Emissions from shipping found to be
a lot higher than previously thought |
Good News:
- US investors pledged to invest $10 billion in renewable energy at a UN summit on Thursday, as well as pressure companies to disclose their risks associated with climate change.
- A new carbon capture strategy has been developed, with the potential to lead to zero-emissions cars and a transportation system completely free of fossil fuels. The strategy would capture, store and eventually recycle carbon from vehicles back into liquid fuel.
- The mayor of London continues to impress us, this time announcing a $1 billion cycling investment package. The plan includes a bike sharing scheme similar to Paris, as well as new cycle paths, exclusive cycle zones and more bike parking facilities at underground stations.
- A Wisconsin College is giving away free bikes to 1st year students who pledge not to drive to the campus for a year. A creative solution to a parking problem in attempt to avoid building more parking lots.
Bad News:
- The true scale of shipping emissions has been revealed, and found to be almost three times larger than previously believed. Annual merchant fleet emissions have been determined at 1.12 billion tonnes of CO2, 4.5% of global emissions. That's nearly twice as much aviation's much scrutinized 650 million tonnes.
- Global-warming pollution from Midwest oil refineries is expected to soar by as much as 40% during the next decade, if all eight refinery expansion plans materialize in response to increasing purchases of Canadian tar sand crude. With the current absence of greenhouse gas regulations, extra pollution is all but free.
- Lake Mead, a key water source for the drought-afflicted southwestern US, could be dry by 2020 if climate changes as expected and future water usage is not curtailed. There is also a 50% chance that by 2017, water levels will be too low for the Hoover Dam to generate hydroelectric power.
- A new study has found dramatic declines in wild salmon populations to be linked to exposure to salmon farms.
- Global warming's next victim might be Antarctic king penguins, whose fish and squid diet is threatened by rising sea surface temperatures.
- Exelon, the largest nuclear energy-generating utility in the United States, has pledged to cut or offset the equivalent of all of its 12 million to 15 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2020. Very convenient to peddle nuclear energy as "clean".
- Field tests for ocean fertilization have been canceled due to lack of funding. The project had hoped to profit from selling carbon credits by creating plankton blooms to absorb CO2, a geo-engineering scheme that was recently described as a no-go.
- Did you know carbon brokers make obscene amounts of money? Have a look behind the scenes of carbon trading.
- The suburbs want to be green too... and not just the laws anymore!
- A. Siegel, regular contributor here at Celsias, takes apart McCains "green straight talk express".
