Monthly Archives: June 2007

A Car that Runs On Air

The author of today’s article, Sheryl Canter, is an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

In poking around the blogosphere recently, I found several references to a Popular Mechanics article about something called an "Air Car". Air Car?? What I read left me with some questions, so I found the inventor’s Web site and did some further reading.

It sounds like science fiction, but it’s true. A car that runs on air – compressed air – will be sold in India starting in August 2008. It’s designed mainly for city driving, and produces zero carbon emissions.*

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Posted in Cars and Pollution / Read 6 Responses

That Senate Energy Bill

Today’s guest blogger, Tony Kreindler, is a Media Director at Environmental Defense.

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the Energy Bill under debate in the Senate. With all the lobbying and spin, it can be hard to sort out what’s really going on. Here’s the bottom line.

When it comes to solving climate change, our best yardstick for measuring success is how much we cut global warming pollution. The Energy Bill could make some progress, but it’s no substitute for the comprehensive climate legislation Congress will work on later this year. Let’s look at the numbers.

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Posted in News / Comments are closed

RealClimate's "Start Here" Page

The RealClimate blog has great information on the science behind global warming. Recently they posted a resource page with links about climate change. They plan to update the page as they discover new resources, so you might want to bookmark it.

Posted in What Others are Saying / Comments are closed

Part 1 of 5: A 175-year-old Puzzle

This is the first installment of a five-part series by Bill Chameides on How We Know Humans Cause Global Warming.

1. A 175-year-old Puzzle
2. What Chemistry Tells Us
3. Causes of Past Climate Change
4. The Medieval Warming Period
5. The Only Explanation Left


Most people these days accept that our planet is warming, but some find it hard to believe that mere humans could cause such a large-scale global change. How do we know that the warming is due to human activity? How can we be so sure?

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Posted in Basic Science of Global Warming / Read 21 Responses

Storm Hits Oman

Today’s post is by Bill Chameides, Chief Scientist at Environmental Defense.

The hurricane season began on June 1, and we are all waiting with some dread to see what this year will bring. Will it be a relatively mild season like last year, a devastating one like 2005, or something in between? An ominous sign is that we have already seen two tropical storms in the region: Andrea, which formed almost a month before the season began, and Barry, which formed on the first day of the season.

Last week I read that Oman was hit by Tropical Cyclone Gonu. ("Hurricane", "typhoon", and "cyclone" are all names for the same thing.) I know that Asia and Australia are regularly hit by tropical storms, but the Arabian Peninsula? Is that normal? I didn’t know, so I decided to do a little investigating. Here’s what I learned.

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Posted in Extreme Weather / Read 4 Responses

What is Congress up to?

Today’s guest columnist is Mark MacLeod, Director of Special Projects for our national climate campaign.

When it comes to global warming, this is looking to be an action-packed Congress. There are no fewer than seven global warming bills under discussion. While the titles make the bills sound very much alike, they differ in both subtle and significant ways.

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Posted in Climate Change Legislation / Read 1 Response