• Air

Emissions from Oil and Gas Operations Emit Much More Methane Than Previously Thought

• carbon
• climate crisis
• emissions
• global warming
• methane gas

CNN and The Guardian reported late last week on a new study published in the journal Nature that concludes that methane emissions from fossil fuels are between 25% and 40% larger than past research had estimated, which means that oil and gas production is contributing roughly half of all greenhouse gas emissions — “far more” to climate change than previously estimated.

Why This Matters:  Methane is about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide when looked at over a 20-year period.

• Politics

Lawsuits Mount Against Trump Administration

• California
• Clean Air Act
• clean car standards
• emissions
• pollinators

  Last Friday the state of California (along with 22 other states and the District of Columbia) filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for its attempt to revoke the state’s waiver to set more stringent car emissions standards than that of the federal government (an authority granted to the state through the Clean Air […]

• People

Countries With More Women Leaders Have Stronger Climate Policies

• carbon
• climate change
• emissions
• Legislation

A new study published in the journal Science Direct looked at the legislatures of 91 countries and compared the percentage of seats held by women with the climate policies of each country.  Their conclusion?  The countries with the most women in their parliaments had tougher climate and environment policies which resulted in lower carbon emissions.   […]

• Food

Reducing Food Waste Adds Up Big in Tackling Emissions

• agriculture
• emissions
• food waste
• sustainable food

  According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — gets lost or wasted. This contributes to 8% of total greenhouse emissions and also occurs as 1 in 9 people around the world are undernourished. Now, […]

• People

Interview of the Week: Yotam Ariel, Bluefield Technologies

• Bluefield
• emissions
• greenhouse gas emission
• leaks
• methane gas
• microsatellite

Yotam Ariel is the CEO fo Bluefield Technologies, Inc., a startup using microsatellites to measure methane gas leaks and emissions. ODP:   How does your technology work? YA:  Sunlight that has passed through methane contains a unique spectral signal that can be detected by Bluefield’s proprietary optical sensor. We integrate our sensor into a backpack-size microsatellite […]

• Air

New Source Of Methane Leaks Identified—Eastern Cities

• climate change
• emissions
• EPA
• greenhouse gasses
• methane
• NOAA

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) flew reconnaissance flights over major metropolitan areas on the East Coast – Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and found that those cities were emitting nearly 950,000 metric tons of methane gas into the atmosphere, which was more than twice what EPA had estimated.

• Climate Change

Plastic production a growing contributor to climate change

• #ActOnClimate
• climate change
• emissions
• GHGs
• plastic
• plastic pollution

  We know that plastic pollution is a problem so rampant that if we don’t drastically act we can expect to see more plastic in the world’s oceans than fish by 2050. However, a new study by the Center of International Environmental Law has revealed that the plastic industry is the second largest and fastest-growing source […]

• Energy

Could high-speed rail remedy housing shortages and curb emissions?

• commute
• emissions
• high speed rail

Last year, for the first time in 40 years, emissions from vehicles rose to become the United States’ highest source of greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time that more Americans are living in cities and our average commute times are growing each year, the Trump administration has moved to weaken fuel efficiency standards put […]

• Politics

Green Wave Rising in Europe Fueled by Kidpower

• Belgium
• climate change
• CO2
• emissions
• France
• FridaysForFuture
• kids
• protests
• yellow vests

Yesterday, 30,000 school children again turned out for protests in three cities across Belgium after an open letter to the government from 3,450 Belgian scientists saying “the activists are absolutely right”.  Children’s climate rallies and protests are spreading across Europe — taking place in Germany and Switzerland too with the #FridaysForFuture, according to the BBC.  There was even a sit-in at the Scottish Parliament. 

• Sustainability

Toyota goes “pedal to the metal” on electric vehicle plans

• air pollution
• California
• cars
• clean car standards
• electric
• emissions
• EV
• hybrid
• plug-ins
• vehicles
• zero emission

Toyota Motor Corporation announced last month that it intends to speed its development and introduction of additional electric vehicles (hybrids, battery electric models and fuel-cell electric), with a goal of having every Toyota and Lexus model include an “electrified” option by 2025. 

Why This Matters:  As we pointed out in another ODP story today, vehicle emissions are rising in the U.S. again — which is very bad news.  This announcement by Toyota shows that even though the Trump Administration is rolling back the clean car standards, the auto industry is going to move in the right direction.  Increasingly, U.S. consumers want to wean themselves off conventional gasoline cars and the market will reflect that.  What is needed is a full suite of electric options — more electric vehicles of all types, sizes, configurations and prices — and more companies like Toyota, Tesla and Volvo that are moving rapidly in that direction.  The future is most definitely electric.