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New York City Axes Green Buildings Plan
December 8, 2009 10:23 AM - E.B. Solomont, Mother Nature Network
Citing cost and opposition from building owners, the Big Apple drops an ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making 22,000 buildings more energy efficient.
Iran to Cut Motorists' Winter Gasoline Quota 20 Percent
December 8, 2009 09:24 AM - Reza Derakhshi, Reuters
Iran will reduce heavily subsidized gasoline quota for private motorists in winter, the official IRNA news agency reported. Such a move could help the country lower its consumption as well as vulnerability to any possible Western sanctions targeting its fuel imports.
CO2 Found to be Even More Important than Thought
December 8, 2009 07:35 AM - Editor, ENN
Research conducted by the University of Bristol, and the University of Leeds in the UK have demonstrated that our climate models may be underestimating the effects of CO2 on global temperatures. In the long term, the Earth’s temperature may be 30-50 per cent more sensitive to atmospheric carbon dioxide than has previously been estimated, reports a new study published in Nature Geoscience this week.
EPA to Regulate Green House Gases Under the Clean Air Act
December 8, 2009 06:27 AM - Roger Greenway, ENN
The United States Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward in regulating greenhouse gas emission in the US from both mobile sources (principally autos and trucks) and stationary sources (industrial and power generation sources). The actions taken today support EPA in regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Nanofarming Offers a Kinder Way to Get Biofuel from Algae
December 7, 2009 09:34 AM - Tina Casey, Cleantechnica, Matter Network
In conventional biofuel production, algae are harvested and killed in order to extract their oil. It's not a very efficient process - sort of like uprooting a tree and stripping off the apples to make cider. By coaxing out the oil on a molecular level, nanofarming enables algae to give up their product while continuing to grow.
U.N. climate talks open, deal "within reach"
December 7, 2009 07:27 AM - Richard Cowan and David Fogarty, Reuters
The biggest climate meeting in history, with 15,000 participants from 192 nations, opened in Copenhagen on Monday with hosts Denmark saying an unmissable opportunity to protect the planet was "within reach." "The world is depositing hope with you for a short while in the history of mankind," Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told delegates at the opening ceremony of the talks, seeking to agree the first U.N. climate pact in 12 years.
Obama To Attend Final Day of Copenhagen summit
December 5, 2009 08:24 AM - Ross Colvin, Reuters
U.S. President Barack Obama will attend the end of the Copenhagen climate change summit, a late change of plan the White House attributed on Friday to growing momentum toward a new global accord. Obama was originally scheduled to attend the December 7-18 summit in Denmark on Wednesday before traveling to nearby Oslo to collect his Nobel Peace Prize. Some European officials and environmentalists had expressed surprise at the initial decision, pointing out most of the hard bargaining on cutting greenhouse gas emissions would likely take place at the climax of the summit, when dozens of other world leaders are also due to attend.
Smog problems off almost 50% in 2009
December 4, 2009 05:29 AM - Frank O'Donnell, Clean Air Watch
If you think there’s less smog this year, you are probably right. Thanks in large part to cooler temperatures and more rain, the number of dirty-air days for smog nationwide has dropped by almost half in 2009 compared to last year, according to a survey by the non-profit Clean Air Watch. The survey by Clean Air Watch volunteers is the first comprehensive snapshot of smog in the United States in 2009. It found that the national health standard for smog, technically ozone, was breached more than 2,600 times through August 31 at monitoring stations in 37 states and the District of Columbia.
Ford Creates 62 MPG Gas Cars in Europe
December 3, 2009 03:50 PM - By Susan Kraemer, Gas 2.0, Matter Network
In the US, Ford is still behind the 5 major foreign auto makers in fuel efficiency, surpassing only GM and Chrysler. Yet Ford of Europe already achieves dazzling mileage that we Americans can only dream of.
EPA Delays Action on More Ethanol in Gasoline
December 1, 2009 12:24 PM - Tom Doggett, Reuters
Newer American cars will likely be able to handle higher ethanol blends in their gasoline but the decision to approve an industry request to change the fuel mix will have to await final testing next year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said today.