Tag Archives: Greenhouse gas

Apr 05

ARE HUMANS DESTROYING THE PLANET?

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ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION?  We don’t know whether this is true or not; BUT BY STUDYING THE HEAVENS AND OUR OWN EARTH THERE ARE SIGNS THAT SOMETHING SIMILAR IS HAPPENING, Right?  Better to do all we can to stop it and hope we will survive for many generations,  than to keep poisioning ours seas, land, air,etc. and find out when it’s too late, WOULDN’T YOU AGREE?~mackie

Earth’s Orbit Blamed for Ancient Hot Spells

Based on chemical clues preserved in rocks, scientists believe a surge of carbon dioxide warmed the planet. But where did all of this greenhouse gas come from?

About 55 million years ago, an intense heat wave hit the planet. Earth’s surface temperature surged by 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius). Then, after a relatively short time, the heat subsided, only to be followed by at least two similar, but smaller heat waves.

 ANALYSIS: Climate Change Loads Disaster Dice 

 Based on chemical clues preserved in rocks, scientists believe a surge of carbon dioxide warmed the planet. But where did all of this greenhouse gas come from?

 A team of scientists is proposing that it came from the melting of permafrost, frozen soil packed with organic matter, after cycles in the Earth’s orbit warmed up the areas near the poles. The melting released a massive amount of carbon into the atmosphere, keeping reflected sunlight from escaping and causing the heat wave.

 Previously, other scientists have theorized that the release of the carbon compound methane trapped in marine sediments — in a form known as methane hydrates — changed the atmosphere. But the study published in the April 5 issue of the journal Nature argues that not enough methane would have been released to account for the magnitude of the warming.

 For much more click on: http://news.discovery.com/earth/ancient-orbit-melted-permafrost-released-carbon-120405.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1

Dec 09

MORE BELIEVERS TAKING CARE OF GOD’S GIFT TO US: THE UNIVERSE….

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Green and God-fearing may go hand-in-hand. A recent survey found that the majority of Americans who believe in God also believe in protecting the environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preventing nuclear war.

 The study, Faith and Global Policy Challenges: How Spiritual Values Shape Views on Poverty, Nuclear Risks, and Environmental Degradation,found that:

  • 3 out of 4 believers feel that they have an obligation to act as good stewards to the environment; 4 out of 10 believe that includes an obligation to prevent nuclear war.
  • 2 out of 3 believers agree that there is an obligation to care for God’s creation by supporting environmental laws and regulations.
  • 7 in 10 reject the idea that reducing greenhouse gas emissions would hurt the economy.
  • 8 out of 10 support negotiating international agreements to limit the number of nuclear weapons on high alert.
  • 4 in 10 think there is a consensus among scientists that urgent action on climate change is needed. That number drops to 3 in 10 for Evangelicals.

“These findings demonstrate the public’s strong moral impulse to address global policy challenges – an impulse that if applied properly could break the current impasse on these issues,” Steinbruner said.

Great Portrait. Click on:

 http://news.discovery.com/earth/religious-americans-support-environmental-protection-111208.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1

Apr 25

TRI-PARTISANSHIP?

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Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman to unveil climate bill

In their last and best shot at enacting a climate bill this year, Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) plan to unveil a draft Monday that will provide a streamlined system for capping greenhouse gas emissions from the utilities and transport sector but still aims to reduce the nation’s carbon dioxide output by 17 percent in 10 years.

The measure offers numerous concessions to businesses, including allowing manufacturing and energy-intensive industries four years before they would be subject to the carbon cap; provisions for offshore oil drilling; $10 billion for the coal industry to capture and store its carbon emissions; and enough loan guarantees and incentives to provide for the construction of 12 nuclear power plants.

“Because of the broad-based industry support that I expect the bill will garner, both at the rollout as well as beyond, I think this is the best path forward,” said Fred Krupp, who heads the Environmental Defense Fund.

In a telephone briefing Thursday for business supporters, Kerry said the Edison Electric Institute — whose members generate the bulk of the nation’s electricity — would endorse the measure, along with three of the nation’s five biggest oil and gas companies. He did not name the three oil companies, but a source familiar with the negotiations said Shell, BP and Conoco Phillips would support the bill.

Significant sections of the bill remained blank as of Friday evening, according to several sources, and that lack of specificity could deter some senators and many business interests from endorsing the measure at the outset.

“I’d like to support it, but I have to look at it,” said Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), adding that she was concerned about what it would do to home heating oil and gas prices. “In this economy, we have to see how much we can do.”

One of the most complex areas has been the question of how to limit carbon emissions from transportation. Initially the senators had hoped to create a linked fee on fuels that would be tied to the price of carbon, but that idea came under attack last week as a gas tax.

“If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s a duck,” said Sen. Christopher S. Bond (R-Mo.). “I don’t care whether you call it a linked fee. It is a tax on energy.”

To avoid that pitfall, the bill’s authors are going to require oil and gas producers to buy special, non-tradable emissions allowances, at a price set by the Environmental Protection Agency. It would be pegged to the carbon market and must be retired at a certain date.

“We’re not going to raise gas prices,” Graham said.

To keep utility costs from rising too high, two-thirds of the revenue generated by auctioning off pollution allowances for utilities would be returned to consumers through local electricity distributors.

And in an effort to win over moderate Republicans, such as Sen. George V. Voinovich (Ohio), the bill will preempt both the states’ and the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, as long as emitters comply with the standards outlined in the measure. The agency will monitor and enforce compliance with the law.

The measure aims to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels in a decade and 80 percent by 2050.

For the entire article click on:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…