global warming

BMW has joined Daimler and, potentially, Audi in quitting an automotive industry research program studying a proposed new air conditioning refrigerant, the simply named HFO-1234yf. BMW disagrees with the test methods being used. "We do not want to say the test results are wrong, but we are not ...

Well, this bit of news isn't going to make German automakers or truckmakers terribly happy. Following the connection between diesel fumes and cancer, scientists have found that the black particles created by burning fuels – i.e. black carbon or soot – do more to warm the earth than ...

For consumers coming to terms with years of driving a gas-guzzling, carbon-producing clunker car, there is a solution – trade it in for fresh, young saplings. That's the premise for a program in the United Kingdom, where owners can turn in their gas guzzler and have tree groves planted in ...

Our moms always told us that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Sometimes, however, if you take that vinegar and mix it with a bit of olive oil and then drizzle it over some thickly-sliced ripe tomatoes adorned with rings of sweet Vidalia onions, and then sprinkle all that with a ...

Climate change was barely mentioned during October presidential debates, but that doesn't mean the public doesn't care. After all, climate change affected Hurricane Sandy, and that got some media coverage. Some analysts say climate change is just part of historic weather patterns that humans have ...

Here's an angle to the climate change debate we hadn't thought of: it's destroying our roads. According to a new report by the Transportation Research Board, the problem is that the cars contribute to climate change by adding their fossil fuel emissions to the atmosphere, and the man-made ...

For a multitude of reasons – climate change, air quality, national security, etc. – a large reduction in the burning of carbon-based fuels is a good idea. Since higher prices are known to reduce consumption, one way to achieve this is to simply put a tax on fuel at the pump. It's been ...

10,000 General Motors owners can make an impact. After being confronted with a petition against the money that the GM Foundation gave to the Heartland Institute – known as one of the biggest funders of climate change denial – following an exposé on DeSmogBlog, CEO Dan Akerson ...

"You're in the bubble, Bob, you're in the bubble." This was host Bill Maher's response to Bob Lutz's claim on Real Time this past weekend that there is no overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is happening. Lutz, a former General Motors chairman and not a believer in global ...

The Heartland Institute is a big daddy in climate change denialism and recently became a more household name thanks to a trove of documents that were exposed on DeSmogBlog. The documents purport to be leaked internal memos that detail the ways the institute is funded and disseminates its "nothing ...

Al Gore melted down recently while speaking in Aspen, CO, swearing repeatedly while accusing evil non-believers of doing dastardly deeds to refute human-caused "climate change," a theory he refuses to debate. ...

A global CO2 emissions policy is "urgently needed" if the world is to avoid political issues in the future, according to Shell. Late last week, during a presentation in Australia, Shell vice-president of global business environment, Jeremy Bentham, warned that the goal of keeping global warming ...

Why does widespread adoption of "green" vehicles matter? Well, according to a report released by consultancy group Mercer, along with the World Bank's International Finance Corporation, climate change will significantly impact the transportation, construction, and manufacturing industries over ...

Wednesday marked the end of an era in the U.S. – the demise of the Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming. Created under Nancy Pelosi in 2006, the global warming committee – devoted entirely to scientific discussions of climate change and energy-related issues ...

Newsweek writer Stefan Theil makes a convincing argument that the political world has become blasé about the issue of climate change, and that has far-reaching effects. In 2007, you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a politician who made reducing CO2 levels or another green issue a top ...

Last May, President Obama announced an increase in CAFE standards to reduce greenhouse gases and improve fuel economy. The next step is coming soon. The White House is expected to announce proposed changes to CAFE rules to limit greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles – something called the ...

We noted the other day that a recent survey from PriceWaterhouseCoopers that found out fuel economy has finally overtaken cup holders as the most important feature in new cars and trucks for Americans. That fuel economy wasn't at the top of the list in the recent past fits with the insistence by ...

The Pentagon is taking a serious look at how global climate change will dramatically affect the national security of the United States in the coming decades. The Pentagon's reasoning is as follows: climate change is going to be about the biggest SNAFU imaginable and could "topple governments, ...

Before you think we've gone crazy, let's make clear that this is a post about a serious report published in Nature Geoscience. According to this report, lead that was expelled to the atmosphere through exhaust gases stimulated the growth of clouds. Larger clouds imply less solar radiation, which ...

There's been much conjecture these last few months over whether or not sales of big, thirsty vehicles would pick back up after hitting the brick wall of high fuel prices last summer. Despite a modest uptick in pickup truck sales, the answer has mostly been no, but we won't know for sure how things ...