Climate Climate & Energy
All Stories
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Study: Water-vapor feedback is ‘strong and positive,’ so we face ‘warming of several degrees C’
A new study in Geophysical Research Letters ($ub. req’d), “Water-vapor climate feedback inferred from climate fluctuations, 2003-2008” analyzed recent variations in surface temperature and “the response of tropospheric water vapor to these variations.” They concluded that the “water-vapor feedback implied by these observations is strongly positive” and “similar to that simulated by climate models.” The […]
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There are simple ways to reduce cargo ship CO2 emissions right now
The International Maritime Organization’s recent decision to adopt tighter emission rules for the global shipping fleet is a step in the right direction for an industry whose emissions have been practically unregulated. Ship emissions are blamed for 60,000 deaths worldwide each year — a serious public health threat. The new rules, however, only address sulfur […]
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Reliance on coal ain’t cheap, study says
A new study from Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund has found that China’s dependence on coal to fuel its economy cost the country some $248 billion last year in hidden expenses, including health care costs and environmental damage. “Recognizing the true cost of coal would create incentives to developing cleaner, sustainable energy sources,” said […]
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A useful rule of thumb: Lower emissions are better for the environment
In the unlikely circumstance that reporters ever grow weary of chasing twitches in the oil markets or interpreting the wanderings of the Dow, they have a new toy to play with: the price of carbon. Which is fine, so far as it goes, except that they keep getting the story so badly wrong: The global […]
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Climate change making for salty seas, says study
Climate change is making the Atlantic Ocean more salty, according to research being published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Increased evaporation and reduced rainfall are to blame. Keep an eye out for even saltier sea dogs, me hearties. Yar!
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Sometimes the issue with a particular technology is the technology itself
In arguing for efficiency mandates, Joe Romm notes the failings of carbon pricing as a solution to climate change: That means a price of $400 a metric ton of carbon (whether achieved through a tax or a cap & trade system) would increase the price of gasoline a mere $1 a gallon. How much efficiency […]
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Arctic ice thinning even in winter, study finds
A new study found that Arctic sea ice has been thinning steadily in winter since about 2001, with last winter’s ice shrinking by nearly 20 percent. The new data could speed up forecasts for when Arctic sea ice will be completely gone.
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Virginian coal protesters receive B-minus plea bargain for Kingsworth-like activism
“You’re Hannah, right?” Hannah Morgan, a 20-year old from Appalachia, Virginia, was one of 11 protesters in handcuffs early Monday morning on Sept. 15 at the construction site for a coal-fired power plant being built in Wise County Virginia by Dominion Power. The handcuffs were applied by the police, but the questioner, it turns out, […]
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Majorities oppose mountaintop removal mining
The first nationwide poll ever taken on the subject finds that most Americans oppose the practice of mountaintop-removal mining, specifically the Bush administration’s recent bid to repeal the stream buffer zone rule. Of course, much like polls about climate, a high percentage of people willing to say it concerns them does not indicate a high […]
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A food/climate manifesto presents new visions for responding to climate change
Turin, Italy — I’ve just come out of the most hopeful and interesting discussions of climate change I’ve ever witnessed. Anchored by Indian food-sovereignty activist Vandana Shiva, the panel discussion at Terra Madre unveiled a new “Manifesto on Climate Change and the Future of Food Security,” drawn up by the International Commission on the Future […]
