(Photo of a Montana power plant from Flickr and photographer ambimb)
News Update: Carbon dioxide emissions, a prime driver of global warming, grew 3% in 2007. The increase exceeded forecasts by international scientists in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report 2 years ago and suggested a trend that could result in the worst-case scenario for climate change put forth by IPPC, which predicted a temperature rise of 4 to 11 degrees F by 2100. While 3% doesn’t sound like a lot, consider what will happen if that rate of increase persists for 10 or 20 years. China led the growth last year, providing more than half the increase. The U.S. was second, with a 2% increase, after emissions declined the previous year. Several industrial countries cut their emissions in 2007. Since 1992, world emissions have grown 38%, though the Kyoto Protocol called for a cut of 5% below 1990 levels by 2012. “If we’re going to do something [about the rate of growth] it’s going to have to be different than what we’re doing,” said Gregg Marland, a senior Department of Energy scientist. (Sources: Greenwire, thedailygreen.com, AP)
