latest Ozone Villain: Laughing Gas

Nitrous oxide nothing to chuckle about, climate scientists say

(Newser) - Nitrous oxide is the new chlorofluorocarbons. A study published today fingers N2O, aka laughing gas, as the most dangerous ozone-depleting gas in the air, Time reports. Nitrous oxide isn’t as dangerous as CFCs, but it’s incredibly common, emitted by everything from fertilizer to sewage treatment plants to cars....

Jellyfish Journeys May Affect Climate

Creatures' movements may carry carbon dioxide to ocean depths

(Newser) - Jellyfish may be secretly affecting the climate of the oceans: Their movements appear to help change the balance of carbon in the atmosphere, NPR reports. Many jellyfish hide from predators deep underwater during the day and head to the surface at night for a snack, says an oceanographer. When they...

Gore Works the Phones for Climate Bill

House votes tomorrow on measure to cut greenhouse gases

(Newser) - Al Gore is engaging in phone diplomacy today as the House prepares to vote on a landmark climate bill tomorrow. Original plans called for the former VP to appear in person, but Nancy Pelosi says lawmakers are close enough to an agreement that it's not necessary. Others offer a less...

EPA Backs Off Promise to Regulate CO2

Apparent flip follows White House warning on economic fallout

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency is backing away from emissions regulation after a White House memo warned of its economic consequences. As administrator Lisa Jackson presented today an agency finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, she told Congress this “does not mean regulation.” Previously, Jackson said such a...

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