Greenhouse Gases // Current

Emissions up in developed nations

Emissions of greenhouse gases by industrialised nations rose 2.3% from 2000 to 2006, according to new figures from the UN's... more

Cuervo
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Frozen earth could return in 10,000 years

The planet could face a freeze worse than an ice age starting in as little as 10,000 years, giving future societies a headache the... more

urlspotter
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Scientists say a rock can soak up carbon dioxide

A rock found mostly in Oman can be harnessed to soak up the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide at a rate that could help slow... more

starr111
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VIDEO: Cutting Cows' Gas Emissions

Cow's emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas, can be reduced with a more natural diet, farmers are learning. Methane is a... more

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Potent Greenhouse Gas More Prevalent Than Thought

"A potent greenhouse gas is at least four times more prevalent in the atmosphere than was previously estimated, a new study reports.

Using new analytical techniques, a research team in California made the first atmospheric measurements of nitrogen trifluoride, which is thousands of times more effective at warming the atmosphere than an equal amount of carbon dioxide (though carbon dioxide is much more prevalent, and therefore still the key greenhouse gas of concern in terms of global warming).

In 2006, the amount of nitrogen trifluoride in the atmosphere, which could not be detected using previous techniques, was estimated at less than 1,322 short tons (1,200 metric tons).

The new research, funded by NASA and detailed in the Oct. 31 issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that the actual amount was 4,630 short tons (4,200 metric tons) in 2006.

Currently, about 5,950 short tons (5,400 metric tons) is estimated to be in the atmosphere. The estimates indicate that the amount of gas in the atmosphere is increasing by about 11 percent per year.

Emissions of nitrogen trifluoride were thought to be so low that the gas was not considered a significant contributor to global warming. It was not covered in the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 agreement signed by 182 countries to reduce greenhouse gases.

Nitrogen trifluoride is about 17,000 times more powerful at trapping heat than is carbon dioxide, though current emissions of the gas only contribute about 0.04 percent of the total global warming effect contributed by human-produced carbon dioxide emissions.

Nitrogen trifluoride is one of several gases used during the manufacture of liquid crystal flat-panel displays, thin-film photovoltaic cells and microcircuits.

Many industries used it as a replacement for perfluorocarbons, another type of potent greenhouse gas, because it was thought that only about 2 percent of the nitrogen trifluoride used escaped into the atmosphere.

Scientists have recently recommended adding nitrogen trifluoride to the list of greenhouse gases regulated by Kyoto in response to its growing use and concerns that its emissions are not well known.

"From a climate perspective, there is a need to add nitrogen trifluoride to the suite of greenhouse gases whose production is inventoried and whose emissions are regulated under the Kyoto Protocol, thus providing meaningful incentives for its wise use," said study leader Ray Weiss of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif." "A potent greenhouse gas is at least four times more prevalent in the atmosphere than was previously estimated, a new study... more

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1 month ago

Two more greenhouses gases to consider...

Old ass plants and flat panel LCDs. Maybe I won't be buying that new T.V after all, Again more signs that Renewable Energies... more

krush_producions
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1 month ago

Author Investigates Large-Scale Strategies for the Environment

This book could turn things around for the environment... We would appreciate if you could post this press release on your... more

waves16
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1 month ago

Earth's Albedo tells an interesting story - Why the Earth may stop global warming alone

Due to cloud formation on earth.... the planet may reverse global warming with out our help!!!! The Earth's climate... more

starr111
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21 responses

1 month ago

Canada lags in wind power

Wind accounts for one per cent of generation capacity in Canada at present - compared to projections by European wind... more

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1 month ago

Climate-neutral management central at Al Gore "Climate Event"

"In the presence of Al Gore and the Environment Minister Jacqueline Cramer, Eosta and twelve other Dutch organisations signed a climate agreement yesterday in Aalsmeer. The agreement to achieve completely climate neutral management was signed together with a variety of other companies, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, PGGM, ANWB Wegenwacht, Triodos Bank and other leading companies.

'We have long been inspired by Al Gore's call to give more consideration to climate change' says Eosta director Volkert Engelsman. 'According to the FAO, current forms of agriculture are responsible for around 30 % of all greenhouse gas emissions. Fertilisers are one of the most significant culprits. Organic farming replaces fertilisers with compost and other sustainable forms of soil improvement. Consequently, organic farming makes a considerable contribution to turning back the climate problem.'

Earlier this year, Eosta continued this intention as the first to bring a wide range of Nature & More TÜV certified climate neutral fruit and vegetables to the European market. TÜV Nord has been appointed by the United Nations as the first certification body to carry out this kind of emissions analyses and certify emissions rights.

The Nature & More 'Climate Neutral' quality mark stands for the publication, reduction and compensation of the greenhouse gas emissions that are associated with the production, transport, refrigeration and packaging of Nature & More products.

