carbon dioxide

November 2, 2009 -- Broomfield, Colo. – NOAA scientists took off Saturday on the second phase of a mission that, when complete, will provide a detailed view of how carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are distributed globally. Monitoring the increasing levels of greenhouse gases and black carbon aerosols in the atmosphere is crucial to understanding human-caused climate change.

“Missions such as this one are critical to understanding the impacts of greenhouse gases and particulates,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The data collected are also essential to help verify if policies to reduce these heat trapping pollutants are having their intended effect.”    » read more »

September 25, 2009 -- An article in today's Washington Post exposed the coal and oil industry interests behind recent anti-climate-change advertisements.

In a "smoking is good for you" twist on reality, the ads actually call for higher levels of carbon dioxide, the primary heat-trapping gas driving global warming. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, an industry-funded libertarian think tank, released similar ads last year.

The ads are reminiscent of tobacco companies' attempts to hide the dangers of smoking. A decades-old Chesterfield ad informed viewers that test subjects "were not adversely affected" by smoking during a short period of observation. And Camel ad campaign from the same era claimed "more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette."    » read more »

Agreement is a way for local and state governments, corporations and consumers to participate in the construction of new renewable energy facilities in the United States

June 1, 2009 -- NEW YORK – EcoMedia, a leading environmental media company, and EarthEra™, an initiative of NextEra™ Energy Resources, the largest producer of wind and solar energy in North America, today announced a strategic alliance that delivers immediate, tangible solutions to help cities achieve their Climate Action Plans.    » read more »

June 2, 2009 -- Ocean acidification, one of the world’s most important climate change challenges, may be left off the agenda at the United Nations Copenhagen conference, the world’s science academies warned today (Monday 1 June 2009). Ocean acidification is expected to cause massive corrosion of our coral reefs and dramatic changes in the makeup of the biodiversity of our oceans and to have significant implications for food production and the livelihoods of millions of people.

The warning is made in a joint statement published by the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP). 70 national science academies signed the statement.    » read more »

May 28, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal joined officials from Denbury Resources Inc, an independent oil and gas company, to provide an update on Denbury’s Green Pipeline project. Denbury is building a "Green Pipeline" from Donaldsonville, Louisiana to a location in Texas, which will be one of the first pipelines designed to transport man-made CO2 injecting it into oil reservoirs to recover additional crude oil that would not otherwise be produced.

The Green Pipeline project will have a total capital investment of $750 million and is expected to create up to 800 jobs during construction.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- Juno Beach, Fla. – Clean-energy investments are positioning FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL) for continued growth in a low-carbon future, FPL Group Chairman and CEO Lew Hay told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting today.

Hay noted that companies with low carbon-dioxide emissions rates are poised to benefit if federal policymakers set a price on carbon in response to climate change.    » read more »

CHICAGO, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) today released its 2009 Environment Report, highlighting reductions during 2008 in its energy and water consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and hazardous waste at its facilities, and efforts to pioneer environmentally progressive technologies, including the world's first demonstration flights powered in part by sustainable biofuels.

"Protecting our planet's environment and finding new ways to harness diverse energy resources continues to be a priority for Boeing," said Jim McNerney, Boeing chairman, president and CEO. "Over the past year, the pace of progress has accelerated even in the face of a global economic slowdown."    » read more »

Statement by Patricia Monahan, Union of Concerned Scientists

SACRAMENTO (April 23, 2009) – Today, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will vote on a low carbon fuel standard requiring gasoline and diesel fuel suppliers to reduce heat-trapping emissions from their fuels 10 percent by 2020.

Earlier this week, 177 scientists and economists submitted a letter to CARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols in which they urged the board to accurately account for all "life cycle" pollution from biofuels. They noted that peer-reviewed studies document how increasing biofuel production increases crop prices, giving farmers overseas more incentive to destroy tropical forests for farmland.    » read more »

Statement by Patricia Monahan, Union of Concerned Scientists

BERKELEY (April 23, 2009)—The California Air Resources Board (CARB) today passed the world's first low carbon fuel standard (pdf). The regulation, which likely will serve as a model for other states and the federal government, requires fuel producers to reduce "lifecycle" heat-trapping emissions from gasoline and diesel fuels 10 percent by 2020.

In 2007, California Gov. Schwarzenegger issued an executive order stating that California would pursue a low carbon fuel standard. CARB then made a commitment to adopt such a standard under the state's Global Warming Solutions Act. Today CARB fulfilled that commitment.    » read more »

April 27, 2009 -- LEXINGTON, Ky. − The University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) has created a consortium with government agencies, electric utilities and their research organizations to seek cost-effective technologies to reduce and manage carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. It is anticipated that Kentucky state government and the industrial partners will provide $24 million over 10 years to support the research.

At a news conference today, accompanied by representatives from the industrial partners, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and UK Pres. Lee T. Todd Jr. announced the consortium, which builds on ongoing carbon management research at CAER initiated by E.ON US in 2006.    » read more »

April 21, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.—Pending federal energy efficiency provisions could reduce U.S. energy use by 10.6 quadrillion Btu's, about 10% of projected U.S. energy use in 2020, according to a new analysis released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). These energy efficiency savings are more than the entire current energy use of the state of California, and are larger than the annual energy use of 49 of the 50 states.

These savings are more than triple those of 2005 energy legislation and about double those of 2007 energy legislation, and in turn will avoid about 661 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2020, the equivalent of taking 110 million cars off the road for a year.    » read more »

Economic Model Examines Policy Approach Similar to Waxman-Markey Climate and Energy Legislation

WASHINGTON (April 21, 2009) — The United States can dramatically cut global warming emissions and reduce consumer and business energy bills at the same time, according to the findings of a soon-to-be-released, two-year study by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).    » read more »

SCHENECTADY, N.Y.--16 April 2009-- GE Energy announced that it is joining an Australian government-supported initiative to facilitate the development and deployment of carbon capture and storage projects worldwide.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed by General Electric International and the Australian government, GE is becoming a founding member of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI). The institute will provide international policy and management oversight with a goal of delivering commercial-scale CCS plants around the world. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s government has pledged to provide up to $100 million per year to fund the institute.    » read more »

April 13, 2009 -- The following is Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius’ veto statement on HB 2014:

“Last year, I vetoed legislation that forced the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to issue air quality permits for two new coal fired plants which would produce 11 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. These new plants would generate 1400 megawatts of electricity, most of which would be exported to Colorado and Texas. In fact, Kansas would only get 200 megawatts of electricity, while we would get all of the new pollution.    » read more »

April 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Top executives from 19 commercial real estate companies met with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) officials in New York City today to discuss plans to dramatically reduce the sector’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The meeting officially launched DOE’s Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance (CREEA), a partnership of commercial real estate owners and operators who have volunteered to work together with DOE to make lasting change in the energy consumption of commercial real estate buildings in the United States. Currently, commercial buildings account for 18 percent of the nation’s energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.    » read more »