America.gov-Energy & Environment

China, United States Urge Comprehensive Climate Change Agreement

Stephen Kaufman — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:07:43 -0500

China and the United States, the world’s two largest consumers and producers of energy, agree that the December climate change summit in Copenhagen should produce a comprehensive agreement. In Beijing, President Obama and Chinese President Hu also discuss nuclear nonproliferation and human rights.

Understanding Power

Daniel Gorelick — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:47:07 -0500

There are many ways to generate power. Some technology is inexpensive but pollutes the air and produces chemicals that alter Earth’s climate. Other technology is cleaner, but more expensive. America.gov explains how commercial renewable and nonrenewable power plants operate.

Understanding Oceans

Daniel Gorelick — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:20:55 -0500

Pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and commercial fishing are changing the oceans — bodies of water so vast that they once were thought to be impervious to human activity. Scientists are working to understand more about the integral role the oceans play in Earth’s climate.

Societies Free of Internet Censorship Are Stronger, Obama Says

Stephen Kaufman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:10:43 -0500

The more a country allows the free flow of information, the stronger its society becomes, President Obama told future leaders of China in Shanghai. He credits the lack of censorship in the United States with encouraging innovation and understanding, as well as strengthening democracy.

Acid Rain’s “Cap and Trade” Is Potential Model for Climate Fixes

Andrzej Zwaniecki — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:26:24 -0500

Even proponents of the first U.S. cap-and-trade program for hazardous emissions— a program to control acid rain — did not expect it to be such a clear-cut success. Is it time to extend the system to emission of other pollutants?

Global Partnerships Speed Climate Change Technology Development

Cheryl Pellerin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:22:09 -0500

Rising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are having an impact on more than just the climate system. The critical need to mitigate this growing problem is beginning to change the way nations share technology-development information, costs and efforts.

Mitigation Policy Central Challenge in Climate Change Negotiation

Carlyn Reichel — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:34:48 -0500

When negotiators meet in Copenhagen to discuss international action to fight global warming, the hottest debate will concern how to lessen concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Policies to reduce CO₂ emissions and stabilize greenhouse gases are crucial to mitigate climate change effects.

International Collaboration Key to Mitigating Climate Change

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:57:02 -0500

Human activities, especially those that burn fossil fuels and emit planet-warming carbon dioxide, are changing the climate system. Mitigating these changes and their potentially disastrous effects is stimulating a new kind of technology cooperation among governments, industries and institutions.

Clinton Sees Copenhagen Climate Conference as Steppingstone

Merle David Kellerhals Jr. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:14:33 -0500

The U.N.-sponsored climate conference in December in Copenhagen can become the steppingstone toward a full and binding legal climate agreement if it focuses on the right blend of practical approaches and principles, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says.

United States Unveils Plans for Pavilion at Shanghai Expo

Stephen Kaufman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:13:06 -0500

Secretary Clinton will visit the site of the U.S. pavilion at the upcoming Shanghai Expo 2010 on November 16. The pavilion will showcase the Chinese-American experience, as well as how 21st-century technology is being used to promote greater environmental sustainability.

U.S. Diplomat Urges Congress to Approve Clean Energy Bill

Merle David Kellerhals Jr. — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:31:57 -0500

A major international climate conference that begins December 7 in Copenhagen presents an opportunity for the United States and the world to show a firm commitment to meeting the challenge that climate change presents, a senior U.S. diplomat says.

Clinton Announces Projects to Improve Pakistan’s Energy Sector

Stephen Kaufman — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:40:52 -0500

Secretary Clinton announces $125 million to help Pakistan reduce the electrical blackouts that are hampering the country’s economic growth. Funding will support repairs and replacements to thousands of agricultural well pumps, as well as upgrades and repairs to thermal power stations.

Fuel-Cycle Options Can Safely Increase Access to Nuclear Energy

Stephen Kaufman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:01:37 -0500

Secretary Clinton says it is possible to allow countries to enjoy a guaranteed right to nuclear energy while preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. Both nuclear and non-nuclear states share an interest in a reinvigorated nonproliferation treaty and a stronger U.N. nuclear agency, she says.

Experts Learn to Collaborate as Changing Climate Affects Health

Cheryl Pellerin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:07:40 -0500

Human health always has ebbed and flowed with the seasons, but the current confluence of extreme weather, global climate change and the shifting distribution of disease is driving the need for more active collaboration between climate scientists and public health experts.

Congressional Complexities Challenge Climate Change Efforts

Carlyn Reichel — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:39:15 -0500

While President Obama pledged a U.S. commitment to lead the campaign against the dangers of climate change through global partnerships, a complicating factor confronting such sweeping international efforts is the need to obtain approval from sometimes reluctant national legislatures.

Representatives of 17 Major Economies Tackle Climate Issues

Cheryl Pellerin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:41:35 -0500

Representatives from 17 countries meet at the Major Economies Forum in Washington September 17–18 to tackle a range of unresolved issues on climate change. Months before leaders of 192 countries converge in Copenhagen, attendees at the forum sought early consensus on critical global challenges.

World Leaders Gather in New York to Mull Climate Change Response

Cheryl Pellerin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:40:29 -0500

More than 100 world leaders gather at U.N. Headquarters in New York on September 22 for a day of discussions that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes will accelerate the pace of negotiations in advance of the December 7–18 climate change conference in Copenhagen.

World Climate Conference Launches Global Climate Services Effort

Cheryl Pellerin — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:25:03 -0500

Global leaders, climate scientists and experts from sectors such as water, agriculture and health finish work at the third World Climate Conference, launching an effort that will help people everywhere better understand and adapt to a rapidly changing planet.

