The practical ways to reduce your carbon footprint (that actually work)

In the fight for climate preservation, a growing number of people are planning to relieve the earth of more carbon-chugging entities by abstaining from reproduction – saving the planet a tidy 58.6 tonnes of carbon a year in the process. But we hear comparatively less extreme recommendations all the time: go vegan (or at the very least, flexitarian), take trains instead of planes, browse the rails of secondhand shops instead of Primark.

 Carbon emissions: our research shows a decade of steady decline across Europe and the US

A sliver of hope against a backdrop of gloom: 18 countries showed a sustained decline in their carbon emissions from fossil fuel use over the past decade. This trend, averaging 2.2% a year over the period 2005-2015, is evident in less than 10% of the world’s countries, mostly in the EU, but accounts for 28% of global emissions.

 Researchers Are Trying To Find A Solution To Cut Concrete's Carbon Emissions

Researchers are trying to make a cleaner concrete to cut greenhouse gas emissions and curb climate change. The industry is estimated to account for at least 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

 Scientists want to limit climate change by releasing more CO2

Converting methane to carbon dioxide could help.

 The Potential Pitfalls of Sucking Carbon From the Atmosphere

Carbon removal technologies, promising though they may be, are overhyped, says David Keith, an applied physicist at Harvard and Carbon Engineering's founder. "And the overhyping has become a political trick." That hype, he says, makes it easier for policymakers to avoid drafting near-term mitigation strategies and exceed their carbon budgets, in hopes that their debt will be repaid at some point in the future. What begets this trickery? Computer simulations.

 The weird power of rising carbon dioxide to make rice less nutritious

Higher levels of CO2 are lowering amounts of protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins in rice.

As CO2 Emissions Flatten, More Powerful Greenhouse Gases Flood The Atmosphere

Methane molecules trap roughly 30 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a century, and the gas comes from agriculture, coal and gas production, and landfills. Nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, trap about 300 times more heat than carbon dioxide; it’s emitted by soil fertilizers and chemical production.

How Much CO2 Does A Single Volcano Emit?

Every volcanic eruption that occurs on planet Earth is full of pollutants. Not just ash and dust, mind you, but also carbon dioxide: one of the strongest greenhouse gases on our planet. In the largest cases, a single volcanic plume, lasting only hours, might add many millions of tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Could it be the case, then, that individual volcanoes add more carbon dioxide to our atmosphere than human activity does? To find the answer, we've got to look to the scientific data.

If we’re going to capture our carbon emissions, we might as well put them to use

Currently, carbon capture typically involves grabbing CO2 emissions from sources like coal-fired power plants, then storing them underground so they can't enter the atmosphere and heat the planet. De Luna and his colleagues, including Oleksandr Bushnuyev, a University of Toronto postdoctoral fellow, are studying developing technologies that could make storage secondary — or even unnecessary.

It Might Be Possible To Reduce Carbon Emissions And Grow The Economy At The Same Time

After months of gloomy headlines from the world of climate science — melting icecaps, possible methane eruptions in the tundra, snowballs slung on the Senate floor — there was a small ray of sunshine last week.

Lefty Cities Say They Want to Fight Climate Change but Won’t Take the Most Obvious Step to Do It

I have bad news for this feel-good caucus. Want to fight climate change? You have to fight cars. In the nation’s largest cities, cars account for about a third of greenhouse gas emissions. Nationally, transportation is now the single largest contributor to carbon emissions.

The best way to reduce your personal carbon emissions: don't be rich

Some lifestyle choices matter more than others.

The U.S. Is the Biggest Carbon Polluter in History. It Just Walked Away From the Paris Climate Deal

The United States, with its love of big cars, big houses and blasting air-conditioners, has contributed more than any other country to the atmospheric carbon dioxide that is scorching the planet. “In cumulative terms, we certainly own this problem more than anybody else does,” said David G. Victor, a longtime scholar of climate politics at the University of California, San Diego. Many argue that this obligates the United States to take ambitious action to slow global warming.

Yes, 50 million years ago the earth was hotter. Here's why climate change is still a major problem

But greenhouses gases like CO2 are so named for their ability to magnify the sun's energy, and 50 million years ago the sun wasn't as hot— our star is getting hotter with age. During the Eocene, it took more atmospheric CO2 to influence temperatures than it does today. In fact, if we don't change our behavior, 2100 will be as hot as the Eocene with much less atmospheric CO2 than was present at the time. A hotter sun means we get more bang for our CO2 buck.