For some years now, problems relating to gas emissions that affect climate and result from human activities have assumed a global dimension of large importance. The climate is, indeed, influenced by the concentrations of some pollutants in the atmosphere; these pollutants trap the long wave radiation emitted by the Earth and alter the energy balance, causing an accentuation of the natural green...

This article briefly outlines the cause of global warming, its trends and consequences as indicated by the International Panel on Climate Change. Sea-level rise is one consequence of particular concern to Pacific island states. It also reviews the views of economists about connections between economic growth and global warming. Whereas the majority of economists did not foresee a conflict betwe...

Nitrogen (N) fertilization is necessary to sustain productivity in eucalypt plantations, but it can increase the risk of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the response of soil greenhouse gas emissions to N fertilization might be influenced by soil characteristics, which is of great significance for accurately assessing greenhouse gas budgets and scientific fertilization in plantations. We cond...

The prospect of state government driven carbon emission reduction targets brings with it the prospect of local target setting. Such targets will need to be based on good quality estimates of energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions along with viable assumptions about reduction potential at the local level. So there is a growing requirement for good quality emissions data at the level of local...

conjunction with horizontal drilling. However, the environmental implications of NG production and its use have been called into question.1-4 One of the major concerns is the amount methane (CH4) leakage from production activities and its impact on the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of NG. Examining the Impacts of Methane Leakage on Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Shale and Co...

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard provides a step-bystep guide for companies and government agencies to use in quantifying and reporting their GHG emissions. This set of standards was developed by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative, a partnership convened by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Develop...

Human-induced changes in water consumption and global warming are likely to reduce the species richness of freshwater ecosystems. So far, these impacts have not been addressed in the context of life cycle assessment (LCA). Here, we derived characterization factors for water consumption and global warming based on freshwater fish species loss. Calculation of characterization factors for potentia...

The State of California seeks to induce per capita reductions in regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation by setting modeling targets for regional transportation and land use plans. Key to the success of SB 375 are accurate, valid models which are capable of forecasting the effects of transportation and land use policies on future greenhouse gas emissions. Current models are ...

Economic freedom is known to have a profound effect on the efficient allocation of resources. Without subsidies, tariffs, and other government interventions, economic activity operates in the most efficient manner because of competitive pressures to produce more with fewer inputs. This means that energy use per unit of production is decreased with the presence of free markets (Graph 2). Free ma...