Environmental News Network

From CO2 to Cement: Recycling Carbon â€“ the Commoditization of Carbon Emissions
Yesterday we posted on the just-released Clean Edge trends report for 2010 that outlines some of the prominent trends in clean tech and renewable energy. One emerging trend mentioned in the report is the commoditization of carbon, where captured emissions are bought and sold as feedstock for other industrial processes. >> Read the Full Article
EPA adds sources for greenhouse gas reporting
Before reporting even begins, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to include additional emissions sources in its first-ever national mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting system. EPA expects that the data from these sectors will help provide a better understanding of where GHGs are coming from. "Gathering this information is the first step toward reducing greenhouse emissions and fostering innovative technologies for the clean energy future," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. >> Read the Full Article
Human health linked directly to forest health
Gland, Switzerland â€“ Environmental degradation is causing serious detrimental health impacts for humans, but protecting natural habitats can reverse this and supply positive health benefits, according to a new WWF report. "Our research confirms what we know instinctively: Human health is inextricably linked to the health of the planet," says Chris Elliot, WWF's Executive Director of Conservation. >> Read the Full Article
Rapid Increases in Tree Growth Found in US
ScienceDaily (Mar. 22, 2010) â€” Researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Earthwatch met in Panama from Mar. 1-5 to present mid-term research results from the HSBC Climate Partnership, a five-year initiative to identify and respond to the impacts of climate change. The program is supported financially by HSBC and involves a global team of bank employees -- 'climate champions' -- in vital forest research. >> Read the Full Article
Used CO2
Process improvements can reduce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) air emissions. When that is done there can be left over permitted CO2 air emissions that can be sold to other users. In doing so a certain percentage of the original CO2 emissions are eliminated and cannot be sold. Hence a reduction in permitted CO2 air emissions overall. Hungary last week carried out the first sale of certified emissions reductions (CERs) which Hungarian companies had already used to offset against their emissions in the European Union's emissions trading scheme. These emission offsets are sold internationally to other companies. >> Read the Full Article
High Arctic species plummeting across the board, others Arctic residents on the rise
Between 1970 and 2004 species populations in the high Arctic have declined by 26 percent, according to the first report by the Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI). While this may be a natural cycle, scientists are concerned that environmental impacts such as climate change are worsening natural population fluctuations in the high Arctic. Declining species include lemmings, red knot, and caribou. >> Read the Full Article
Scotland gets serious about sea power
Scotland has approved ten marine energy projects that leaders predict could provide electricity for one-third of the nationâ€™s homes by 2020 and make Scotland the world leader in wave energy. The government awarded leases to companies to construct six wave energy projects and four tidal projects off the Scottish coast in what experts say would be the first developments of their kind on a large commercial scale. Construction would cost Â£4 billion ($6.1 billion) and require another Â£1 billion ($1.53 billion) in government funding to upgrade the national electric grid. But First Minister Alex Salmond said tapping into the resources of Pentland Firth, a strait north of Scotland that is known for its strong tides, can make the country the "powerhouse of Europe." >> Read the Full Article
Weather Anomalies of Winter 2010
To the average person, the weather this winter, especially in February, has certainly been a departure from those winters of the past few years. There has been record snowfall in the mid-Atlantic region, bitter cold in the Deep South, and remarkably mild weather for the Pacific Northwest and New England. However, if the United States can be taken as a whole, some more modest trends appear. >> Read the Full Article
Czech minister quits over controversial power plant
Czech Environment Minister Jan Dusik resigned Thursday from the caretaker cabinet, saying the prime minister had put pressure on him to decide hastily on plans to upgrade a controversial large coal-fired power plant. The ministry has yet to rule on the project, which has drawn objections from environmentalists and from Micronesia. The Pacific nation fears increasing floods as a result of climate change partly due to carbon emissions from the Czech Prunerov plant. >> Read the Full Article
Planets in Other Star Systems
An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System. There are billions of stars in our galaxy and a significant percentage of these stars are likely to have planets orbiting them. There are also planets orbiting brown dwarfs and free floating planets between the stars. As of March 2010, over 400 extrasolar planets have been confirmed. The CoRoT satellite has discovered the coolest Jupiter like exoplanet so far to pass in front of its host star, enabling detailed studies of the planet as reported by a team from Oxford University. >> Read the Full Article