geoengineering
Various geoengineering schemes show promise of reducing the impact of global climate change, but carry risks and limitations as well, according to a first-ever comprehensive assessment by researchers at the University of East Anglia. Among the researchers’ findings: * Enhancing carbon sinks around the globe could help bring down carbon dioxide
climate
Rising sea levels caused by global warming pose a threat to animals, humans and important structures of Lancashire, Cumbria and Wales, according to researchers at the University of Manchester. Richard Kingston and Adam Barker, both with the university’s School of Environment and Development, have launched a Website where citizens
carbon footprint
Who even thinks about the carbon footprint of a carton of orange juice? PepsiCo does, apparently, and the footprint is a surprisingly large one. The New York Times reports this week that PepsiCo, in the course of trying to assess its products’ impact on global warming, found that a half-gallon
carbon dioxide
On his first full day as president of the US, Barack Obama is receiving some climate change advice from the Sustainable Energy Network: Start tackling the problem today. A loose affiliation of 600-plus companies, groups and individuals, the Sustainable Energy Network outlined its recommendations for immediate action in a press
climate
Attendees at the World Future Energy Summit 2009 now taking place in Abu Dhabi are hearing good news along with the bad: while the globe faces severe threats from climate change and rising energy demand, speakers warn, those factors are also contributing to rapid growth in alternative energy technologies. “Alternative
climate
As environmental groups decry today’s OK for a third runway at Heathrow airport, others are cheering accompanying decisions — including £250 million to encourage a shift to more ultra low-carbon vehicles — by Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon. “The extra £250 million of funding announced to develop low-carbon vehicles will spur the
china
We’ve all heard plenty about how people in developing countries are eager to catch up to the developed-nation lifestyle: fast food, cars, mobile phones, big-screen TVs, etc. But a new study by the consulting giant Accenture finds an intriguing difference between the populations: citizens of developing economies are apparently
energy consumption
Now here’s a novel energy-saving idea that just might work brilliantly: making efficiency improvements the object of a massive multi-player online game. The more energy you conserve, the more points you earn for your online gaming team. That’s the concept put forward by Byron Reeves, a professor of
climate
Stanford University announced this week that it’s establishing a new institute to focus solely on energy issues. The Precourt Institute for Energy gets kicked off with $100 million (US) in new funding. That money comes on top of the $30 million Stanford’s already spending on energy research. The
carbon dioxide
While news stories abound about IT’s growing environmental footprint, geeks everywhere are abuzz today about a Google-centered eco-controversy. The brouhaha centers on one query: how much carbon dioxide does your typical Google search generate? According to Harvard University Alex Wissner-Gross, each Google search is responsible for 7 grams of
alternative energy
Too many Top-This-or-That-of-2008-type stories are published during the end-of-the-year holidays: who has time to read them all? That’s why, here at Greenbang, we’ve saved the wrapup (and look ahead) feature till now. Anyway, doing our Top-Stories-of-2008 story now makes sense in another way as well, as many of
carbon sequestration
Quick, you have five seconds to answer: Melting ice caps and icebergs … bad or good? We’ve been hearing the answer, “Bad” (as in rising sea levels, saltwater encroaching on freshwater supplies, etc.), for some time now, but a team of UK researchers say they might have found a plus
