We broke a record this week — but not the good kind. On Thursday, scientists at a research facility on top of the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii reported that average daily levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surpassed 400 parts per million for the first time. As the New York Times notes, CO2 levels haven’t been this high for at least 3 million years, meaning that we are likely to see changes to the climate never experienced by humans before. The 400 PPM milestone is symbolic, but it’s a reminder of how global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions are failing.

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Post tags: 400 parts per million, 400 PPM, atmospheric CO2, Bill McKibben, carbon dioxide, Climate Change, CO2 concentrations, CO2 emissions, global warming, greenhouse gasses, james hansen, NOAA, Pollution

In a bid to raise funds for a $10 billion transportation bill in Washington State, legislators want to impose a $25 tax on all bicycles that cost more than $500. When local business owners and Seattle Bike Blog contacted Washington Rep. Ed Orcutt (R), a member of the State Transportation Committee, to question the tax, Orcutt claimed that cyclists are contributing nothing to use the roads and because of their high heart and respiration rate, they produce greater carbon emissions than motorists.

Read the rest of Washington State Official Says Cyclists Emit More CO2 Than Motorists and Must be Taxed

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Post tags: bicycle tax, business, carbon emissions, Carbon Tax, cars, CO2 emissions, cycling, global warming, green transportation, law, politics, public transportation, Rep. Ed Orcutt (R), small business, transportation tax, Washingon State

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer recently announced that all Yahoo employees must report to the office for duty starting this summer. Accustomed to telecommuting, many of these employees are angry about the move, which is supposed to promote more collaboration and greater productivity. However studies have shown that working from home can be more productive than working in an office, it leads to increased job satisfaction, and the new commute stands to make life difficult for working parents (Mayer has installed her own personal nursery in her office – a luxury that other employees do not have). To top it all off, the work at home ban is sure to increase transportation emissions as Yahoo!’s 11,500 employees must now make the daily commute to the office.

Read the rest of Yahoo CEO Marisa Meyer Bans Telecommuting in a Devastating Blow to Environment, Working Parents

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Post tags: Climate Change, CO2 emissions, daily commute, Environment, global warming, marissa mayer, News, yahoo

Bring on the four day work week. New research shows that working fewer hours and enjoying more downtime could forestall climate change. The Center for Economic Policy and Research claims that if the developing world eschews the American working model (long hours and very little vacation time) in favor of the European model, which advocates more reasonable work hours and plenty of time for leisure and holidays, the output of greenhouse gas emissions would slow and subsequent temperature rise could be cut in half by 2100.

Read the rest of Working Less and Playing More Could Slow Down Climate Change, New Study Shows

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Post tags: carbon dioxide, Climate Change, CO2, CO2 emissions, Environment, four hour work week, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, News, slow global warming, The Center for Economic Policy and Research, work less

Just days after the UN climate change conference closed in Qatar, Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Davey has given government approval to fracking for natural gas in the UK. A ban prohibiting the company Caudrilla from pursuing its fracking explorations following two minor earthquakes in Lancashire last year has been lifted with the promise that a suite of new mechanisms are in place to keep the process safe. Shale gas is thought to be the least polluting of all fossil fuels and the government hopes its exploration plans will free the UK from foreign imports. Environmentalists are of course opposed to the plan.

Read the rest of Fracking for Shale Gas Receives UK Government Approval

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Post tags: Climate Change, CO2 emissions, Cuadrilla, earthquakes and fracking, environmental news, fossil fuels, fracking, global warming, Lanchashire, natural gas, Renewable Energy, renewable energy, shale, UK

For years, scientists have said that it is imperative to prevent the world’s climate from rising 2 degrees celsius (3. 6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. However according to a new report, climate scientists believe that it is increasingly unlikely that this will happen – data shows that 2012 CO2 emissions hit 35.6 billion tons – a 2.6% increase from 2011 and 58% above 1990 levels.

Read the rest of Scientists Say Carbon Emissions Are Too High to Stop Climate Change Without Immediate Action

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Post tags: C02 2020, Carbon emissions targets, Climate Change, CO2 emissions, CO2 targets, emissions, global warming, un environment programme, UN report, UNEP

The UN’s Environment Programme has released a report showing that global attempts to curb emissions of CO2 have fallen well short of targets designed to stop climate change. The report says that greenhouse gases are currently 14% above where they need to be in 2020 for temperature rises this century to remain below 2C. While the report adds that this target is still achievable, the authors note that unless governments take major action soon, the effects may be irreversible.

