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Rapid Response To Climate Change More Important Than Ever

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a new report emphasizing the importance of taking rapid action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and examining the consequences of allowing temperatures to rise 2 degrees instead.

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Reducing Food Waste

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Food waste is a huge problem.  About a third of all food produced globally goes to waste, and the numbers are even worse in the US.  If food waste was a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.  Worse yet, all of this takes place in a world where 850 million people are chronically undernourished.

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Energy Justice In California

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California put in place a cap-and-trade program in 2013.  In such a program, companies pay penalties if they exceed a cap in carbon emissions but can buy and sell allowances that permit them to emit a given amount. Trading gives companies a strong incentive to save money by cutting emissions.  Since taking effect, the California program has raised more than $6.5 billion and is the fourth largest in the world.

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Emissions From Electric Buses

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Municipalities and transit agencies are gradually replacing conventional diesel buses with cleaner alternatives such as natural-gas-powered, diesel-electric hybrid, or fully electric buses.  The goal is to reduce the substantial carbon emissions associated with buses as well as reducing unhealthy air pollution. Diesel buses on average get less than 5 miles per gallon as they transport passengers around, so there is plenty of motivation to find more efficient ways to power them.

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A Battle For The Automobile Fuel Business

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Energy giant BP predicts that electric vehicle sales will increase by an incredible 8,800 percent between now and 2040.  That creates a major business opportunity for oil companies as well as a real problem because demand for gasoline and diesel is destined to slow.

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Feeding Seaweed To Cows

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Methane emissions are a real problem.  As a greenhouse gas, methane has at least 25 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide.  More than a third of all the methane that humans are responsible for putting into the atmosphere comes from domestic livestock:  cattle, sheep, goats and buffalo.  In California alone, dairy cows along with a smaller number of beef cattle emit the heat trapping equivalent of the emissions from 2.5 million cars.

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A New Catalyst For Splitting Water

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Hydrogen is widely considered to be a desirable source of clean energy.  It can be used in fuel cells to power electric motors in cars or can be burned directly in internal combustion engines.   If it is compressed or converted to liquid, it can be efficiently stored and transported.  Most of all, when it is used as an energy source, the only emission it produces is water.

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How Much Cleaner Is Natural Gas?

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The ascendance of natural gas over coal during the past decade has been driven primarily by fracking technology that has provided large quantities of the stuff at low prices.  But beyond that, there are environmental issues as well.  Natural gas emits 50 to 60% less carbon dioxide when combusted in a new, efficient natural gas power plant compared with emission from a typical new coal plant.  It appears to be a win-win situation.

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Biomass: Renewable But Not Sustainable

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Biomass is often touted as a green energy source. Just recently, the US Environmental Protection Agency declared biomass energy to be carbon neutral – a policy already embraced by many European countries. However, burning forests for fuel has hard limitations and ecological consequences.

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Removing CO2 From The Air

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A growing body of work is leading to the conclusion that it may be nearly impossible to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) because we are simply not reducing emissions quickly enough.  By some estimates, the current level of emissions will lock in that large a gain within the next few years.  At that point, the only way to reverse the effects is to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, where it otherwise will stay for hundreds to thousands of years.

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Trouble With China And Climate Progress

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With the United States backing away from the Paris climate agreement and with Europe taking a less active role in climate negotiations, China has become the bellwether on global climate change.  Recent climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany were rather acrimonious as countries accused other countries of not doing their part or keeping their promises.

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Deforestation-Free Palm Oil

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Few of us cook with palm oil or have ever even seen the stuff.  Nevertheless, 50% of all packaged grocery items – everything from ice cream and pizza to detergents and cosmetics – include it as an ingredient.  The global market for palm oil was $65 billion in 2015, and that number was projected to grow by more than 7% each year through 2021.

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Tourism And Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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Tourism is a significant contributor to global gross domestic product.  Furthermore, it is growing at an annual rate of 4%, more than many other economic sectors.  There are many places around the world where it is the largest industry.  But until recently, there really wasn’t very good information about its carbon footprint.

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The Fight For Greener Cars

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U.S. automakers have always been reluctant partners in the nation’s efforts to reduce air pollution and improve fuel efficiency. There have been struggles for decades between the carmakers and the government in setting Corporate Average Fuel Economy (or CAFÉ) standards.  During the Obama administration, some of the most demanding fuel economy and emissions standards were mandated.

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Renewable Energy Jobs

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According to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, more than half a million new jobs were generated by the renewable energy industry last year, an increase of 5.3% when compared with 2016.  The total number of people working in the renewables sector – which includes large hydropower facilities – has now exceeded 10 million people worldwide.

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WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)