Adaptation to Climate Change Focus of Meeting in Geneva

Cheryl Pellerin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:39:10 -0500

For the first time since scientists determined unequivocally that the planet is warming, experts who collect and analyze climate data and those who manage the world’s land and water resources will meet to decide how to help each other adapt to a changing climate.

Forecasting Advances Help Nations Adapt to Climate Variability

Cheryl Pellerin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:45:35 -0500

As the 2009–2010 El Niño warms the waters of the central and eastern tropical Pacific, weakens trade winds and modifies rainfall patterns, some vulnerable regions are doing something that only recently has become possible. They’re preparing for it, thanks to advances in forecasting.

Less Driving, Better Vehicles: Keys to Energy, Climate Causes

Andrzej Zwaniecki — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:39:19 -0500

Advanced auto technologies will produce dramatic fuel savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the future. But for now, the biggest advances are seen as coming from improvements to conventional cars and through people doing less driving.

Advanced Cars Will Save the Day, and Fuel, Eventually

Andrzej Zwaniecki — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:37:57 -0500

Automobiles that incorporate advanced technology to reduce fuel consumption and emissions create excitement among policymakers and environmental advocates as an important part of the solution to energy and climate problems. But consumers have yet to jump on the hybrid bandwagon.

U.S. Tells China Climate Change Is National Security Priority

Stephen Kaufman — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:49:40 -0500

Under the Obama administration, climate change has “risen up to the top of the U.S. national security set of priorities,” a State Department official says, and administration officials are working with their Chinese counterparts to find an agreement on reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Understanding Ozone

Daniel A. Gorelick — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:45:16 -0500

Once an imminent, global environmental crisis, the depletion of atmospheric ozone by human-made chemicals has halted over most of the globe and may be reversed by the end of the 21st century, thanks to the cooperative efforts of 191 countries to address the problem.

Index Insurance May Bolster Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

Cheryl Pellerin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:47:29 -0500

Pilot projects in Malawi, Ethiopia, Central America, Thailand and a growing number of other nations are testing the use of a tool called index insurance to help farmers, governments and relief agencies manage weather-related risk to livelihoods that comes with climate variability and change.

Insurance Tool Helps Farmers, Nations Manage Climate Change Risk

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:49:27 -0500

Extreme weather takes a toll on farmers everywhere. In developed countries, farmers can buy crop insurance to help manage that risk. In developing countries, a new tool called index insurance may give farmers an affordable way to manage the effects of changing climate on their livelihoods.

Climate Change “Clear and Present Danger,” Secretary Clinton Says

Cheryl Pellerin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:51:01 -0500

Representatives of 17 of the most important contributors to rising concentrations of planet-warming carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases meet to begin discussions they hope will lead to success at the United Nations climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December.

Washington Hosts Climate Change Talks with 17 Nations

Charlene Porter — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:52:00 -0500

The Obama administration is convening a meeting of 17 major nations April 27–28 in Washington to begin talks to address climate change and sustainable energy technologies. The talks are a prelude to a December meeting where a new global treaty on greenhouse gas reduction is expected to be forged.

U.S. Electric System Begins Long Transformation to a Smart Grid

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:46:46 -0500

Following the lead of some European and Pacific Rim nations, U.S. government technical and regulatory agencies, electric utilities, energy service providers and private companies are working to turn the nation’s century-old electric power grid into a 21st-century “smart grid.”

“Planetary Skin” Tool Aims to Improve Response to Climate Change

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:59:57 -0500

Every day, millions of sensors collect data about the planet’s systems of land, air, water and life. A new tool called Planetary Skin is being developed to integrate and interpret this information to address the complexities of climate change and help nations and communities meet its challenges.

Those Most Affected by Climate Change Seen as Unaware of Dangers

Stephen Kaufman — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:37:41 -0500

Those most likely to suffer from the adverse effects of climate change are also among the world’s least informed about the issue. Journalists discuss the challenge of educating audiences in the developing world about the risks of damaging the environment to achieve short-term economic rewards.

U.S. Agencies Plan National Climate Service Structure, Products

Cheryl Pellerin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:19:03 -0500

Today, there is no official source for the kind of authoritative, accessible and timely climate information that communities and regions will need to understand, mitigate and adapt to climate change. If established, a U.S. National Climate Service might provide such products and services.

Drought Information System Offers Early Warning, Knowledge

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:32:27 -0500

The Earth is warming, polar ice is melting, sea levels are rising. Advancing technology helped scientists detect these signals, and another sort of advance — in integrating and sharing knowledge about their effects — is helping communities, regions and nations respond to changing climate.

Knowledge Centers Could Help Regions Cope with Climate Change

Cheryl Pellerin — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:24:33 -0500

Carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by human activities is causing changes in Earth’s surface temperature, rainfall and sea level. A system of regional centers could act as knowledge portals for those making decisions on responses to changes.

Obama Makes Climate Change a National Priority

Cheryl Pellerin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:28:21 -0500

Climate change is a planetary process, but its effects are regional and local. Some of those effects already are occurring, and the Obama administration is moving fast to help the United States work with nations of the world to meet immediate problems as well as long-term challenges.

Obama Sets Bold New Principles for U.S. Energy, Climate Policies

Andrzej Zwaniecki — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:54:43 -0500

President Obama declares that the United States will lead in the global campaign against climate change. Moving to reverse Bush administration policies, Obama says, “We will make it clear to the world that America is ready to lead.” He also appeals to China and India to do their part.