http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/rising-to-the-challenge--six-steps-to-cut-global-warming-pollution-in-the-united-states http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/rising-to-the-challenge--six-steps-to-cut-global-warming-pollution-in-the-united-states Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/feeling-the-heat   http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/feeling-the-heat Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/feeling-the-heat-global-warming-and-rising-temperatures-in-the-united-states  In 2006, Americans experienced a summer heat wave that broke records from coast to coast and killed almost 200 people. The year ended and 2007 began with the warmest winter on record globally. This unseasonably warm weather is part of a long-term trend toward rising temperatures and extreme weather events resulting from global warming.Global average surface temperatures have increased by more than 1.4°F since the second half of the 19th century. Earlier this year, the United Nations’Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that the evidence of global warming is “unequivocal” and that human activities are responsible for most of the rise in temperatures. To examine recent temperature patterns in the United States, we compared temperature data for the years 2000-2006 from 255 weather stations located in all 50 states anWashington, DC with temperatures averaged over the 30 years spanning 1971-2000. Overall, we found that temperatures were above the 30-year average across the country, indicating pervasive warming.SUMMER 2006: RECORD-BREAKING HEATA long-lasting summer heat wave hit most of the country in 2006, making it the second warmest summer on record for the contiguous United States. Heat waves have serious implications for human health, causing heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and even death. Our analysis of climate data for June-August 2006 showed:• During the summer of 2006, the average temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 82% of the locations studied. In Rapid City, South Dakota and Helena, Montana, average summertime temperatures were 5°F above normal.• The average maximum temperature — the peak temperature on any given day — was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at two-thirds (67%) of the locations studied.  The Great Plains and Mountain West suffered some of the most above-normal summer temperatures in 2006. The summer heat wave produced a high number of dangerously hot days at or above 90°F across the country. Almost three-fourths (71%) of the locations examined recorded more frequent (compared with the historical average) days with peak temperatures of at least 90°F. Tupelo, Mississippi experienced 40 more 90°F or warmer days than normal in 2006.• The 2006 summer heat wave was marked by above-average minimum temperatures— the lowest temperatures recorded on a given day, usually at night. The average minimum temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 81% of the locations studied and 9.7°F above normal in Reno, Nevada, the highest in the country. Warmer nighttime temperatures exacerbate the public health effects of heat waves, since people need cooler nighttime temperatures to recover from excessive heat exposure during the day. In April 2007, the IPCC warned that North American cities that currently experience heat waves are expected to face “an increased number, intensity, and duration of heat waves,” threatening public health, particularly that of elderly Americans and infants.2006: SECOND WARMEST YEAR ON RECORDWith a scorching summer and mild start to winter, the 2006 average temperature for the contiguous United States was the second warmest on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. Every state in the Lower 48 experienced above normal temperatures in 2006. Our analysis of 2006 climate data showed:• In 2006, the average temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 87% of the locations examined. The Upper Midwest and Mountain West in particular experienced warmer-thannormal average temperatures in 2006.• The average maximum temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 81% of the stations examined. Warmerthan- average days hit Texas and the Great Plains the hardest in 2006, with average peak temperatures soaring more than 5°F above normal in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.• The average minimum temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 80% of the stations examined. Minimumtemperatures were particularly mild in the Upper Midwest, where temperatures soared almost 5°F above the 30-year average in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Duluth, and Rochester, Minnesota.2000-2006: TEMPERATURES RISINGThe above-average temperatures of 2006 are part of a broader warming trend since 2000. Our analysis of climate data for 2000-2006showed:• Between 2000 and 2006, the average temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 87% of the locationsstudied. Average temperatures in Alaska were the most anomalous, with Talkeetna near Denali National Park averaging more than 4°F above the 30-year average.• The average maximum temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at more than two-thirds (68%) of the locations studied. Average maximum temperatures in Pueblo and Alamosa, Colorado were 2.6°F above normal.• Overall, temperatures are not dropping at night as much now as they did in the past.  Between 2000 and 2006, the average minimum temperature was at least 0.5°F above the 30-year average at 80% of the locations studied. Albuquerque, New Mexico and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan reported average minimum temperatures of more than 3°F above normal.  Even though the IPCC identified significantrisks with continued global warming, the panel also concluded that “many impacts can be avoided, reduced, or delayed” by quickly and significantly reducing global warming pollution. To protect future generations, the United States should:Cap global warming emissions. The United States should establish mandatory, sciencebased limits on carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants that reduce total emissions from today’s levels by the end of the decade, by at least 15-20% by 2020, and by at least 80% by 2050.Adopt complementary clean energy policies to reduce global warming emissions. To achieve these reductions, the United States should adopt strong policies and financial incentives to improve energy efficiency and increase the use of clean, renewable energy.  