How can countries best coordinate their policies to slow global warming? This study reviews different approaches to the political and economic control of global public goods such as global warming. It compares quantity-oriented mechanisms like the Kyoto Protocol with price-type control mechanisms such as internationally harmonized carbon taxes. The analysis focuses on such issues as the relatio...

Climatic warming is expected to particularly alter greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soils in cold ecosystems such as tundra. We used 1 m(2) open-top chambers (OTCs) during three growing seasons to examine how warming (+0.8-1.2 °C) affects the fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from alpine tundra soils. Results showed that OTC warming increased soil CO2 effl...

There is no single perfect refrigerant for diverse air conditioning, refrigeration, and industrial applications. The predominant halocarbons (CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs) combine excellent efficiency and safety with acceptable costs. However, they contribute to ozone depletion potential (ODP) and/or global warming potential (GWP). The Montreal Protocol has eliminated ODP by requiring replacement of C...

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As we saw last week, the worldwide scientific community has reached consensus that global warming is inevitable if humans continue to dump "greenhouse gases" into the atmosphere at anything like present rates. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and a few others. These gases act like the glass covering a greenhouse, letting sunlight in but...

A new generation of an Earth system model now includes a number of land-surface processes directly relevant to analyzing potential impacts of climate change. This model, HadGEM2-ES, allows us to assess the impacts of climate change, multiple interactions, and feedbacks as the model is run. This paper discusses the results of centuryscale HadGEM2-ES simulations from an impacts perspective – spec...

This work analyzes a process known as flash pyrolysis, which produces bio fuels using biomass for power generation. A life-cycle assessment of flash pyrolysis of wood waste was conducted to study whether a flash pyrolysis plant set up locally would be environmentally friendly. The results obtained show that the process of flash pyrolysis of wood waste is in fact environmentally friendly, and th...

Long path length FTIR-smog chamber techniques were used to determine k(Cl + CF3CF@CH2) = (7.03 ± 0.59) · 10 , k(OH + CF3CF@CH2) = (1.05 ± 0.17) · 10 , and k(O3 + CF3CF@CH2) = (2.77 ± 0.21) · 10 21 cm molecule 1 s 1 in 700 Torr of N2, N2/O2, or air diluent at 296 K. CF3CF@CH2 has an atmospheric lifetime of approximately 11 days and a global warming potential (100 yr time horizon) of four. CF3CF@...

We evaluate the prospect of forming voluntary global warming agreements in which membership entitles a country to trade emission permits with other member states. To do so, we construct a calibrated general equilibriummodel that jointly describes the world economy and the strategic incentives that guide the design of national abatement policies. Countries choose their initial permit endowments ...