Panel: Methane leak capture could add millions to ...

Ohio oil and gas drillers could use existing technology to find and fix most methane leaks at little or no cost to their bottom lines, according to experts on a recent panel at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Better still: leak detection could create new jobs and revenue, boosting the state’s economy and helping to curb a potent greenhouse gas responsible for about a quarter of manmade global warming...

Scientists Warn We May Be on Track for ‘Hoth...

In two recent studies, scientists have looked into the future and into the past to see what might happen to the global climate if we fail to curb greenhouse gas emissions in time. The results are frightening. A study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined how, once a certain threshold was crossed, feedback loops could push the planet’s climate towards a “Hothouse...

Trump Fuel Efficiency Proposal Is Attack on Global...

The Trump administration followed through on a move long dreaded by environmental groups and several states Thursday, publishing an official proposal to rollback Obama-era vehicle emissions standards and to revoke California’s waiver to set stricter air pollution standards under the Clean Air Act, E&E News reported. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety...

Ask the Experts: Does Rising CO2 Benefit Plants?

Climate change’s negative effects on plants will likely outweigh any gains from elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels Climate change skeptics have an arsenal of arguments for why humans need not cut their carbon emissions. Some assert rising CO2 levels benefit plants, so global warming is not as bad as scientists proclaim. “A higher concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere would aid photosynthesis, which in...

Is there a conservative case for a carbon tax?

When a Republican congressman from Florida proposed a tax on carbon emissions, a conservative backlash followed. Yet many GOP voters and businesses support incentives for a clean-energy economy. – Amelia When Florida Congressman Carlos Curbelo proposed a federal tax on carbon emissions, he broke ranks with many Republicans who reject taxation on principle and who assert that human activity is not warming the planet. But his...

More Than 400 Glyphosate Cancer Lawsuits Can Go to...

A federal judge presiding over more than 400 lawsuits claiming that glyphosate—the active ingredient in Monsanto‘s Roundup weed killer—causes cancer ruled Tuesday that the plaintiffs could present their evidence in court, ABC reported. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said the evidence presented by experts in March hearings linking glyphosate to a type of cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma were “not...

EPA Shakeup: Wheeler Gives First Address as Top Pr...

Acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Andrew Wheeler addressed his new employees for the first time Wednesday, setting the tone and agenda for his leadership, Pacific Standard reported. Wheeler broke with ex-EPA head Scott Pruitt in style, but not in substance, vowing to be more transparent and listen to career staffers while also upholding President Donald Trump‘s deregulatory agenda, The Washington Post...

Cincinnati named one of Top 25 most environmentall...

To find the most eco-conscious destinations across the country, Insider consulted a range of sources, including Siemens’ Green City Index for the US and Canada, which measures and rates the environmental performance of 27 cities in North America, and WalletHub’s 2017 list of the greenest cities in America, which compares 100 of the largest cities in the US across 22 “green” indicators like median...

Couple plans for renewable energy of solar panels ...

Randy and Renee Ruchotzke have installed enough solar panels on their house in Kent to power everything in their house and an electric car. Most of the solar panels are on the sunny side of the house, with a couple on the front. YellowLite, a solar energy contractor of Cleveland, installed the 22 panels in March, and they were operational by April. The system cost the husband and wife $17,000. Renee said they took out an...

Banks Pivot Toward Greener Finance in Climate Acti...

Some of Europe’s largest banks are unveiling plans to lend and manage money in greener ways as pressure mounts to account for risks associated with climate change. “It is coming, it’s a trend that’s started,” said Louis Douady, head of corporate social responsibility at Natixis SA in Paris. “The intention is to adapt our balance sheet to climate transition, so clearly we want to have a change in our business mix.” Financial...

Monarchs Use Milkweed as Preventive Medicine—but C...

Most people know that monarch butterflies can’t exist without milkweed. As caterpillars, the monarchs feed on milkweed plants exclusively, absorbing the milkweed’s poisons in order to ward off birds and other predators. On their epic migration across the North American continent, the butterflies also lay their eggs on these plants, relying on the noxious taste of the leaves to keep their brood safe from grazers...

‘Climate Change’ Has Been Scrubbed Fro...

The Department of the Treasury removed mentions of “climate change” from an unpublished sustainability report it prepared for 2017, E&E News reports. Meanwhile, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health—which researches risks to workers’ health—has removed “climate change” from certain webpages, according to work from the Environmental Governance and Data Initiative, an...

Global warming could be far worse than predicted, ...

This map shows Earth’s average global temperature from 2013 to 2017, as compared to a baseline average from 1951 to 1980, according to an analysis by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Yellows, oranges, and reds show regions warmer than the baseline.(Photo: NASA/GSFC/Scientific Visualization Studio)) Collapsing polar ice caps, a green Sahara Desert, a 20-foot sea-level rise. That’s the potential future of...

Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been se...

Simulation of maximum temperatures on July 3 from American (GFS) weather model at two meters above the ground. (University of Maine Climate Reanalyzer) (This article, originally published Tuesday, was updated Wednesday to add all-time heat records at Mount Washington, N.H., and Tbilisi, Georgia set since Monday. On Thursday, the story was updated to include information on heat-related deaths in Canada and extraordinary heat...

California’s Incredible New Solar Panel Law Could ...

In fact, the state has a law that at least 50 percent of all electricity will come from carbon-free sources by 2030. But on May 9, 2018, the state upped the ante, with the California Energy Commission unanimously approving a plan requiring all new homes and apartment buildings to have some form of solar power installed. That, in a word, is historic. Yes, similar mandates have been passed by US cities, but this one’s the...