Tag Archives: Climate Change

Carbon Dioxide Emissions of Various Energy Sources

According to the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) about one third of US carbon dioxide emissions are generated in industry and power production. Considering that reducing carbon dioxide emissions is a key facet of climate change mitigation, it does one well to note which fuel sources generate the fewest emissions. According to data released by … Continue reading Carbon Dioxide Emissions of Various Energy Sources

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IPCC report calls for substantial emission reductions

Shares of low or zero carbon energies including those from wind energy, solar power, hydro and biomass should be increased, and fossil power generation without carbon dioxide capture and storage technology be phased out by the end of this century. Substantial reductions of greenhouse gas are needed in order to limit global temperature increase to … Continue reading IPCC report calls for substantial emission reductions

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IPCC: fossil fuels out, renewables in to tackle global warming

Switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in the coming decades is the International Panel for Climate Change’s (IPCC) recommendation in its latest report. This change is “affordable”, says the IPCC: it would knock only 0.06% off expected annual economic growth rates of 1.3%-3%, without quantifying the enormous health benefits of … Continue reading IPCC: fossil fuels out, renewables in to tackle global warming

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UN panel: We can still slow global warming

But how do we actually stop global warming — or at least slow it down? That’s the subject of a big new report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The topic this time is “mitigation” — how humanity could stop producing so many of the greenhouse gases. The upshot: Global greenhouse-gas emissions from … Continue reading UN panel: We can still slow global warming

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Decarbonizing the Future: Seizing Power for Global Change

As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meets on measures to reduce the impact of climate change, the answer to the global problem remains clear: The world must stop betting on a dirty fossil fuel energy system and should instead double-down on investment in clean, sustainable renewable energy. While no easy task, the good news is that … Continue reading Decarbonizing the Future: Seizing Power for Global Change

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Threat from global warming heightened in latest U.N. report

Global warming poses a growing threat to the health, economic prospects, and food and water sources of billions of people, top scientists said in a report that urges swift action to counter the effects of carbon emissions. The latest report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says the effects of warming are … Continue reading Threat from global warming heightened in latest U.N. report

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Where will wind energy be in 2020?

In five or six years’ time, the wind energy sector will see an end to regulatory uncertainty, increasing levels of consolidation within the industry and leaps ahead in technology – said CEOs speaking at EWEA 2014 in Barcelona today. We will see “advanced technology that is subsidy free,” said Anne McEntee, Vice-President of renewables at … Continue reading Where will wind energy be in 2020?

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2013 Marked the Thirty-seventh Consecutive Year of Above-Average Temperature

Last year was the thirty-seventh consecutive year of above-normal global temperature. According to data from NASA, the global temperature in 2013 averaged 58.3 degrees Fahrenheit (14.6 degrees Celsius), roughly a degree warmer than the twentieth-century average. Since the dawn of agriculture 11,000 years ago, civilization has enjoyed a relatively stable climate. That is now changing … Continue reading 2013 Marked the Thirty-seventh Consecutive Year of Above-Average Temperature

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Arctic Sea Ice Freefall is Mirror Image of Carbon Dioxide Ascent

The amount of Arctic sea ice has plummeted in recent decades—a bold manifestation of the rise in temperature resulting from the rapid increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. After staying below 300 parts per million (ppm) for some 800,000 years, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere skyrocketed as humans started burning more … Continue reading Arctic Sea Ice Freefall is Mirror Image of Carbon Dioxide Ascent

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EWEA – European Wind Energy Association : EU to miss its climate objectives without 2030 climate and renewable energy targets

The European Commission’s latest reference scenario, based on current trends and adopted policies, shows that EU GHG emissions would fall by 24% in 2020, but by just 44% in 2050 (compared to 1990 levels), with energy import dependency increasing during the period to almost 57%. “With the EU’s power sector expected to be still pumping … Continue reading EWEA – European Wind Energy Association : EU to miss its climate objectives without 2030 climate and renewable energy targets

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What A Year: 45 Fossil Fuel Disasters The Industry Doesn

While coal, oil, and gas are an integral part of everyday life around the world, 2013 brought a stark reminder of the inherent risk that comes with a fossil-fuel dependent world, with numerous pipeline spills, explosions, derailments, landslides, and the death of 20 coal miners in the U.S. alone. Despite all this, our addiction to … Continue reading What A Year: 45 Fossil Fuel Disasters The Industry Doesn

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Intermittence of wind energy hardly affects CO2 emissions in Spain

Researchers at the UPM have found that real contribution to emissions targets is positive even in energy markets with high penetration of wind energy. The finding has generated the first comprehensive analysis on interaction between wind parks and thermal power plants in Spain and has concluded that global balance of CO2 reduction is still significant. … Continue reading Intermittence of wind energy hardly affects CO2 emissions in Spain

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Record High for Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production reached 9.7 gigatons of carbon (GtC) in 2012 and may reach 9.9 GtC in 2013. Coal remains a major driver of CO2 emissions, accounting for 54 percent of the emissions increase in 2012. Fossil fuel combustion, together with deforestation and land use change, has pushed the … Continue reading Record High for Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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Negotiating Climate Change as if Development Really Mattered

Worldwatch Climate and Energy Director Alexander Ochs emphasizes the need to focus on what can be won, both in terms of climate and development, through the decarbonization of human activities. Over the past twenty years, climate negotiations have been dominated by concerns that addressing global warming is anti-business and onerous to future development. The insufficient … Continue reading Negotiating Climate Change as if Development Really Mattered

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UN conference overlooks the rising power of wind energy and other renewables

Another annual United Nations conference on climate change has ended and international negotiators once again failed to agree to a new treaty on reducing global greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Countries gathering the past two weeks in Warsaw made earnest speeches, said they understood the challenge that humans face from increasing levels of … Continue reading UN conference overlooks the rising power of wind energy and other renewables

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Wind Energy Threat to Birds Is Overblown

Wind energy is one of the cleanest, most abundant, sustainable — and increasingly cost-effective — ways to generate electricity. It is also one of the fastest growing electricity sources around the globe. mac os x snow leopard digital download In the United States alone, more than 13,000 megawatts of new capacity was installed in 2012, … Continue reading Wind Energy Threat to Birds Is Overblown

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Climate Change Driving Weather off the Charts

Meteorologists are calling the typhoon that slammed into the Philippines with 195-mile-an-hour winds on November 8, 2013, the most powerful tropical storm to make landfall on record. Super Typhoon Haiyan had gusts reaching 235 miles per hour and a storm surge swelling as high as 20 feet, so the destruction it left behind matched that … Continue reading Climate Change Driving Weather off the Charts

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Wind power could provide up to 18% of global electricity demand by 2050

Wind generation now meets a significant percentage of electrical demand globally  and last year the world added a record 44.8 gigawatts (GW) of wind power, bringing the total to more than 282.5 GW, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). In its annual report for 2012, the IEA said that the global wind power capacity … Continue reading Wind power could provide up to 18% of global electricity demand by 2050

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