The developed countries are struggling to build national consensus for ambitious mitigation measures while the developing countries have gained the higher ground in the negotiations for the next climate deal by announcing voluntary sectoral emission reduction targets.
With an international deal in doubt, India and China look to increase cooperation in areas like renewable energy, climate change research.
A major new survey has revealed that nearly 50% of all US consumers would consider buying a ‘green’ cell phone, but only if key factors such as the price, features, and performance were equivalent to other phones.
According to the poll of 1,000 American adults carried out by ABI Research, just 7% would be willing to pay a premium to go green, a figure that may cause cell phone companies to think deeply before investing heavily in environmentally friendlier models.
Speaking about the findings, industry analyst Michael Morgan said, “These survey results mean that almost half of those surveyed were at least committed in principle to use of a green handset. However the public is largely uninformed about their availability: only 4% said they were ‘very familiar’ with green handsets.”
In an unexpected U-turn, the U.S. Senate has agreed to continue to back research for the next generation of hydrogen cars - funding that the Obama administration had earlier proposed to cut.
The move came last Thursday as Senate members voted to commit $187 million to hydrogen research, almost as much as was promised before the indecision.
Maldives is a collection of islands and atolls in the Indian Ocean that is less than 2 meters above sea level. Therefore, it is the first country expected to go underwater due to climate change.
Norway’s prime minister Jens Stoltenberg (just re-elected) is meeting the requests of many developing nations and environmental NGOs with this commitment.
On the one hand, we will have more water around us with sea level rising. On the other hand, though, drought caused by climate change will leave possibly billions of people without clean water.
This will cause great health and global security issues. Most of these problems will be caused by water imbalances.
Nike doesn’t beat around the bush on why it is leaving the board.
He wasn’t just comparing the US to the EU, however. Even developing nations seem to know more about the issue and the potential results of inaction.
As the world arrives at the UN ahead of Copenhagen, the US has more to lose than China in an escalating war of words over climate change leadership.
This post comes to you from Popular Mechanics. Written By Larry Webster.
In the U.S., gasoline and diesel are dirt cheap compared to their cost in Europe. In late August, the average U.S. price for a gallon of gas was $2.60, and a gallon of diesel cost $2.65. Both diesel and gasoline come from the same barrel of oil—since diesel is a heavier, less refined product, it has historically cost less than gasoline. However, the relative price difference in the U.S. is determined by market forces, refinery constraints and taxes. Typically, demand for gasoline is higher, and U.S. fuel taxes favor gasoline, making gas less expensive here. Federally, we tax diesel at a higher rate than we do gas—24.4 cents per gallon of diesel versus 18.4 for gas. Some states tax gas a higher rate, but on average, the diesel tax is higher (With state taxes added in, the average diesel tax is 51.4 cents per gallon, gas is 47.0). According to the Energy Information Administration, since 2004, diesel has generally cost more than gasoline in the U.S., year-round.
Subscribe to our RSS feed or newsletter
Some Rights Reserved • Green Options Media • San Francisco, California • Legal