Nature & More growers get the 'Climate Neutral' label with TÜV certification by mapping all greenhouse gases within the supply chain and compensating them with emissions rights obtained by using organic farming practices ( http://www.natureandmore.com )."

To this end, Eosta is working with sister organisation Soil & More, which initiates projects around the world in which biological waste is processed to create a superior humus compost which is gratefully used by organic and traditional growers worldwide. Soil & More director Aart van den Bos: "This process does not generate environmentally harmful methane gas. Moreover, other harmful greenhouse gases are also avoided, such as nitrous oxide which is released by the production and use of fertilisers. Finally, this Soil & More compost provides a higher humus content in the soil, which binds carbon from the atmosphere. The emissions rights that Soil & More earns with these projects are used to compensate for its own emissions output from transport, refrigeration, packaging, etc.""In the presence of Al Gore and the Environment Minister Jacqueline Cramer, Eosta and twelve other Dutch organisations signed... more

SDLN
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1 month ago

Is a national climate control plan in our future?

In what are likely to be blueprints for a national effort to fight climate change, clusters of states on the East and West Coasts and in the Midwest are setting up marketplaces for electric utilities and other companies to buy and sell credits to emit carbon dioxide and other gases responsible for global warming.

Building on a voluntary market system pioneered in Chicago, 10 Northeastern states recently launched what they are billing as the biggest, most coordinated effort yet in the U.S. to take on climate change by mandating that electric utilities take part in an emissions-allowance trading program.

But an alliance of seven Western states and four Canadian provinces could surpass their efforts with a more ambitious trading system they unveiled last month. It encompasses industry as well as utilities, with a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent in 12 years.

And a consortium of six Midwestern states, including Illinois and Wisconsin, and one Canadian province are establishing their own carbon-trading market, aiming to have it running in 2010.

These programs embrace the "cap-and-trade" approach that has the support of both the Democratic and GOP presidential nominees. Proponents say it offers an effective way to cut the emissions blamed for warming the climate, and to do so cheaply and more efficiently than a regulatory program.

The results for consumers are unclear. Although cutting carbon dioxide emissions is predicted to raise electric rates, cap-and-trade may mean the cost will be less than conventional regulations, and in many states some of the proceeds from the sales of emissions allowances will be spent on promoting energy efficiency and conservation, saving households money on their electric bills.

Whatever the eventual impact on household budgets, the first auction of emissions allowances at the New York Mercantile Exchange last month represented the opening of a new chapter in America's response to the threat of climate change caused by the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere.

"The start of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction of emission allowances demonstrates both how far we've come and how far we need to go to effectively address climate change," said Eileen Claussen, head of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, referring to the effort by the Northeastern states. "These states are paving the path to a comprehensive national program that offers the most cost-effective solution to significantly reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions."
In what are likely to be blueprints for a national effort to fight climate change, clusters of states on the East and West Coasts... more

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1 month ago

Cleaner dumps Hirst installation

Conceptual artist Damien Hirst has announced the creation of a giant work to publicise the issue of green house gases in the... more

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1 month ago

Seas turn to acid as they soak up CO2

The Bay of Naples is renowned for its breathtaking beauty and glittering clear waters. For centuries, tourists have flocked to the region to experience its glories.

But beneath the waves, scientists have uncovered an alarming secret. They have found streams of gas bubbling up from the seabed around the island of Ischia. 'The waters are like a Jacuzzi - there is so much carbon dioxide fizzing up from the seabed,' said Dr Jason Hall-Spencer, of Plymouth University. 'Millions of litres of gas bubble up every day.'

The gas streams have turned Ischia's waters into acid, and this has had a major impact on sea life and aquatic plants. Now marine biologists fear that the world's seas could follow suit.

'Every day the oceans absorb more than 25m tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,' said Hall-Spencer. 'If it were not for the oceans, levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would be far higher than they are today and the impact of climate change would be far worse. However, there is a downside: it is called ocean acidification.'

Scientists calculate that the seas are absorbing so much carbon dioxide that they are 30 per cent more acidic than they were at the start of the Industrial Revolution. The change is three times greater and has happened 100 times faster than at any other time during the past 20 million years.

Tomorrow hundreds of scientists will gather in Monaco for the 'Second International Symposium on the Ocean in a High CO2 World'. One focus of debate is likely to be the Plymouth study. The seas off Ischia - which are affected by carbon dioxide from volcanic activity - offer a first-class opportunity to investigate what might happen in the next few decades.

Scientists found that in Ischia's highly acidic water:

• Biodiversity of plants and fish has dropped by 30 per cent

• Algae vital for binding coral reefs have been wiped out

• Invasive 'alien' species, such as sea-grasses, are thriving

• Coral and sea urchins have been destroyed, while mussels and clams are failing to grow shells.

The conference will also tackle the dangers posed to fish larvae, which are sensitive to high levels of acid, as well as the threat to commercial fish stocks.