Read the rest of UN Says Carbon Emission Cuts Are Happening Too Slowly; Damage Could Be Irreversible

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Post tags: C02 2020, Carbon emissions targets, Climate Change, CO2 emissions, CO2 targets, emissions, global warming, un environment programme, UN report, UNEP

Satellites recently showed that Arctic ice is melting 50% faster than expected, and that sea ice levels are set to hit a record low. Now ice scientist Professor Peter Wadhams has revealed to BBC Newsnight that if the planet was to lose the Arctic ice then the impact would “effectively doubl[e] mankind’s contribution to global warming”.

Read the rest of Impact of Melting Arctic Ice Will Be Equal to Unleashing 20 Years Of CO2 Emissions

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Post tags: arctic ice, arctic melting rate, arctic ocean, arctic sea ice, arctic summer sea ice, CO2 emissions, cryosat 2, esa, european space agency, peter wadhams, summer ice, university college of london, us national snow and ice data center

Charcoal has been widely used and misused since ancient times. It was first used as a water and air filter by the Egyptians, but in the 19th century it was banned for causing bast deforestation and CO2 emissions — a consequence of being the only energy source for the production and processing of metals. In order to highlight the burnt wood’s traditionally healthy aspects, Formafantasma created a line of beautiful vessels that purify tap water using the pitch black material. These stunning vases combine hand-blown glass and charcoal in a succinct design that manages to explore concepts like tradition and nostalgia, and charcoal’s positive properties.

Read the rest of Formafantasma’s Stunning Glass Containers Use Charcoal to Purify Tap Water

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Post tags: charcoal, CO2 emissions, Confrontations, deforestation, Design Academy of Eindhoven, Doris Wicki, Formafantasma, Francesco Zorzi, green products, Luisa Zanzani, Massimo Lunardon, Vitra Design Museum, water issues, Weil am Rhein

Scientists have long thought that the the world’s oceans play a key part in reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, but a team of British and Australian scientists recently discovered precisely how this process works. The team found that naturally occurring funnels suck carbon dioxide deep into the Southern Ocean, where it is safely stowed away – however the team believe that this process may be threatened by the onset of climate change.

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Post tags: carbon dioxide, carbon funnels, carbon products, CO2 emissions, CO2 sucking funnels, Jean-Baptiste Sallee, Southern Ocean, UK team

Last week the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and the EC Joint Research Centre, reported that the carbon footprint of the individual Chinese citizen has matched that of the average European. Now the organizations have added that despite the world’s best efforts to stem climate change and implement renewable energy technologies, global levels of  carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have risen by a disturbing 3% in the past year.

Read the rest of New Report Shows Global CO2 Emissions Have Risen by 3% Over the Past Year

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Post tags: airline emissions, carbon footprint, china emissions, china industrial growth, Climate Change, CO2 emissions, emission goals, emission reduction, European emissions

Although Pakistan is a relatively small contributor to global warming (approximately 0.8% of global C02 emissions), it is reported to be one of the world’s 10 most ‘at risk’ countries to climate change. Despite this fact, Pakistani scientists report that the government is not taking the threat seriously and has rejected assistance from foreign powers to tackle the problem.

Read the rest of Pakistan Rejects Foreign Aid for Combating Climate Change

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Post tags: Climate Change, CO2 emissions, foreign aid, global warming, National Climate Change Policy, Pakistan, pakistan climate change

China’s industrial growth has really taken off in the last decade – and new research shows that the per capita emissions of the world’s most populated country are now almost on a par with the European average. While the title of the world’s large emitter has fluctuated between the US and China over the past few years, China’s emissions per person have always been lower than those in other developed countries – however it now looks like that is about to change.

Read the rest of Average Chinese Citizen’s Carbon Footprint is Now Equal to the Average European’s

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Post tags: airline emissions, carbon footprint, china emissions, china industrial growth, Climate Change, CO2 emissions, emission goals, emission reduction, European emissions

Carbon dioxide storage has long been discussed as a way of offsetting emissions from construction companies and other polluters. However it has also faced severe criticism as being a way for rich firms to essentially ‘pay to pollute’. Now a team of scientists from Stanford University say that there could be an even more serious side-effect – earthquakes.

