Lowest Carbon Emitters in Bigger Cities
Posted by jennifer, March 24th, 2009 - under News.
City folk, on average, emit less carbon dioxide than their country cousins. Read more here.
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(14) (1) (2) (6) (116) (10) (3) (1) (15) (2) (1970) (1) (2) (5) (7) (4) (9) (104) (9) (483) (1) (4) (15) (3) (1) (8) (1) (1)Methane Leak
Scientists have discovered the Arctic ocean seabed is leaking huge amounts of methane into the atmosphere. The research published in the journal Science shows the permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic shelf, which was thought to be a barrier sealing methane, is perforated. Read more here. (1)
NYT: Pachauri Faces Credibility Siege
The New York Times is reporting that: Dr. Pachauri and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are now under intense scrutiny, facing accusations of scientific sloppiness and potential financial conflicts of interest from climate skeptics, right-leaning politicians and even some mainstream scientists. More here. (1)
Phil Jones Guilty, But
The university at the centre of the climate change row over stolen e-mails broke the law by refusing to hand over its raw data for public scrutiny. B ut… Read more here. (0)
Banks Leave Carbon Market
Banks and investors are pulling out of the carbon market after the failure to make progress at Copenhagen on reaching new emissions targets after 2012. Read more here. (0)
UK Met Office Can't Forecast Weather
The UK Met Office is debating what to do with its long-term and seasonal forecasting after criticism for failing to predict extreme weather. It was predicted that this winter would be warmer than average – yet it has been unusually cold. Read more here. (2)
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This isn’t surprising. Nevertheless it’s interesting to me, because CO2 emission is a crude proxy for fossil fuel consumption, which should be our real concern in the long term. This is especially true in the Age of Peak Oil and in the imminent Age of Peak Natural Gas.
High localized population densities in urban areas make energy-efficient public transportation more attractive than commuting to work in your own car, and paying through the nose for a parking space–if you can find one. It’s a similar story with residences. Other things being equal, having a common wall with one’s neighbors translates into greater energy efficiency for heating and air conditioning. (Lower effective surface-to-volume ratio for a given area of living space, and for a given thickness of insulation.)
I’m in favor of government policies that encourage energy efficiency, without stooping to grim fairy tales about The CO2 Monster.
Not surprising in the least. If I lived in a dense city centre I could walk to the nearest computer expert to have a problem fixed. I have just completed a 750 km round trip to do just this. Close proximity to conveniences does lower energy usage.
So why do people live in rural and remote areas? To supply the food, fibre, timber and minerals needed to support and house mainly urban populations. If the Co2 from these industries was debited against the customers instead of the producers, the Co2 footprint / gradient from urban to rural areas would be much flatter.
If you were to add the street lights, traffic lights and computers required to keep you alive and moving in the cities it bet the equation changes.
I own about 5 million trees, mostly under 20 years old, so am i sequestering more than an average family emits?