greenhouse-gas emissions news stories on Newser

The Coal-Powered Secret of Some Electric Cars

Neal Colgrass — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:21:19 CDT

Your electric car (or the one you dream of having) is greener than your neighbor's gas guzzler—right? Well, scientists now say it depends on where you live, the New York Times reports. For people in states that use natural gas, nuclear power, or hydroelectric power to fire up the...

Canada Slammed for Kyoto Pullout

Mark Russell — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:57:00 CST

Countries and environmentalist groups around the world are slamming Canada for pulling out of the Kyoto climate treaty on Monday, reports the Guardian . "Preposterous" and "an excuse to shirk responsibility," was how the withdrawal was described by China, the world's largest carbon dioxide producer . The UN climate chief was more...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Track to Set Record

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:38:59 CST

The bad news: Greenhouse gas emissions could hit record highs this year, a new study shows. The kinda good news: Researchers say a recovering economy is to blame. Scientists found that—despite the financial crisis—global carbon dioxide emissions only dropped by 1.3% last year compared to 2008's record...

Scientists Predict Extreme US Drought by 2030s

Rob Quinn — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:13:44 CDT

The US and much of the western hemisphere are likely to face drought conditions worse than anything seen in modern times over the decades to come, scientists warn. National Center for Atmospheric Research scientists, working with climate models and greenhouse gas predictions, believe that severe drought will affect areas including...

Obama, Leaders Reach Agreement on Emissions

Nick McMaster — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:51:06 CST

President Obama and the leaders of China, India, and South Africa reached a "meaningful agreement" tonight in Copenhagen on steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the White House announced. The deal requires the nations of the world to list their actions to curb emissions and sets up a framework for...

Developing Nations Were In on 'Danish Text'

Harry Kimball — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:17:29 CST

The “Danish text”—the leaked climate change agreement that infuriated developing nations in Copenhagen and sparked accusations of bullying by rich countries—was actually drafted by a group that included China, India, and Brazil, among other countries. They had “input into the process and product” of the agreement, which seeks...

1% Warming Chance Is Cause Enough to Act

Rob Quinn — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:22:59 CST

Dick Cheney once said that a 1% chance of al-Qaeda obtaining a nuke was reason enough to prepare for it, and that same logic should be applied to catastrophic global warming, writes Thomas L. Friedman. Despite "Climategate," the chances look a lot higher than 1%, he notes in the New...

EPA Gets Nod to Crack Down on Industrial Greenhouse Gas

Rob Quinn — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:51:46 CDT

The Obama administration has given the EPA the green light to start moving for the first time toward limiting greenhouse-gas emissions from major industrial sources. The proposed new rules would affect only large facilities that emit 25,000 tons or more of carbon dioxide annually, instead of applying to "every...

Greenpeace: 3 China Firms Emit More Carbon Than All of UK

Rob Quinn — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:00:00 CDT

China's inefficient power plants and heavy reliance on coal are dragging down global efforts to curb climate change, a Greenpeace report warned yesterday. The report found that major Chinese power companies are responsible for a huge amount of the country's coal use and emissions, with the top three producers alone...