World's carbon dioxide emissions rising at 'scary' rate

As if the current economic crisis wasn't bad enough, it has now been discovered that carbon dioxide emissions are no longer declining, but rising. Some researchers even called the new emissions numbers "scary," jumping 3% over the span of a year.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that the U.S. is no longer number one in carbon dioxide output, being passed by China in 2006. The information was collected from data from the oil giant BP PLC. The data showed the China's emissions increased by 7.5% over the course of a year while the U.S.'s emissions increased by close to 2%.

The article also says that the developing countries were not included in the 1997 Kyoto treaty and therefore were not asked to reduce their greenhouse gases. China and India were among these countries, which was ironic because these countries now produce 53% of carbon dioxide pollution and are numbers one and four, respectively, polluters.

Near the end of the article, the author notes that there were five countries who lowered their emissions during this time period: Denmark, Germany, France, Australia and the United Kingdom. Although the article was about the increase in emissions, the article wanted to be fair by acknowledging that some countries were still decreasing their emissions.

This article featured a lot of statistics and figures. The end of the article produces a scenario that temperatures will increase between 4 and 11 degrees Farenheit by 2100, and is followed by a quote from client scientist Stephen Schneider.
"You'd have to be luckier than hell for it just to be bad, as opposed to catastropic."
This quote makes the reader wonder if they are supposed to be scared by this fact, or if it is supposed to motivate them to get things changed. Either way, I hope it works!

This story can be found at :

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2008-09-26-carbon-emissions_N.htm

Beijing ends its Olympics' pollution curbs

This story, from USA Today, covered the lifting of the restrictions in Beijing and re-opened construction sites, resumed production in factories and permitted all cars to return to the road. It listed when the ban ended and what all could take place from now on. It also covered how the ban has cleaned the air in Beijing.

The story seemed a bit harsh on the Chinese, but it also seemed very factual. The sources used were experts, including a deputy director of the Beijing Automobile Assocation and an executive director of the Manila-based Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities.



The story can be found at the site:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/environment/2008-09-21-china-pollution-curbs_N.htm