'Many developing countries have seafood as their prime source of food,' said Dr Carol Turley, of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory. 'If they lose that, the result could be famine.'The Bay of Naples is renowned for its breathtaking beauty and glittering clear waters. For centuries, tourists have flocked to the... more

goldenways
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40 responses

1 month ago

Rich nations' greenhouse gases fell in 2006: survey

OSLO (Reuters) - Rich nations' greenhouse gas emissions dipped for the first time in five years in 2006, easing 0.1 percent... more

GrandKnow2
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2 months ago

Greenhouse gas emissions shock scientists

The world pumped up emissions of the chief human-produced global warming gas last year, setting a course that could push beyond... more

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26 responses

2 months ago

The methane time bomb

The first evidence that millions of tons of a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere from beneath the Arctic seabed has been discovered by scientists.

The Independent has been passed details of preliminary findings suggesting that massive deposits of sub-sea methane are bubbling to the surface as the Arctic region becomes warmer and its ice retreats.

Underground stores of methane are important because scientists believe their sudden release has in the past been responsible for rapid increases in global temperatures, dramatic changes to the climate, and even the mass extinction of species. Scientists aboard a research ship that has sailed the entire length of Russia's northern coast have discovered intense concentrations of methane – sometimes at up to 100 times background levels – over several areas covering thousands of square miles of the Siberian continental shelf.

In the past few days, the researchers have seen areas of sea foaming with gas bubbling up through "methane chimneys" rising from the sea floor. They believe that the sub-sea layer of permafrost, which has acted like a "lid" to prevent the gas from escaping, has melted away to allow methane to rise from underground deposits formed before the last ice age.

They have warned that this is likely to be linked with the rapid warming that the region has experienced in recent years.

Methane is about 20 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and many scientists fear that its release could accelerate global warming in a giant positive feedback where more atmospheric methane causes higher temperatures, leading to further permafrost melting and the release of yet more methane.

The amount of methane stored beneath the Arctic is calculated to be greater than the total amount of carbon locked up in global coal reserves so there is intense interest in the stability of these deposits as the region warms at a faster rate than other places on earth.

Dr Semiletov has suggested several possible reasons why methane is now being released from the Arctic, including the rising volume of relatively warmer water being discharged from Siberia's rivers due to the melting of the permafrost on the land.

The Arctic region as a whole has seen a 4C rise in average temperatures over recent decades and a dramatic decline in the area of the Arctic Ocean covered by summer sea ice. Many scientists fear that the loss of sea ice could accelerate the warming trend because open ocean soaks up more heat from the sun than the reflective surface of an ice-covered sea.

The first evidence that millions of tons of a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide is being released into the... more

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2 months ago

Chicago to slash greenhouse gases - Climate Change- msnbc.com

CHICAGO - Mayor Richard M. Daley has announced a plan to dramatically slash emissions of heat-trapping gases, part of an effort to... more

starr111
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2 months ago

Chicago outlines plan to slash greenhouse gases

Mayor Richard M. Daley announced a plan Thursday to dramatically slash emissions of heat-trapping gases — to three-fourths of 1990 levels by 2020 and to one-fifth of 1990 levels by 2050 — as part of an effort to become one of the greenest cities in the nation.

The plan calls for making buildings more energy efficient, finding clean and renewable energy sources, improving transportation and reducing industrial pollution. Daley was one of 800 mayors who agreed in late 2006 to cut emissions in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol.

Officials say Chicago emits 34.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each year; including the six surrounding counties, that climbs to 103 million metric tons per year.

If Chicago does not reduce emissions, summer heat indexes in the city could climb as high as 105 degrees — similar to those in Mobile, Ala. — by the end of the century, according to researchers from Texas Tech University in Lubbock and the University of Illinois who were commissioned by the city to study climate change.

Since 1980, Chicago's average temperature has risen approximately 2.6 degrees, 4 degrees in the winter.

"What stands out to people is, how likely will you see a 1995-like heat wave again in the future?" said Katharine Hayhoe, a Texas Tech geosciences researcher. "We don't want to suggest that type of future is inevitable because it's not, but if we wait until that happens, then it is inevitable."

During the Chicago heat wave of 1995, the mercury spiked at 106 degrees and about 600 people died.

In similar research, scientists with the Netherlands Meteorological Institute found earlier this year that by the end of the century, high temperatures in Chicago would reach 115 degrees.

The city concedes that it won't be able to avoid future climate change entirely. The plan lists ways Chicago will deal with any coming climate change, including implementing a heat warning system, reducing summer energy use, improving air quality, preparing for increases in rainfall and flooding, reducing erosion along Lake Michigan's shoreline and planting vegetation that can adapt to climate change.Mayor Richard M. Daley announced a plan Thursday to dramatically slash emissions of heat-trapping gases — to three-fourths... more