Search:   Spelling

Sub-Topics Air Pollution Causes of Global Warming Consequences of Global Warming Governance Ocean Carbon Sequestration Prevention Efforts Soil Carbon Sequestration Tipping Point Also Try Electric Cars Fuel Cell Power Global Dimming Hybrid Vehicles Hydroelectric and Wave Power Pollution Saving Forests Sustainable Development Sustainable Living Wind Power Lesson Plans Energy and Environmental Trade-offs - Grade 11 (British Columbia Ministry of Education) Provides a lesson plan for the 11th grade level. The materials are called an Integrated Resource Package. 2-01 Lists Global Warming Resources (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh) Provides over a dozen sources of information on global warming, by organization. 4-02 News -01-19-06 Ex-EPA Directors Blast Bush on the Environment (MSNBC News) "Six former heads of the Environmental Protection Agency — five Republicans and one Democrat — accused the Bush administration Wednesday of neglecting global warming and other environmental problems." 01-06 -02-02-07 U.N. Report: Evidence for Global Warming Is "Unequivocal" (PBS News) "The evidence for global warming is 'unequivocal' and it is 'very likely' that human actions are to blame for rising temperatures, an international panel of climate experts said Friday.” 01-07 -02-04-06 Reality Check on President's Oil Reduction Plan (Christian Science Monitor) "With Americans concerned about rising gasoline prices and dependence on imported oil, the president wants to cut 75 percent of US oil imports from the region by 2025 - and he provided a new energy plan to help do it." "A bipartisan proposal in Congress - the 'Vehicle and Fuel Choices for American Security Act' - advocates a 7-million-barrel cut over 20 years, nearly double Bush's proposal and eliminating the need for any Middle Eastern oil." 02-06 -02-08-06 Scientific Information on Global Warming Suppressed (New York Times) "The resignation [of Bush appointee George C. Deutsch] came as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was preparing to review its policies for communicating science to the public. The review was ordered Friday by Michael D. Griffin, the NASA administrator, after a week in which many agency scientists and midlevel public affairs officials described to The New York Times instances in which they said political pressure was applied to limit or flavor discussions of topics uncomfortable to the Bush administration, particularly global warming." "Yesterday, Dr. [James E.] Hansen said that the questions about Mr. Deutsch's credentials were important, but were a distraction from the broader issue of political control of scientific information." " 'On climate, the public has been misinformed and not informed,' he said. 'The foundation of a democracy is an informed public, which obviously means an honestly informed public. That's the big issue here.' " 02-06 -02-27-06 Voluntary Cuts in Greenhouse Gases Not Working (ABC News) "U.S. emissions of gases blamed for global warming rose 1.7 percent in 2004, as the country burned more fossil fuel for transportation and electricity, according to federal environment regulators." "The EPA did not indicate how U.S. emissions would fare in the future, but climate researchers say voluntary cuts won't trim overall greenhouse output in the United States." 02-06 -03-13-06 Carbon Levels Accelerating (BBC News) "US climate scientists have recorded a significant rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, pushing it to a new record level." " 'We don't see any sign of a decrease; in fact, we're seeing the opposite, the rate of increase is accelerating,' Dr Pieter Tans told the BBC." 03-06 -04-18-08 Companies Working to "Green" the Earth (Time.com) "The steady deterioration of the very climate of our very planet is becoming a war of the first order, and by any measure, the U.S. is losing. Indeed, if we're fighting at all—and by most accounts, we're not—we're fighting on the wrong side. The U.S. produces nearly a quarter of the world's greenhouse gases each year and has stubbornly made it clear that it doesn't intend to do a whole lot about it. Although 174 nations ratified the admittedly flawed Kyoto accords to reduce carbon levels, the U.S. walked away from them. While even developing China has boosted its mileage standards to 35 m.p.g., the U.S. remains the land of the Hummer." 04-08 -04-18-08 Green Websites (Time.com) Provides Websites dedicated to the greening of the planet. 04-08 -04-19-07 Report: Conflicts Over Water and Food Could Intensify (Christian Science Monitor) "For years, the debate over global warming has focused on the three big 'E's': environment, energy, and economic impact. This week it officially entered the realm of national security threats and avoiding wars as well." "As quoted in the Associated Press, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, who presided over the UN meeting in New York April 17, posed the question 'What makes wars start' The answer:" " 'Fights over water. Changing patterns of rainfall. Fights over food production, land use. There are few greater potential threats to our economies ... but also to peace and security itself.' " 04-07 -04-29-06 Ten States Sue the Federal Government Over Global Warming (CNN News) "Ten states fired a new legal salvo Thursday at the federal government in a long-running court battle over global warming and pollution from power plants." 