http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/feeling-the-heat-global-warming-and-rising-temperatures-in-the-united-states Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:54:28 -0500 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/making-sense-of-the-coal-rush  Energy http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/making-sense-of-the-coal-rush Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/the-carbon-boom http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/the-carbon-boom Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/the-carbon-boom-state-and-national-trends-in-carbon-dioxide-emissions-since-1990 The early effects of global warming are already evident across the United States and worldwide. The past nine years have allbeen among the 25 warmest for the contiguous United States, a streak unprecedented in the historical record. Ifemissions are left unchecked, temperatures will continue to rise, and the effects of global warming will become more severe. This report examines trends in U.S. global warming pollution nationally and by state and concludes that the failure to limit emissions nationwide has allowed global warming pollution to grow out of control.In February 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body charged with assessing the scientific record on global warming, found that the evidence of global warming is “unequivocal” and concluded, with more than 90 percent certainty, that human activities are responsible for most of the observed rise in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century. If current trends in emissions continue, the IPCC projects that temperatureswill increase anywhere from an additional 1.1° to 6.4°C (2° to 11.5°F). The consequences of this increase in global temperatures will vary from place to place but will include sea level rise, heat waves, drought, increasingly intense tropical storms, loss of plant and animal species, decreased crop yields, decreased water availability, and the spread of infectious diseases. The United States is the largest worldwide contributor to global warming, releasing almost a quarter of the world’s carbondioxide, the primary global warming pollutant. Power plants, cars, and light trucks are the largest U.S. sources of carbon dioxide. Existing technology could substantially reduce global warming pollution by making power plants and factories more efficient, making cars go farther on a gallon of gasoline, and shifting the country to clean, renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power. Unfortunately, the U.S. government so far has rejected mandatory limits on global warming pollution, allowing carbon dioxide emissions to rise unabated.Using the most recent state fossil fuel consumption data from the Department of Energy, this report examines trends in carbon dioxide emissions nationally and by state for the 15 years spanning 1990 to 2004. Our major findings include the following:Carbon dioxide pollution is on the rise.• Carbon dioxide pollution from fossil fuel consumption is on the rise in the United States, increasing by 18 percent between 1990 and 2004.•Electric power plants and the transportation sector—particularly cars and light trucks—drove the increase inemissions nationwide. Between 1990 and 2004, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector jumped by 28 percent and from the transportation sector by almost a quarter (23 percent).•Carbon dioxide emissions increased the most in the Southeast, Great Lakes/Midwest, and Gulf South regionsover the 15 year period. The states experiencing the largest absolute increases in carbon dioxide emissions between 1990 and 2004 are Texas, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, and Georgia.The electric power sector was the primary factor driving the increase in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions between 1990 and 2004.• The electric power sector accounted for more than half (55 percent) of the U.S. emissions increase. Rising electricity demand from residential, commercial and industrial consumers spurred this rapid increase in carbon dioxide emissions fromthe electric power sector.•Coal-fired power plants accounted for most of the increase in carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector. Between 1990 and 2004, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants increased by a quarter, accountingfor three-fourths of the emissions increase in the electric power sector and 42 percent of the nation’s overall increase incarbon dioxide emissions.•The states that experienced the largest absolute increases in carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants between 1990 and 2004 are Illinois, Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Indiana.•Between 1990 and 2004, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas consumption in the electric power sector increased by more than two thirds (almost 70 percent), accounting for 13 percent of the nation’s overall increase in carbon dioxide emissions.•The states that experienced the largest absolute increases in carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas-fired power plants between 1990 and 2004 are Florida, Texas, Arizona, California, and Nevada.The transportation sector also played a major role in driving up U.S. carbon dioxide emissions between 1990 and 2004.•The transportation sector accounted for 40 percent of the nation’s overall increase in carbon dioxide emissions during this time period.•Cars and light trucks were responsible for most of the increase in carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector. Between 1990 and 2004, carbon dioxide emissions from motor gasoline consumption increased by almost a quarter (22 percent), accounting for more than half of the emissions increase in the transportation sector.•The states with the largest absolute increases in carbon dioxide emissions from motor gasoline consumption between 1990 and 2004 include Texas, Florida, California, Georgia, and Arizona.  The longer we wait to reduce global warming pollution, the harder the task will be in the future. Many U.S. states have started taking important steps to cut global warming pollution within their borders, but the global warming problem also demands a national solution. Key components of an action plan to cut global warming pollution include:•Establishing mandatory, science-based limits on global warming pollution that reduce emissions from today’s levels by the end of the decade, by at least 15-20 percent by 2020, and by at least 80 percent by 2050.•Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels by making our homes and businessesmore energy efficient, making our carsand SUVs go farther on a gallon of gasoline, and generating more electricity from renewable energy sources. http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/the-carbon-boom-state-and-national-trends-in-carbon-dioxide-emissions-since-1990 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/when-it-rains-it-pours-global-warming-and-the-rising-frequency-of-extreme-precipitation-in-the-united-states Scientists expect that global warming will cause a variety of http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/when-it-rains-it-pours-global-warming-and-the-rising-frequency-of-extreme-precipitation-in-the-united-states Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:02:56 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/putting-the-brakes-on-global-warming--how-the-clean-cars-program-will-reduce-global-warming-pollution-in-north-carolina http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/reports/energy2/global-warming-program-reports/putting-the-brakes-on-global-warming--how-the-clean-cars-program-will-reduce-global-warming-pollution-in-north-carolina Mon, 26 May 2008 15:57:44 -0500