CO2 news stories on Newser

CO2 Emissions 'Will Defer Ice Age'

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:34:27 CST

On the glass-half-full side, our carbon dioxide emissions may fend off the next Ice Age, the BBC reports. Researchers say the Ice Age due in about 1,500 years won't happen because CO2 levels will be too high: "At current levels of CO2, even if emissions stopped now we'd probably...

Copenhagen Talks Will [Doom] [Save] World

John Johnson — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:15:12 CST

Copenhagen now boils down to a preposterously simple numbers game, writes Michael McCarthy. The draft text released yesterday leaves momentous decisions like how much to limit carbon emissions as choices surrounded by square brackets. Take the long-term target for cutting CO2 emissions, for instance. Should nations cut them by [50]...

EU May Turn Off Edison's Bulbs

Ambreen Ali — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:34:19 CST

The European Union may ban incandescent light bulbs, replacing them with low-energy lighting that would slash 13.2 million tons of carbon emissions and create energy savings equal to taking 11 million European households off the grid, reports the BBC. A new report urges the European parliament to follow the...

China's Power Pollution to Pass US

Peter Fearon — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:56:28 CDT

Carbon emissions from China's mostly coal-fired electric power industry will exceed those of the US this year for the first time, the Washington Post reports. China's runaway economic growth means its power industry's carbon emissions will double by 2020, predicts the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank. Power...

CO2 Catcher Could Slow Climate Change

Rob Quinn — Sat, 31 May 2008 13:30:03 CDT

A team of American scientists says it's taken an important first step toward creating a so-called carbon scrubber that can rid greenhouse gases from the air, the Guardian reports. The scientists, led by a Columbia University physicist, have a prototype in the works that can suck a ton of carbon...

W. Coast Cities Boast Smallest Carbon Footprint

Dustin Lushing — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:02:03 CDT

West Coast metro areas boasted some of the lowest carbon emissions per capita in the country in 2005, according to a ranking of 100 urban areas by the Brookings Institution. Honolulu topped the list, followed by Los Angeles, the Portland-Vancouver area, and New York. Population density, mild climates, and aggressive...

EU Will Toughen Car Ads to Curb Gas Guzzlers

Laurel Jorgensen — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:22:48 CDT

Car ads in Europe will soon have to highlight gas mileage and carbon dioxide emissions under regulations in the works from the European Union, Der Spiegel reports. EU commissioners hope regulating ads will motivate more Europeans to ditch gas-guzzling models, but manufacturers and media execs aren’t happy. The plan could...

Itchier Poison Ivy Stems from Climate Change

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:58:05 CDT

Poison ivy is getting bigger and more potent, and the culprit is the 21st century's all-purpose scapegoat: climate change. The itchy, rash-inducing plant that has plagued hikers and gardeners since the beginning of time thrives in environments with high levels of CO2, the Journal reports, and with rates on the...

China's CO2 Output Passes US

Peter Fearon — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 05:25:44 CDT

China has overtaken the US as the world's biggest CO2 emitter. A Dutch study says China is coughing up 9% more fossil fuel into the air than last year, compared with a 1.4% increase from the superpower across the Pacific. And the trend is up: China's industry is growing...