04-06 -05-09-07 News Corp to Go Green (ABC News) "Media conglomerate News Corp. said on Wednesday it would be "carbon neutral" across all of its businesses by 2010, putting a time frame on when it plans to cut energy usage." 05-07 -06-07-08 "Carbon-Neutral" Won't Be Enough (SoilCarbonCoalition.org) "What this means is that our current widespread advocacy of CO2 emissions reduction has little leverage on what most scientists regard as the cause of global warming—the highest atmospheric CO2 levels in hundreds of thousands of years. The assumption that CO2 emissions reductions will do the trick has become popular groupthink, not subject to scrutiny because it's what we all know, and may seem like the only available option. Once again, we are goading ourselves into a gallant cavalry charge into the barbed wire." "Carbon-neutral won't be enough. We have to be carbon-negative, to be pulling carbon out of the atmosphere into some safe, stable place. Various technologies have been proposed for this, but so far they haven't succeeded in solving the immense storage or disposal issues, and they require energy. The oxidation or burning of carbon compounds yields energy, and the reverse reactions require energy. Reversing the Keeling curve will require enormous amounts of energy." 06-08 -06-14-07 Bloomberg and Schwarzenegger, Environmental Heroes? (Christian Science Monitor) "They're also doing big things. Specifically, they're doing big things that Washington has failed to do. In a time of federal policy paralysis, when partisanship-on-crack has made compromise almost impossible, when President George W. Bush's political adviser is a household name but his domestic policy adviser was unknown even in Washington until he was arrested for shoplifting, cities and states are filling the void. Bloomberg and Schwarzenegger happen to be the best examples of this phenomenon as well as the best known. Bloomberg is 65; the Last Action Hero is turning 60; they've got better things to do than bicker and posture. 'These are two exceptional and forceful guys who don't need the job at all; they had pretty damn good lives before they got into politics,' says their mutual friend Warren Buffett. 'They're in office to get things done. And they're doing that a lot better than anyone in D.C.' " 06-07 -06-14-07 Study: Birds Are Declining (Christian Science Monitor) "New data show the populations of some of America's well-known birds in a tailspin, thanks to the one-two punch of habitat fragmentation and, increasingly, global warming." 06-07 -08-28-05 Simulation Results: Temperature Rise Caused a Mass Extinction (BBC News) "A computer simulation of the Earth's climate 250 million years ago suggests that global warming triggered the so-called 'great dying'." "A dramatic rise in carbon dioxide caused temperatures to soar to 10 to 30 degrees Celsius higher than today, say US researchers." "Some 95% of lifeforms in the oceans became extinct, along with about three-quarters of land species." 8-05 -11-29-06 Supreme Court to Hear Pivotal Global Warming Case (MSNBC News) "The Supreme Court hears arguments this week in a case that could determine whether the Bush administration must change course in how it deals with the threat of global warming." 11-06 Environment News (Environment News Service) Provides stories related to pollution, global warming, preservation of species, alternative energy, energy efficiency, saving forests, and similar topics. 11-02 Global Warming News (OneWorld.net) Provides news related global warming. 6-01 Keeling Curve (NASA) "The measurements show the steady rise of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere over a forty-seven-year period (1958-2005). Regular wobbles reflect the inhalation and exhalation of the Earth as plants grow, absorbing carbon in the summer and spring, and decay, releasing carbon in the fall and winter. The measurements shown in this curve represent the world’s longest continuous record of atmospheric carbon dioxide and were the first to confirm the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels. As such, this is considered to be among the most important time-series data sets for the study of global climate change." 07-08 Papers -A Glossary of Earth Terms (MSNBC News) Provides a glossary of terms related to global warming. 04-07 Air Pollution (ARIC) Provides an encyclopedia of information on over a hundred topics related to the atmospheric environment and alternative energy sources. 