In the race for top carbon emissions polluter, the United States is still Number One, but China is sprinting forward and could soon edge into the lead. The current Olympics host nation accounted for a “staggering 57 percent of the growth of emissions” worldwide this century, and will likely surpass the U.S. as the single biggest belcher of fossil fuel emissions sometime this year, according to the Worldwatch Institute.

The standings right now: The U.S. currently contributes 19.5 percent of global fossil fuel emissions compared with China’s 18.3 percent. [Read more →]

British Petroleum (BP) has announced plans to bring cellulosic ethanol to market in the U.S., through a partnership with bio-fuel developer Verenium, a company that makes biofuels from rice straw, sugarcane stalks, switchgrass and wood chips. The partnership could help speed the availability of lower cost, more environmentally friendly biofuels, according to an announcement by both companies this week. [Read more →]

By Tom Kessler

Almost 90 percent of the car shoppers who visit Kelley Blue Book’s Web site say they are concerned about the future of our environment, company research shows. Among survey respondents, 80 percent agreed that individuals should make lifestyle changes to help reduce CO2 emissions. And 75 percent of KBB shoppers reported that they have made changes to further the betterment of the environment. The most frequent lifestyle changes cited were:

• recycling (54 percent)
• cutting back on driving (46 percent)
• purchasing a fuel-efficient car (31 percent)

[Read more →]

Weather experts are predicting that some 17 Atlantic storms — about seven more than average — will pack enough strength they’ll reach tropical storm strength in 2008, earning the right to be named and carrying the potential to reach hurricane status.

The best guess for the number of hurricanes, according to weather forecasters at the Colorado State University Department of Atmospherical Science: Nine, which is above average (2.3); with five of those expected to be “intense hurricanes” reaching category 3, 4 or 5. [Read more →]

By John DeFore

An item in the New York Times last week served as a good wrap-up of recent developments on the LED front, finding places (beyond traffic lights) where light emitting diodes are getting a toehold as replacements for less energy-efficient lights.

But does it, in newspaper terms, “bury the lead”? [Read more →]

By John DeFore

The phenomenal success of single-serving bottled water is, in the eyes of most environmentalists, a scourge. Yet consumers seem slow to unlearn the habit, so a water packaged in non-petroleum-containing bottles should be a step in the right direction — right?

Doubt was cast on that recently when the popular Consumerist blog ran a post that may unsettle potential customers of the green-touting water brand Primo: When exposed to the high temperatures inside a closed car, a Primo bottle shrank to around half its original size. [Read more →]

By Julie Bonnin

If you’re in the market for a custom-built home, there really isn’t a reason not to build green. Who doesn’t want a smaller utility bill? Or to leave a reduced carbon footprint on your corner of planet Earth? FreeGreen, a web site with free green home designs, allows users to browse a listing of green house plans that range from strikingly modern to suburban friendly. [Read more →]

By John DeFore

San Francisco residents recycle almost 70 percent of their total waste. Houston? Just over two and a half percent.

That’s according to an article in the trade journal Waste News that labels Houston the worst recycler among the nation’s thirty most populous cities. The ranking has sparked newspaper coverage lately, with accounts seeking both to establish blame for the startlingly low rate and to assess possibilities for improvement. [Read more →]

By Barbara Kessler

California is at it again. The state stickler for clean air, which tried to regulate car emissions but was blocked by the federal EPA in late 2007, is now asking the feds to regulate pollution from aircraft, ships and off-road vehicles.

CA attorney Jerry Brown said that California, joined by other states and environmental groups, intends to sue the EPA if it continues to “wantonly ignore its duty” to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from these commercial vehicles and agricultural and commercial equipment. [Read more →]

The Alliance to Save Energy, a 30-year-old coalition of business, political, consumer and environmental leaders, today urged the U.S. Senate to adopt a bill that would grant or extend tax credits to consumers for energy-saving home improvements, while also potentially stimulating the economy.

The bill, The Jobs, Energy, Families & Disaster Relief Act of 2008, would offer energy-related tax incentives to consumers and businesses, [Read more →]