Read the rest of Underground Carbon Capture and Storage Could Cause Devastating Earthquakes

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Post tags: carbon capture and storage, carbon capture and storage CCS, CCS facilities, CO2 emissions, co2 storage, earthquakes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, stanford university, us emissions

How much electricity do you think your home consumes? The Wattcher energy monitor is a simple device by Marcel Wanders that makes this data visible, giving households a helping hand in reducing their energy bills. Just plug it into any outlet and watch the Wattcher monitor tick away.

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Post tags: CO2 emissions, eco gadgets, electricity monitor, energy bill reduction, Energy Consumption, energy monitoring, green design, sustainable design, wattcher

Although nothing comes out the tailpipe, electric vehicles do produce carbon emissions and other pollutants; the amount of emissions all depends on the power source from which they are charged. A new study from the Union of Concerned Scientists looks at how good or bad EVs in different parts of the US perform in terms of carbon emissions based in differences in how electricity is generated. The report found that location matters a great deal; in some parts of the country where electricity is generated mostly from coal, EVs performed no better than gasoline-powered hybrids.

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Post tags: cars, chevy volt, CO2 emissions, electric car, electric vehicles, ev, fossil fuels, fuel economy, fuel efficiency, global warming, green cars, green transportation, hybrids

The cement manufacturing process has a staggering carbon footprint – said to be responsible for up to 7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the industry releases around 9 lbs of carbon dioxide for every 10 lbs of cement produced. With global production standing at around three billion tonnes each year, there remains a huge need to find a greener method of production. While there have been various efforts in recent years, researchers at George Washington University have devised the first technique, called Solar Thermal Electrochemical Production (STEP), to completely eliminate CO2 emissions from the process, and it would even be cheaper than current methods of production.

Read the rest of Solar Thermal STEP Method Could Make Cement Production Greenhouse Gas-Free

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Post tags: carbon dioxide, cement production, CO2 emissions, concrete manufacturing, fossil fuels, george washington unversity, industrial pollution, industry evironment, step method, stuart licht

Climate change deniers often sing the frustrating song that carbon dioxide emissions are harmless, but a groundbreaking study by scientists at Harvard, the University of Wisconsin, and Oregon State University has produced a paper which the authors claim to be the first to “definitively show the role carbon dioxide played in helping to end the last ice age.” CO2 concentrations rose from 185 parts per million to 260 ppm over the roughly 10,000 years during which the last ice age ended, according to Physorg. Compare that with our man-made emissions, which have raised CO2 concentrations by the same amount in the past two centuries alone, and we all have something to be very concerned about.

Read the rest of Scientists Prove that CO2 Emissions Drove Most Recent Ice Age

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Post tags: atlantic currents, carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, CO2 concentration, CO2 emissions, deglaciation causes, global warming, harvard university, Ice Age, jeremy shakun, melting ice caps, oregon state university, rate of carbon dioxide concentration, University of Wisconsin

Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed setting federal limits on carbon emissions from new power plants, a move could spell the beginning of the end for conventional coal-fired power plants in the US. The new rules would effectively ban any new coal plants that don’t trap CO2 before it leaves their smokestacks. The historic announcement represents a major step towards moving past one of the biggest contributors to climate change.

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Post tags: CO2, CO2 emissions, coal plants, coal power, coal-fired power plants, enbvironmental protection agency, energy policy, epa, greenhouse gasses, obama

Volkswagen has announced a series of ambitious goals to become more environmentally responsible – including a new program that will see a lineup of more efficient vehicles and more sustainable production at its plants all over the world. As part of its “Think Blue. Factory.” initiative, the environmental impact of all Volkswagen plants will be reduced by 25 percent by 2018. In specific terms, that means 25 percent less energy and water consumption, waste, and emissions. The automaker also plans to develop a more efficient vehicle lineup with reduced emissions by 2016.

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Post tags: 2013 VW Jetta Hybrid, AUDI, CO2 emissions, electric cars, green production facility, green transportation, hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicle, Think Blue, Think Blue Campaign, volkswagen, volkswagen sustainability, vw, VW blue-e-motion Golf