This Week in Carbon
It's Getting Hot in Herre

Carbon (and specifically carbon dioxide, or CO2) is all over the news this week, with this announcement from the Energy Department (via the AP/Yahoo News):

Emissions of gases blamed for warming the atmosphere grew by 2 percent in the United States last year, the Energy Department reported Monday. The report came just nine days after a United Nations conference where the United States and China refused to join any talks for imposing binding limits on emissions of those gases.

The so-called greenhouse gases, led by carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, rose to 7.12 million metric tons, up from 6.98 million metric tons in 2003, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said.

That's 16 percent higher than in 1990, and an average annual increase of 1.1 percent.

[...]

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2012 would be nearly 25 percent higher than they were in 1990 if they continue at the current pace of growth. The United States is responsible for a quarter of these heat-trapping gases globally.

And then there's this report on the effects of greenhouse gases contributing to global warming on the Arctic (via TerraDaily):

Global warming may decimate the top 10 feet (3 meters) or more of perennially frozen soil across the Northern Hemisphere, altering ecosystems as well as damaging buildings and roads across Canada, Alaska, and Russia.

New simulations from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) show that over half of the area covered by this topmost layer of permafrost could thaw by 2050 and as much as 90 percent by 2100. Scientists expect the thawing to increase runoff to the Arctic Ocean and release vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

The study, using the NCAR-based Community Climate System Model (CCSM), is the first to examine the state of permafrost in a global model that includes interactions among the atmosphere, ocean, land, and sea ice as well as a soil model that depicts freezing and thawing.

[...]

The new study highlights concern about emissions of greenhouse gases from thawing soils. Permafrost may hold 30% or more of all the carbon stored in soils worldwide. As the permafrost thaws, it could lead to large-scale emissions of methane or carbon dioxide beyond those produced by fossil fuels.

And here's an interesting tidbit from BBC:

Researchers found that US imports of goods from China cause a greater production of carbon dioxide than if the goods were made in the US.

Factories in developing countries tend to use more energy than in the west.

The researchers say emissions control measures such as the Kyoto Protocol could "export" carbon-intensive industries to the developing world.

This has long been a contention raised by critics of the Protocol.
[...]
The US has put itself outside the Kyoto treaty, but conventional trade issues are inducing a shift towards imported goods and away from domestic manufacturing.
[...]
Between the years 1997-2003, she found, the US "saved" 1,711 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by importing goods from China rather than making them within US borders.

That equates to a reduction of just over 3% in US emissions across the seven-year period, with the exact proportion rising year on year as the trade deficit increased.

But this reduction in US emissions was more than matched by an increase in Chinese emissions. In 1997, exports to the US accounted for seven percent of Chinese CO2 output; by 2003, the figure had risen to 14%.

But there's some good news... by way of the NFL (via Treehugger):

This week's Philadelphia Eagles game against the St. Louis Rams was rendered carbon neutral in a joint effort of StopGlobalWarming.org, Native Energy, and the two teams. The 58 tons of carbon dioxide was offset by Native Energy. The Native American-owned company offsets carbon emissions through power generated from windfarms and methane gas projects on dairy farms. As part of the Eagles’ Go Green campaign, they are raising awareness among fans about local waste issues and global warming. The Eagles and the Rams, both part of the Virtual March organized by StopGlobalWarming.org, have also contributed, between the two of them, almost 300 virtual "marchers" to the now over 200,000 people registered.