Global Environmental Change Report articles from December 2002

Global Environmental Change Report archives from December 2002

Focus report: a year of flood, famine, and hope.
December 23, 2002... At the outset of 2002, the state of the Kyoto Protocol looked bleak. The country most responsible for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the US, had long since dropped out of the international climate treaty and other industrialized nations...

Protocol nearly there. (Policy & Economics).
December 23, 2002... The Kyoto Protocol took a couple more steps closer toward becoming international law this month as two more Annex I, or industrialized, countries ratified the climate treaty. Canada accounts for 3% of the world's greenhouse gas (GHG)...

Europe gets framework. (Policy & Economics).
December 23, 2002... European environment ministers have agreed on a framework to govern an EU-wide trading scheme for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission allowances. Initially the scheme will cover only C[O.sub.2], but will expand to cover other GHGs over time. In a...

Can Europe make the cut? (Policy & Economics).
December 23, 2002... The latest assessment by the European Environment Agency (EEA) suggests that steps taken to date by EU countries to curb their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will fall short of Kyoto Protocol obligations. Additional measures being discussed,...

Let the trades begin. (Policy & Economics).
December 23, 2002... The Kyoto Protocol is not yet international law, but that has not held up one of the protocol's market mechanisms countries intend to use to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Earlier this month the government of Slovakia completed an...

Melt, thaw, and resolve. (Science Update).
December 23, 2002... More fresh water is entering the Arctic Ocean now than in recent decades, perhaps the result--and future cause--of climate changes, according to the recent study of an international team of scientists. The findings appear in the 13 December...

Lightning in a bottle. (Science Update).
December 23, 2002... Where will the hydrogen that eventually powers hydrogen fuel cells come from? Maybe from bacteria, say researchers at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory. The lab announced recently that it successfully...

Instability on the ocean floor. (Science Update).
December 23, 2002... Massive amounts of methane are locked up in deposits under the ocean's floor. There is substantial interest in these deposits for two reasons: the methane could one day be exploited as a fuel source, and the trapped methane, if released into...

Making waves in ozone layer. (Science Update).
December 23, 2002... The September 2002 ozone hole was half the size it was in 2000 (see GECR, 11 October 2002, p. 6), but that was not evidence that the ozone layer is actually recovering. It was, say NASA scientists, the result of a greater number of large...

Renewables take a hit. (Industry Watch).
December 23, 2002... Consumption of renewable energy in the US fell sharply in 2001, according to a recent Department of Energy (DOE) report. Over all, renewable energy use dropped 12% to what the department said was the lowest level in more than 12 years,...

CAFE light. (Industry Watch).
December 23, 2002... For years US automakers have resisted changes in the laws that regulate fuel economy ratings, and to that end they have had a friend in President George W Bush. But last week the Bush Administration proposed an increase--albeit a modest...

Testing the next generation. (Industry Watch).
December 23, 2002... The largest wind turbine company in the US has just announced it is testing the world's largest wind turbine. GE Wind Energy, which fattened its portfolio earlier this year when it acquired Enron Wind, is putting a 3.6-megawatt (MW) turbine...

Shareholders show resolve. (Industry Watch).
December 23, 2002... Tired of waiting for US automakers Ford and GM to implement real efforts to reduce C[O.sub.2] emissions, a coalition of religious and environmental groups last week filed shareholder resolutions with both companies that would, if passed,...

US promises more science. (Focus Report).
December 13, 2002... Last week, the US government brought together officials, scientists, industry lobbyists, and environmental groups to discuss climate research and its application to US policy. More than 1,200 stakeholders participated in a three-day workshop...

So sue me. (Policy & Economics).
December 13, 2002... The US government has borne the brunt of much criticism on its climate change policy from environmental groups, particularly since George W. Bush took office in 2001. Now the government, specifically the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),...

Canada's house divided. (Policy & Economics).
December 13, 2002... Canada recently unveiled its plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as the nation prepares to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The country is committed under the protocol to reduce its GHG emissions by 6% below 1990 levels by the budget...

EU industry group approves. (Policy & Economics).
December 13, 2002... It took some compromise, but last month the European Parliament and EU member states formally adopted an agreement on the energy performance of buildings. At least one industry group, the European Insulation Manufacturers Association...

Levy out, tax in. (Policy & Economics).
December 13, 2002... The UK's climate change levy has placed an onerous burden on the manufacturing industry, say manufacturers. Now levy critics can point to new report by the Royal Society for the Advancement of Science, which says the costs of addressing...

Last call for arctic ice. (Science Update).
December 13, 2002... A recent study by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration suggests that perennial sea ice in the Arctic is melting faster than previously thought, and may disappear entirely this century. The study, funded by NASA's Cryospheric...

Changes in the English garden. (Science Update).
December 13, 2002... Gardeners in the UK are being forced to adapt to changes in climate, according to a recent report commissioned by the National Trust and The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The study found that English gardens will face a number of...

Killing fields yield no food. (Science Update).
December 13, 2002... As if decades of civil war were not bad enough for Cambodia, this year the small Southeast Asian nation has suffered through extreme weather events that have put nearly 700,000 people under the threat of a severe food shortage. This is...

European power cleaner. (Industry Watch).
December 13, 2002... How do [CO.sub.2] emissions between US and Europe compare? PricewaterhouseCoopers and the French daily newsletter Enerpresse attempted to answer that question last month with the release of the first [CO.sub.2] emissions benchmark of the 25...

Hydrogen fuel sells. (Industry Watch).
December 13, 2002... It will be at least 10 years before hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles are fully integrated into the world's markets. This month the industry took another small step toward its development when auto giants Honda and Toyota took zero-emission...

Beyond thin film solar. (Industry Watch).
December 13, 2002... BP Solar, one of the world's largest solar technology companies, has announced a plan to maintain its annual 30% growth in solar panels sales. It was good news for investors, but perhaps bad news for the 260 employees who may have to look for...

Someone to watch over them. (Industry Watch).
December 13, 2002... Over the next six months, some citizens of the Australian town of Jabiru will be watched. In what is being billed as the "first community residential energy audit," select residents will have their home energy use monitored, with the overall...

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). (In Brief).
December 13, 2002... Six companies are responsible for more than 90% of automobile emissions in the US. A new report commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) quantitatively analyzes the best and the worst of the automobile manufacturers. The...