Environment

By integrating satellite mapping, airborne-laser technology, and ground-based plot surveys, scientists from the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology, with colleagues from the World Wildlife Fund and in coordination with the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), have revealed the first high-resolution maps of carbon locked up in tropical forest vegetation and emitted by land-use practices. 

Yes Bank Ltd., a privately owned Indian lender, and CarbonDesk Group Plc agreed to cooperate on emissions-cutting projects to generate offset credits.

The venture aims to increase the amount of Certified Emissions Reduction credits produced in India, help curb greenhouse gases and give European factories and power stations a less expensive way to meet pollution caps.

The recent high-profile acquisition of a small electric car company by an auto giant seems to have electrified the industry, which has been experiencing robust growth. As the world seeks solutions to high polluting and increasingly expensive fossil fuel transportation, electric vehicles could offer a viable solution.

"But where is the electricity?" people ask as they grapple with power cuts in the midst of a scorching summer. Whether it makes the power availability worse when everybody plugs their car into their home is a legitimate worry.

Those crop fields nearby might not get a second thought from local residents.

But according to a recent study by Stanford University researchers, the high-yield agriculture on display there is more than an efficient engine of food production. It's also a great way to cut down on global-warming gases.

The study found that huge crop yield increases per acre since 1961 have translated into big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions -- 590 billion tons of carbon dioxide, according to the authors' estimate.