For decades, natural gas has been used to provide clean power to thousands of households and businesses nationwide. Today, more than 1,000 vehicles traveling U.S. roads are powered by natural gas that is cooled to a liquid—liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG results when natural gas is cooled to temperatures of 260 degrees below zero, thus […]
Why should people use CFLs? Switching from traditional light bulbs (called incandescent) to CFLs is an effective, simple change everyone in America can make right now. Making this change will help to use less electricity at home and prevent greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global climate change. Lighting accounts for close to 20 percent […]
Part 9 of United States Climate Change Impact. Rising global temperature All climate models project that human-caused emissions of heat-trapping gases will cause further warming in the future. Based on scenarios that do not assume explicit climate policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global average temperature is projected to rise by 2 to 11.5°F by […]
Part 8 of United States Climate Change Impact. Some continued warming of the planet is projected over the next few decades due to past emissions. Choices made now will influence the amount of future warming. Lower levels of heat-trapping emissions will yield less future warming, while higher levels will result in more warming, and more […]
Part 5 of United States Climate Change Impact. Carbon release and uptake Once carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere, some of it is absorbed by the oceans and taken up by vegetation, although this storage may be temporary. About 45 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities in the last 50 years […]
Part 4 of United States Climate Change Impact. Carbon dioxide concentration has increased due to the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, transportation, and industrial and household uses. It is also produced as a by-product during the manufacturing of cement. Deforestation provides a source of carbon dioxide and reduces its uptake by trees and […]
Part 1 of United States Climate Change Impact. What is this Series? this Series summarizes the science of climate change and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. It is largely based on results of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and integrates those results with related […]
Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from plants. Essentially non-drinkable grain alcohol, ethanol is produced by fermenting plant sugars. It can be made from corn, sugar cane, and other starchy agricultural product. The cellulose in agricultural wastes such as waste woods and corn stalks (also know as “cellulosic ethanol”) can also be used as a […]
With the weight of scientific data pointing to the changes in the environment due to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases—called climate change—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has begun monitoring and analyzing impacts of climate change on fish and wildlife and working toward solutions to help species adapt to their changing habitats. Representing a […]
Introduction Those who depend on foreign oil for transportation fuel have seen prices roller-coaster between $5/gallon and $1.75/gallon and back up again. The economic impact of our dependence on foreign oil could not be clearer. To get off the roller-coaster, smart consumers are looking at the expanding availability of advanced, efficient vehicles, including hybrids and […]
Part 3 of Biopower Facts. Biomass Cofiring Cofiring is a near term, low-cost option for efficiently and cleanly converting biomass to electricity by adding biomass as a partial substitute fuel in high-efficiency coal boilers. It has been demonstrated, tested, and proved in all boiler types commonly used by electric utilities. There is little or no […]
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is committed to advancing technological solutions to promote and increase the use of clean, abundant, affordable, and domestically- and sustainably-produced biofuels to diversify our country’s energy sources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce our dependence on oil. U.S. energy consumption is expected to grow 50% percent by 2030. Biofuels […]
Advanced vehicles of the future will provide much better fuel economy and emissions savings than today’s conventional vehicles. However, there are only a few alternative fuel vehicles available for sale today. Until you are able and ready to buy a clean and efficient alternative fuel vehicle, here are some things you can do today to […]