Tag Archives: carbon dioxide

Carbon-Sucking Technologies: Moving Forward Despite Controversy

By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

The 23rd conference of the was in full swing recently (6–17 November 2017). There, the countries that signed the discussed steps to keep the threat of climate change under control and—according to the Paris Agreement’s central aim—hold the rise in global temperatures to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by curbing industrial emissions of carbon dioxide. At the same time, scientists involved in the reported that total carbon dioxide emissions held stable from 2014 to 2016, at about 36 billion tons per year. They went on to clarify that this was a that will end in 2017, and that economic projections suggest the likelihood of further emissions growth in 2018.  Continue reading

The Arctic is Opening Up: Offshore Drilling and Melting Sea Ice

By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

The heat is on in the Arctic. This region is now warming at a rate faster than twice the global average—known as . Consequently, the ice that covers the North Pole and surrounding areas, and melts to its lowest extent each September, has been disappearing at an alarming rate. Continue reading

Clean Power Plan, New Ozone Standard, and Asthma

By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

Out with the old: Syncrude facility. Credit: ,

On August 3, 2015, the Obama administration announced the finalized US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “.” The plan has been developed under the and aims to slash carbon emissions from US power plants, which account for one-third of all carbon emissions in the country, by giving each state an individual goal for cutting these emissions. The EPA estimates that the new national standards will significantly decrease carbon pollution produced by the electric sector by 2030; carbon emissions will be 32% lower than the 2005 levels. For a step-by-step guide on how the Clean Power Plan works, . Continue reading

Climate Change: “Uncertainty” and the Hottest Year on Record

By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

Credit: , .

Over the last month, much has been said about 2014 being the hottest year on record. The first came from the Japan Meteorological Agency during the first week of January. Later, a by NASA and NOAA reinforced the finding: 2014 was the hottest year in more than 120 years of record keeping. The joint announcement underscored the significance of two major scientific branches of the US government reaching the same conclusion through separate data analyses. Continue reading