Climate 411

Congestion Pricing Back in the News

By Andy Darrell / Published: January 10, 2008

Andy DarrellThis post is by Andy Darrell, Regional Director for the Living Cities program at Environmental Defense.

There are way too many cars in New York City – no question about that. Congestion pricing – charging a fee to cars entering the city – is a simple and effective solution.

But some people weren’t so sure about this when Mayor Bloomberg first proposed the plan. So last summer, a commission – on which I serve – was formed to study the issue and make recommendations.

Today, after six months of intensive research, public hearings and debate, we released a draft of our recommendations. And we want your feedback.

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Posted in Cars and Pollution / Read 2 Responses

Our Best Posts on the Basic Science of Global Warming

By Sheryl Canter / Published: January 9, 2008

Sheryl CanterThis post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

When we first launched the Climate 411 blog, we posted a lot of useful articles on the basic science of climate change. I often want to link to them in other posts, but I have trouble finding them. If I have trouble finding them, you all certainly must, so here are the links, all in one place.

The Greenhouse Effect Explained
The Water Vapor Fallacy
Picturing a ton of CO2
Picturing 21 Million Barrels of Oil

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

Action Needed to Stop Global Warming
1. How Warm is Too Warm?
2. Worldwide Emissions Target
3. U.S. Emissions Target
4. Technologies to Get Us There

Posted in Basic Science of Global Warming / Read 1 Response

How Much Water Do You Use?

By Sheryl Canter / Published: January 8, 2008

Sheryl CanterThis post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

water dropsWhen you save water, you save energy – and vice versa. Carbon calculators can give you some idea of your carbon footprint, but most don’t take into account your water usage. How much water do you use? Now you can find out.

A new Web site, H2O Conserve, offers an H2O Calculator. I tried it, and it said I used 479.88 gallons per day (I do?). The average American uses 1189.3 gallons of water per day, so I guess it’s not as bad as it sounds.

The site also includes a comprehensive tips section for learning how to use less water.

Posted in News / Read 1 Response

Picturing 21 Million Barrels of Oil

By Sheryl Canter / Published: January 7, 2008

Sheryl CanterThis post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

 

Site member border2 posted this idea to our Suggestion Box:

I think it could be useful/interesting to have some sort of a comparison or perspective of how much oil is being consumed by the U.S. and the world. … Like every x number of minutes the U.S. consumes x number of Olympic-size swimming pools of oil. I really don’t have a concept of the massive amount of oil we are using – x barrels of oil doesn’t translate into something I can plug into my world.

I put this question to one of our numbers experts, Noah Greenberg, and here’s what he told me.

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Posted in Energy / Read 2 Responses

Inhofe's Report: Why It's Wrong

By James Wang / Published: January 4, 2008

James WangThis post is by James Wang, Ph.D., a climate scientist at Environmental Defense.

Climate change denier and U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla) published a report just before Christmas with the headline: "Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007." Does that leave you surprised and wondering? It shouldn’t. It’s a shocker of a headline, but the report itself doesn’t back up the claim.

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Posted in News / Read 4 Responses

Reducing Emissions on Rice Farms

By Eric Holst / Published: January 3, 2008

Eric HolstThis post is by Eric Holst, Manager, Center for Conservation Incentives, Environmental Defense.

Everyone can do something to help stop global warming. Here’s an example…

When California passed the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), California rice growers wanted to explore ways to lower their net emissions. But exactly how to go about doing this wasn’t clear, so Environmental Defense teamed up with the California Rice Commission to work on the challenge.

As in other sectors of agriculture, rice farms both produce greenhouse gas emissions (mainly in the form of methane) and sequester carbon in field vegetation and soils. Our two-year project, launched in October, seeks to develop precise techniques – voluntarily implemented – to reduce emissions and increase sequestration, and to quantify emission benefits.

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Posted in News / Read 4 Responses