China
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What record emissions growth really shows us
2010 saw the single biggest jump in carbon emissions ever. It's like we're addicted to perpetrating the most heinous crimes possible on our own children, and we can't stop! What's up with that? It's easy to blame countries like China, which is now the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet, what with its […]
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Durban dispatch: Canada blames Canada
Cross-posted from ThinkProgress Green. The Canadian Youth Delegation has publicly apologized for the actions of the Canadian government and their negotiators at Durban, publishing an apology letter in a local newspaper. The Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, which has the highest per-capita greenhouse gas emissions in the world, has been selected as the site of […]
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Critical List: Solar will go on military housing; U.S. net petroleum imports
Who needs government loan guarantees? SolarCity is going to put solar panels on 120,000 military houses with financing from Bank of America-owned Merrill Lynch. (Er, down with the banks?) Environmental regulations have "benefits and costs." They do kill jobs, but they also create new ones. The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. is close […]
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Critical List: Durban climate talks begin today; UK secretly supporting tar sands
This year's international climate negotiations begin today in Durban, South Africa. This round of talks is basically the opposite of Copenhagen: hopes for anything at all happening are very, very low. The British government has been supporting Canada's tar sands projects in secret. One new study found that the climate is less sensitive to carbon […]
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China set to surpass U.S. in solar installation
Cross-posted from Climate Progress. With European solar markets in decline, the industry is looking for the next hot solar region. Even with political troubles in the U.S., companies still see America as a good long-term bet. (And let’s remember, Europe’s slowdown doesn’t mean the region is going to stop being a major player.) But analysts […]
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Critical List: U.S. winning solar trade fight; the rise of agroforestry
The U.S. is winning the trade spat with China over solar manufacturing. Agroforestry — growing crops under a tree canopy instead of on clear-cut land — is growing in popularity. Hydrofracking gone wrong looks "like 1,000 Alka-Seltzers going off" as gas bubbles through puddles, according to a whistleblower. China's Durban strategy includes a drive for […]
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How your Prius is hurting the planet
Hybrid cars like the Prius emit less carbon than conventional cars. But they also depend on rare earth materials to make their engines work. And the mining of rare earth extracts a heavy toll on the environment in other ways. China has most of the world's easily accessible rare earth (which isn't actually rare, just […]
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Critical List: Rick Perry is a flake; all sorts of rhinos are dying
As president, Rick Perry would eliminate the Department of Energy, if he could remember he wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy. Do countries have to officially declare a trade war? How will we know when the U.S./China trade war over solar power actually starts? Canada continues to prove that it’s just masquerading as a […]
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China committing climate blackmail with super-powerful greenhouse gas, say critics
China is threatening to vent super-powerful greenhouse gases if Europe cuts off its supply of valuable carbon credits next year. The climate Kryptonite in question is hydrofluorocarbon-23. One ton of this stuff has the same greenhouse gas punch as 11,700 tons of carbon dioxide. Most of China’s $6 billion in carbon credits have been intended […]
