Climate 411

Farm Animals and Methane

By Lisa Moore / Published: September 10, 2007

This is Part 1 of a three-part series on Food and Farming.

1. Increased CO2 and Food Quality
2. Farm Animals and Methane
3. “Food Mile” Complexities

The authors of today’s post are Lisa Moore, Ph.D., a scientist in the Climate and Air program, and Tim Male, Ph.D., a senior ecologist in the Land, Water & Wildlife program.

For the second course in our food series, let’s start with some pie – specifically, Bill’s greenhouse gas pie showing the contribution of different greenhouses gases to global warming. The first chart shows that methane is the second largest contributor to global warming.

Globally, nearly half of that hefty methane slice comes from agriculture. What causes these emissions, and how can we reduce them?

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Posted in News / Read 8 Responses

Climate News: Creeping Shrubs and Record Heat

By Lisa Moore / Published: September 7, 2007

The author of today’s post, Lisa Moore, Ph.D., is a scientist in the Climate and Air program.

This week I came across several interesting articles related to climate, but two in particular caught my eye. In the first, scientists found that excess carbon dioxide (CO2) may be what’s leaving livestock with less food to eat. The other study explores the role of greenhouse gases on the record-breaking heat Americans experienced in 2006.

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Posted in Plants & Animals / Comments are closed

Fossil Fuels and Biofuels

By Sheryl Canter / Published: September 5, 2007

This is Part 3 of a three-part series on Vehicle Fuels and Technology.

1. Plug-in Cars: The Lowdown
2. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles
3. Fossil Fuels and Biofuels

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

This last post in our series on Vehicle Fuels and Technology gives an overview of fossil fuels and their alternatives. You will see how crude oil pumped from the ground is transformed into everything from solvents to street tar. And you’ll learn which biofuels can be substituted for fossil fuels.

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Posted in Cars and Pollution / Read 3 Responses

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

By Lisa Moore / Published: September 4, 2007

The author of today’s post, Lisa Moore, Ph.D., is a scientist in the Climate and Air program.

On Wednesday, the DailyTech Blog said that an update to a 2004 survey shows that the scientific community is moving away from a consensus that humans are causing global warming. The survey was submitted to the journal Energy and Environment, but is as yet unpublished.

So is it true? In a word, no, because scientific consensus cannot be surmised from subjective surveys.

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Posted in News / Read 8 Responses

New Report on Cars and Carbon

By John DeCicco / Published: August 31, 2007

The author of today’s post, John DeCicco, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow for Automobile Strategies at Environmental Defense.

How much carbon dioxide (CO2) are cars emitting, and is it getting better or worse? The answer is in our new report on Automakers’ Corporate Carbon Burdens. It’s the third in a series we began in 2002, and covers 1990-2005. Some findings of note:

  • Toyota and BMW have shown that it’s possible to cut the CO2 emissions rate while enjoying strong sales growth – a lesson to the other 10 automakers we examined, whose emissions rates all increased in 2005 compared to 1990. Automakers can significantly reduce carbon emissions through creative design and incremental enhancement of conventional technologies.
  • The average CO2 emissions rate from new vehicles fell 3 percent from 2004 to 2005 – the first drop in nearly two decades. We probably can thank high gas prices for this since it made new car buyers think about fuel efficiency. Gas-guzzling truck-based SUVs became less appealing, and this accelerated the shift to car-based SUVs with better fuel efficiency.

But we still have a long way to go. Despite the one year drop, the emissions rate remains 4 percent higher than it was in 1988.

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Posted in Cars and Pollution, Greenhouse Gas Emissions / Read 6 Responses

Vienna Climate Change Talks

By Kyle Meng / Published: August 28, 2007

The author of today’s post, Kyle Meng, is a Research Fellow at Environmental Defense.

You probably haven’t heard much about it in the news, but the fourth meeting of the U.N. working group on action to address climate change is happening this week in Vienna, Austria. Negotiators are preparing for the next major international climate agreement – what happens when the Kyoto accord’s carbon market runs out at midnight, December 31, 2012. The goal is to strengthen the carbon market framework so it does an even better job of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. The question is how best to achieve this.

The Environmental Defense International Climate Team is busy communicating with delegates from various countries to encourage broad participation. Major emitting nations must be part of the accord if we are to avoid potentially catastrophic climate change.

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Posted in International / Read 3 Responses