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Long-term trend in global CO2 emissions; 2011 report – PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency: After a 1 percent decline in 2009, global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increased by more than 5 percent in 2010, which is unprecedented in the last two decades, but similar to 1976, when the global economy was recovering from the first oil crisis . . . → Read More: Doc alert: Long term trend in CO2 emissions Vehicle Technologies Program: Fact #692: September 12, 2011 Fuel Economy Distribution for New Cars and Light Trucks: Nearly 64% of new cars sold in model year (MY) 1975 had combined highway/city fuel economy of 15 miles per gallon (mpg) or less [blue shading]. By 2010, 63% of cars had fuel economy of 25 mpg or higher [green . . . → Read More: New US vehicle fuel economy Well, it seems that the Arctic isn’t done making things gratuitously interesting for this melt season. We’ve reached that time of year when the daily numbers for Arctic sea ice extent and area[1] are generally declining, but with a little wiggle in the numbers. Historically, we’re one to two weeks from the absolute minimum . . . → Read More: Arctic antics I’ve made no secret of my distaste for the notion that CNG vehicles are a “solution” to, well, anything. Reading some of the ridiculous spin about CNG vehicles makes me wonder if I’m the only person on the planet who [1] thinks climate change is an immense and present danger, and [2] has access to . . . → Read More: CNG vehicles: A cheap, shiny new bridge to nowhere This will have to be extremely brief, for reasons not worth detailing here, but I wanted to revisit one point in Earth: Ground zero for the permafrost bomb. Yes, I missed a term in the permafrost version of the Drake equation, namely the portion of the carbon in permafrost that is likely to be liberated . . . → Read More: Permafrost update I’ve long been a proponent of the carbon budget way of viewing our climate change predicament. By focusing on the total amount of CO2 (or CO2 equivalent other greenhouse gases) we can emit from this point forward, I think it greatly simplifies the “feeds and speeds” without introducing any inaccuracies or openings for misunderstanding. . . . → Read More: Earth: Ground zero for the permafrost bomb I try. I really do. I read everything I can about energy and climate, and I try to stay on top of the deniers’ latest data shenanigans, but sometimes I’m still left with my jaw on the floor, wondering how they can justify some of the things they say and write. The latest . . . → Read More: Tamino whacks another denier data mole The United Nations Environment Programme has released the report, Decoupling Natural Resource Use and Environmental Impacts from Economic Growth. See that link for the full report, a summary, and a fact sheet. An excerpt from the above page: “Decouple” rate of resource consumption from economic growth rate, experts warn By 2050, humanity could devour an estimated 140 billion . . . → Read More: Doc alert: Decoupling resources and impacts from economic growth Update/correction: I got the units wrong on the graph in the initial version of this post. They’re km3, and I’ve made corrections below. Thanks to Mark Shapiro for catching that. It’s that time of year again, when those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are immersed in the wonders of Spring and a young man’s . . . → Read More: Arctic ice volume: Definitely not good news The Reno Gazette-Journal has posted an interesting article about the insidious effect of Fox News on general understanding of some established facts, based on a study of media’s influence. They note: The study wasn’t intended to be concerned with where people got their information, just how accurate it seemed. But the researchers noticed a peculiar thing: . . . → Read More: Deniers and liars: The Fox feedback loop in effect |
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