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A new EPA web tool documents global warming pollution from about 6,700 facilities across the United States, filling a critical gap in the public's right to know about pollution. Polluters have been required to report on toxic chemical emissions for years, but in 2010, for the first time, big industrial polluters were asked to provide...[read more]

For those who read this blog, this following story from The Independent is nothing new. Dramatic and unprecedented plumes of methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide – have been seen bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive survey of the region. The scale and volume of...[read more]

Was the Durban climate conference a success or failure? As always, the answer depends on one’s frame of reference.[read more]

The headline from the Associated Press "Biggest Jump Ever in Global Warming Gases" tells part of the story. The preliminary estimates of fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions for 2010 from Oak Ridge National Laboratory reveal what appears to be a quick rebound from the global financial crisis. Carbon dioxide emissions from...[read more]

Carbon Disclosure Project releases its Canada 2011 report today at the Toronto Stock Exchange. More Canadian companies than ever publicly report their greenhouse gas emissions. Contrary to the common belief that going green slows growth, businesses who take the lead into a low carbon economy deliver twice the financial return compared to...[read more]

The EU Emissions Trading System is suffering a decline in fortune. The price has been relatively low since the onset of the financial crisis, driven in part by a decline in industrial activity linked to the recession, but also to continuous overlaying of policy by both Member States and the Commission. With California now setting up its own cap-and-trade system could it also go the way of the EU ETS?[read more]

Last week the auto industry released their latest claims on the cost of stronger pollution and fuel economy standards by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR).  According to this latest analysis, the costs of meeting a 62 mpg standards by 2025 will be $9,794. They also claim 260,000 jobs lost in 2025. But a close examination of...[read more]

It has been an interesting week for climate change news, with the IPCC releasing its full report on renewable energy, the European Commission moving ahead with energy efficiency legislation, very little happening at the UNFCCC talks in Bonn and of course the battle over carbon pricing continuing in Australia. In scanning the Australian media I spotted an insightful interview with the United States Ambassador to Australia. In the interview, Ambassador Bleich argues that the USA is on track to meet its 2020 greenhouse gas target (17% below 2005 levels) because of the breadth of activity across the economy in transforming the energy system.[read more]

Throughout the beginning of 2011, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) —the first mandatory carbon dioxide (CO2) cap-and-trade program in the United States—was successfully defended by state legislators in three states where attempts were made to remove those states from the program. In the second week of May, the states of...[read more]

  Commerce, Missouri: April 27, 2011 It’s sometimes said that no individual storm, flood, drought or wildfire can be specifically attributed to climate change. That may be true but Kevin Trenberth, one of the world’s most prominent climate scientists, says it misses the point. Sure, we’ve always had extreme weather events. But, he...[read more]

News that climate-warming gas emissions are increasing faster than expected means that the world must put a stop to building new coal-fired power stations as soon as possible, in order to prevent future emissions being "locked in" for decades.Greenhouse gas emissions reached a record high in 2010, said the International Energy Agency...[read more]

Roger Cohen's column in Monday's New York Times sent my mind spinning with its portrayal of a global network of airport-based businesses and organizations that might have closer links to airports a country or continent away than with the traditional urban centers for which these facilities are often named. I'm embarrassed to admit that...[read more]

People worldwide are being affected by a rise in the price of food. The causes are complex and interacting: last summer's drought in Russia, the price of oil, speculative trading in commodities, economic instability, political unrest on the Middle East, you name it. As Tamino mentions, some people sceptical of efforts to reduce...[read more]

The US Dept. of Energy has released their report Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2009. You can download the full report or individual chapters, as well as Excel spreadsheets with the tabular data, from the above link. From page 1: Total U.S. anthropogenic (human-caused) greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 were 5.8 percent...[read more]

The ongoing saga of smart meters in California and a recent opt-out ruling once again highlight the existence of a communications gap between utilities and consumers.  Watching this slow motion communications disaster play out leads me to two conclusions.   First, utilities, regulators, and governmental entities need to...[read more]