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Study questions China’s CO2 emissions dip
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on March 30th, 2016
Climate Central: China's greenhouse gas emissions are on a downward trajectory, but its emissions may not have fallen quite as much over the past two years as the Chinese government and the International Energy Agency have suggested.
That's the conclusion of a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, which says China's emissions may have actually increased in 2014, rather than fallen.
The International Energy Agency estimated last year that both the decline in China's coal use and falling electricity...
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Study: California methane leak largest in U.S. history
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on February 26th, 2016
Climate Central: The gas leak that forced the evacuation of 1,800 homes in the mountains above Los Angeles late last year was the largest methane leak in U.S. history and shows the climate risks of aging natural gas infrastructure, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science.
The Aliso Canyon leak near the Porter Ranch neighborhood was so big that it emitted 97,100 tons of methane -- the equivalent of the annual greenhouse gas pollution from 572,000 cars, according to the study, which used aircraft...
U.S. Coal Production Dropped to 30-Year Low in 2015
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on January 8th, 2016
Climate Central: Coal production in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level in 30 years thanks in part to low natural gas prices and climate policies encouraging utilities to switch to natural gas to generate electricity.
It was 1986 when coal production in the U.S. was as low as it is today, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data released Friday. Coal is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. Burning natural gas to generate electricity emits about half...
Climate implications seen call for Keystone XL ‘pause’
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on November 4th, 2015
Climate Central: Amid low oil prices and growing political opposition in the U.S., TransCanada Corp. has asked the State Department to suspend its review of the company’s permit application for its controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. The request could wind up delaying the construction of Keystone XL, which has been at the forefront of the debate over climate change in the U.S. The company’s action comes as oil prices hover around $50 per barrel, Canadian tar sands development is slowing and Democratic presidential...
New York Prepares for Up to 6 Feet of Sea Level Rise
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on November 2nd, 2015
Climate Central: LaGuardia Airport is about to be rebuilt in New York City, but by the end of the century, fish could be swimming where airplanes once parked at the terminal. That's because sea levels in the area could rise by as much as 6 feet over the next 75 years, according to new predictions released by the state of New York.
New York State environment officials announced Friday that they're creating new sea level rise regulations that will help coastal communities build more resilient homes and other buildings...
Study sees ecological risks as solar expands
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on October 20th, 2015
Climate Central: Solar power development is big business in sunny California, fueled by low solar panel prices and the drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to tackle climate change. Some biologists, however, are growing concerned that the placement of new large-scale solar power plants in the Mojave Desert may harm the biological diversity found there.
A study published Monday shows that solar power developers in California have been using mostly undeveloped desert lands with sensitive wildlife habitat as...
Tar Sands Mining Moves to Utah
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on October 1st, 2015
Climate Central: The Canadian tar sands, or oil sands, are much more carbon-laden than most other fossil fuels produced in North America, and their possible outsized impact on the climate is one of the primary reasons the proposed Keystone XLPipeline, which would carry tar sands oil to Texas refineries, is so controversial.
Despite long odds as oil prices continue their dip below $50 per barrel, commercial tar sands mining is coming for the first time to the U.S., where an Alberta company called U.S. Oil Sands...
Firestorm Leaves ‘Mass Destruction’ in California
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on September 14th, 2015
Climate Central: The catastrophic wildfires burning in California, which killed at least one person over the weekend and injured several others, are being fueled by high temperatures, strong winds and years of withering drought influenced by climate change.
The Valley Fire ignited in drought-stricken Northern California early Saturday afternoon, destroying more than 400 homes and scorching 50,000 acres -- an area more than twice the size of Manhattan -- within about 12 hours.
"It's a true firestorm -- extremely...
NY Fracking Report Underscores Quake, Climate Risks
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on May 14th, 2015
Climate Central: New York is 2,000 pages closer to becoming the first fossil fuels-rich state in the U.S. to ban fracking indefinitely because of the climate-changing methane it could emit and the earthquakes, air pollution and water contamination it could cause.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in December that fracking, short for the natural gas extraction process called hydraulic fracturing, would be banned in New York, where the energy-rich Marcellus shale holds up to 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The state...
Intense Wildfire Season Expected in West
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on May 5th, 2015
Climate Central: Amid one the West's worst droughts in centuries, more than 5,600 wildfires scorched more than 600,000 acres last year in California alone.
It could happen again.
With drought showing signs of worsening across the West and Upper Midwest, the Forest Service anticipates that it may spend up to $1.6 billion fighting wildfires in 2015, in a fire season that is expected to be worse than normal.
"We anticipate another active fire year, underscoring the need to reform our wildfire funding,' U.S....