carbon
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Iceland plans to turn excess carbon into stone
Instead of smokestacks belching carbon into the air, plants and factories in Iceland may soon have well injectors to push the greenhouse gases underground. You might think this would inflate the Earth like a balloon and lift it out of orbit (okay, you probably don’t think that, but it’s a good image). But in fact, […]
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Clean air ad featuring asthmatic kids is dangerously adorable
The Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) did a really good job at tugging every heartstring available in this new ad: Seriously, how much do you want to cry now? Maybe they really should send asthmatic kids into Congress as lobbyists. NRDC and Sierra Club are doing the closest thing possible without […]
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Critical List: Lucy Lawless occupies oil ship; Maine fisherman catches child-sized lobster
Lucy Lawless, best known for her role as Xena, Warrior Princess, teamed up with Greenpeace to occupy an oil drilling ship. The panel on Morning Joe posited that environmentalists think the alternative to fossil fuel is granola. (In case this wasn’t clear already, everyone on Morning Joe is a jerk.) A Pew Research Center poll […]
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Scientists develop material to trap carbon dioxide
A team of California scientists has created a material that acts like a carbon dioxide fly-tape trap.
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Critical List: E.U. court OKs airline carbon emission scheme; climate change kills frankincense
The E.U.'s version of the Supreme Court decided that it's totally cool for the E.U. to require flights originating elsewhere to participate in its carbon-emissions trading plans. Later today, the EPA will announce new regulations for power plants that limit mercury and other emissions. Climate change: also killing Christmas. Okay, just the production of frankincense, […]
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Carbon monoxide makes you breathe easier (metaphorically), says study
So, carbon monoxide will kill you, obviously. But like a lot of things that will kill you, in small quantities it apparently makes you feel really great! In a recent study, carbon monoxide exposure made people less stressed out about the negative effects of living in the city, including crowds, noise, and presumably carbon monoxide […]
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U.S. is freaking out over tiny E.U. carbon tax on air travel
Long ago, in a land far, far away, where it seemed possible that carbon cap-and-trade would be a thing that we all got on board with, the European Union decided it would make sense to include air travel in its carbon trading scheme, because flying on planes is one of the most carbon-intensive activities that humans engage in. But — psych! — turned out no one (*cough* Congress *cough*) really wanted to deal with carbon. The E.U., however, did not get that memo and still wants to charge American airlines for the carbon they emit on their way to Europe. Here's how that's playing out so far:
The U.S. airline industry: NO FAIR! We'll see you in court, suckers!
The European Union: Um, ok, well, they're our courts. -
German state minister: The Kochs are ruining U.S. renewables
Ever wonder why Germany has a robust renewables economy, while the U.S. keeps claiming it's not achievable? Here's a theory from Franz Unterskeller, German state minister for the environment, climate, and energy:
We don't have the situation like you have in the U.S., where you have this Koch brothers.
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MythBusters weigh in on motorcycle emissions
You've probably heard that motorcycles are more fuel-efficient than cars, and therefore better for the environment. I mean, they're practically bikes, right? It sounds plausible, but how do you find out if it's really true? The same way you find out if ANYTHING is really true: Ask the MythBusters, obviously.