12-00 Australia and USA Pledge $127 Million for Fighting Global Warming (USA Today) "The United States and Australia on Thursday pledged a combined $127 million to an Asia Pacific plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting renewable energy sources and cleaner ways to use coal." "The countries at the meeting — with 45% of the world's population — account for nearly half of the world's gross domestic product, energy consumption and global greenhouse gas emissions, the Australian government said." "Greenpeace slammed Thursday's pledges as inadequate." 01-06 Biggest Offenders in Global Warming (BBC News) "The US emits more, absolutely and per head, than any other country - although it also produces more wealth. When Kyoto was agreed, the US signed and committed to reducing its emissions by 6%. But since then it has pulled out of the agreement and its carbon dioxide emissions have increased to more than 15% above 1990 levels." 03-06 Bush Administration Blocks Plans to Reduce Global Warming (CBS News) "The Bush administration is working in advance of next month's summit of industrial nation leaders to resist naming global warming as an urgent problem that requires aggressive action." 6-05 Bush Administration Blocks Plans to Reduce Global Warming (The Observer Guardian) "While the aid-for-Africa element of the G8 discussions has progressed to the point where pledges of billions of dollars have been made, the greater issue of saving the planet is bogged in petty negotiation, largely because America's delegates still refuse to admit, in public, that global warming is caused by human activity." 6-05 Congress Approves Bill to Support Coal and Nuclear Fuels (CNN News) "The bill now ready for President Bush's signature won't stem high energy prices that have been viewed as a growing political concern, both in Congress and at the White House." "The bill provides $14.5 billion in tax breaks and potentially billions more in loan guarantees and other subsidies to encourage oil and gas drilling, improve natural gas and electric transmission lines, build new nuclear power reactors and expand renewable energy sources, especially construction of wind turbines." 7-05 Costs - Human Costs of Fossil Fuel Use (HotEarth.net) Describes the uses of fossil fuels and the amounts of pollution that each has caused. 5-01 Department of Energy Releases Documents Showing Access to Energy Companies (CBS News) Summarizes documents released under court order to show which groups influenced the development of national policy on energy. According to the summary, energy executives and lobbyists had a great deal of access to the head of the Energy Department, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "In all, three dozen energy executives and lobbyists participated in eight meetings with Abraham from mid-February to late April 2001. The Cheney energy report was released in May."  "But the papers released late Monday by DOE document no top-level meetings with advocates of energy efficiency or renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power. EPA to Relax Clean Air Requirements for Utilities (USAToday.com) Groups monitoring air pollution activity regard the new policy as very bad for the environment . "An easing of the rules, they argued, will produce millions of tons of additional pollution from older coal-burning plants and amount to a rollback of the Clean Air Act." Editorial - Argument Against Bush Global Warming Policy (SierraClub.org) Provides arguments against Bush Administration proposals to fight global warming. 5-02 Editorial: Generation Gaps and the Boomer Generation (CBS News) "Our economy depends on massive amounts of foreign oil, no one seems enthusiastic about energy conservation or slowing down our pursuit of conspicuous consumption, and the main goal for many parents is to make sure their children get perfect grades so they'll be accepted into elite colleges." "How long can we keeping heading in this direction? I feel like most of us boomers will be gone by the time the road finally reaches a dead end. But right now wouldn't be a bad time for you people in Generation X and Y and all the other ones coming behind us to start looking for alternative routes." 8-05 Energy Costs and Alternative Energy by State (EREN) Provides basic information related to energy and alternative energy by state. Includes projects, costs, contacts, and more. 1-01 Essay in Response to the Bush Energy Plan (Sierra Club) "President Bush's energy plan won't work, because it makes the wrong choices. The Bush Administration energy plan ignores high-tech, energy-efficient solutions in favor of increased oil, gas, coal, and nuclear production, while his budget proposal slashes funding for renewable energy and efficiency by a third." 11-02 Experts Contradict Bush on Costs to Counter Warming (MSNBC News) "Mandatory limits on all U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse' gases would not significantly affect average economic growth rates across the country through 2025, the government says." 4-05 Global Warming (BBC News) Provides news from March, 2006. 03-06 Global Warming and Financial Interests (Grist.org) "Five months after Bush's inauguration, a West Virginia Coal Association official told a meeting of the organization: 'You did everything you could to elect a Republican president. Now you are already seeing in his actions the payback ... for what we did.' " "That 'payback' came in the form of an about-face on a campaign promise Candidate Bush made in 1999 -- to repeat nationally what he had done as governor of Texas, imposing a carbon dioxide emissions cap on the state's coal-fired power plants. In a letter to four Republican senators, Bush said he was backing away from the cap because of the 'incomplete state of scientific knowledge of the causes of, and solutions to, global climate change and the lack of commercially available technologies for removing and storing carbon dioxide.' " "Particularly pleased by Bush's flip-flop was Irl Englehardt, chair of the Peabody Group, the country's biggest coal company. Englehardt had donated $250,000 to the Republican National Committee, and served as an adviser to the Bush-Cheney Energy Transition Team." 11-05 Kyoto Protocol Meeting Fails (CNN) Describes the failure of nations to agree on limits on greenhouse gases to reduce global warming, a condition that is likely to result in catastrophic weather changes for the planet. The United States was regarded as a barrier to an agreement because it demanded the right to plant trees to offset its rate of pollution. 11-00 Microbes - Benefits for the Environment (Advanced Microbial Solutions) Provides a description of the benefits that most microbes provide for the environment, such as making more oxygen available. 1-01 Microbes - Evolution and Types (Microbial World Deacon) Describes the types and roles of microbes, as well as the history of their evolution. Microbial bacteria helped remove toxins from the air of the early earth and gave it oxygen, making it habitable by other life forms. 1-01 Oversight for the Environment (The White House) "The Council on Environmental Quality coordinates federal environmental efforts and works closely with agencies and other White House offices in the development of environmental policies and initiatives. The Council's Chair, James L. Connaughton who was appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, serves as the principal environmental policy adviser to the President. In addition, CEQ reports annually to the President on the state of the environment, oversees federal agency implementation of the environmental impact assessment process, and acts as a referee when agencies disagree over the adequacy of such assessments." The Council on Environmental Quality is led by James L. Connaughton. "Prior to joining the Bush Administration, Mr. Connaughton was a partner in the law firm Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, in its Environmental Practice Group. His work covered a wide range of environmental policy issues, including environmental management and compliance assurance systems, legislation, regulation, international trade and standards, and ecological risk and natural resource damages assessment." According to the Sidley Austin Brown and Wood LLP Web site, the company represents the fossil fuel industry in the arena of regulation. "Most of our clients are natural gas pipelines and producers, crude oil and petroleum products pipelines or electric utilities." In other words, Connaughton represented the fossil fuel industry in legal conflicts against federal and state regulators. Appointing a lobbyist for the fossil fuel industry to guide the U.S. government policies on protection of the environment appears to be the same as appointing a fox to watch over the henhouse. It appears to be a gross conflict of interest. Since the Council on Environmental Quality has oversight over the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal regulators for the environment, is such an appointment a corruption of the role of the federal government in regulating the fossil fuel industry? Christine Todd Whitman, who recently resigned as head of the EPA under President Bush, stated on PBS's NOW program aired on September 20, 2003, that Connaughton did, in fact, restrict the EPA's findings, especially on global warming issues, while she was the head of the EPA. 9-03 Rebuttal of President Bush's Arguments on Kyoto (Natural Resources Defense Council) Provides arguments and facts that contradict President Bush's reasons for not supporting the Kyoto Protocol to fight global warming. "Opposing the international climate treaty the Unites States signed in 1997, President Bush and members of his administration have made misleading and erroneous comments." 6-01 Purchase Resources Water Pollution (NASA Sample) Provides studies for kids to explore water pollution. 4-00

Italian, Russian, Greek, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean,   Index, New, Search Engines, Dictionary, Bookstore, Licenses, Email Us, About Us, Link to Us, or Privacy Policy.