Tag Archives: Pollution & Waste

Apple, Amazon join push for looser greenhouse emissions reporting

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The Greenhouse Gas Protocol, a widely used international environmental standard for measuring and reporting emissions, is considering changes to how certain types of the emissions are reported. Advocates for the new guidance argue that the current rules make it too easy for businesses to overstate their commitments to environmentally friendly operations, such as being powered by renewable energy or making progress toward net-zero emissions. 

Today, some major tech companies joined a call pushing back against the new guidance, asking for the new reporting rules to be optional rather than required. The joint statement argued that the proposed policies would reduce investments in sustainability programs and increase electricity prices. Apple and Amazon are among the more than 60 companies that signed the letter, Bloomberg reported. 

The protocol's three tiers of emissions present a clearer picture about companies' environmental efforts and how impactful they are in reducing emissions. Scope 1 includes emissions from sources directly owned or controlled by a business, while Scope 2 covers "how corporations measure emissions from purchased or acquired electricity, steam, heat and cooling." Scope 3 is the catch-all for any other emissions produced within a business' value chain. New proposed changes to the scope 2 guidance would place tighter requirements on how companies use renewable energy certificates to offset their electricity emissions. Rather than purchase clean energy certificates at any point during the year, companies would have to source clean energy that is both geographically close and simultaneously available to their grid-derived power. Any changes adopted by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol could take effect as early as next year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-amazon-join-push-for-looser-greenhouse-emissions-reporting-182314690.html?src=rss

States are suing the EPA for relinquishing its role as a greenhouse gas emissions regulator

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California, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York are leading a group of 20 other states in suing the US Environmental Protection Agency for renouncing its ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, The New York Times reports. The lawsuit specifically argues that the EPA's decision to rescind a 2009 study that determined greenhouse gases are dangerous to public health was illegal. The study, which is the source of what's called the "Endangerment Finding," was one of several justifications — along with things like the Clean Air Act — for the agency's ability to regulate emissions.

Rescinding the finding nullified the EPA's evidence for things like emissions standards and a variety of other regulations that attempted to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases produced by the automotive, coal and oil industries. The Trump administration framed the rollback as a cost-saving measure, but it was also a major blow to the government's ability to fight climate change. Greenhouse gases, which include things like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, collect in the atmosphere and warm the planet, upsetting weather patterns and negatively impacting the environment. Determining the changes caused by greenhouse gases posed a risk to public health gave the EPA the authority to regulate them under its existing mandate to address air pollution. An authority it could have again, depending on the result of this litigation.

Of course, winning a lawsuit isn't necessary to restore the EPA's role in fighting climate change. Congress could do that now by passing a new law. The legal route is just faster, and potentially riskier. The New York Times writes that this new lawsuit was filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and could ultimately be combined with an existing lawsuit from environmental groups. Depending on how the case fairs in the lower court, it may eventually be appealed to the US Supreme Court, who could decide on an even more restrictive interpretation of the EPA's role. 

Under President Donald Trump, the EPA has already rolled back clean water rules and attempted to stifle research. The Trump administration has separately tried to undermine the authority of independent agencies like the EPA and FTC, something the Supreme Court has yet to determine to be illegal.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/states-are-suing-the-epa-for-relinquishing-its-role-as-a-greenhouse-gas-emissions-regulator-221425064.html?src=rss

Google’s greenhouse gas emissions climbed nearly 50 percent in five years due to AI

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Google’s greenhouse gas emissions spiked by nearly 50 percent in the last five years thanks to energy-guzzling data centers required to power artificial intelligence, according to the company’s 2024 Environmental Report released on Tuesday. The report, which Google releases annually, shows the company’s progress towards meeting its self-proclaimed objective of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Google released 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023, the report states, which was 48 percent higher than in 2019, and 13 percent higher than a year before. “This result is primarily due to increases in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions,” said Google in the report. “As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment.”

Google’s report spotlights the environmental impact that the explosion of artificial intelligence has had on the planet. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Apple and other tech companies plan to pour billions of dollars into AI, but training AI models requires enormous amounts of energy. Using AI features uses significant amounts of energy too. In 2023, researchers at AI startup Hugging Face and Carnegie Mellon University found that generating a single image using artificial intelligence can use as much energy as charging a smartphone. Analysts at Bernstein said that AI would “double the rate of US electricity demand growth and total consumption could outstrip current supply in the next two years,” the Financial Times reported. Last month, Microsoft, which also pledged to go “carbon negative” by the end of this decade, reported that its greenhouse gas emissions had risen nearly 30 percent since 2020 due to the construction of data centers.

Google’s report said that the company’s data centers were using way more water than before to stay cool as a result of expanded AI workloads. Some of those workloads so far have involved Google Search suggesting that people eat rocks and put glue on their pizza to prevent the cheese from falling off, as well as Gemini, the company’s AI-powered chatbot, generating images of ethnically diverse Nazis.

In 2023, Google’s data centers consumed 17 percent more water than the year before. That’s 6.1 billion liters, enough to irrigate approximately 41 golf courses annually in the southwestern United States, according to the company’s strangely kooky measure.

“As our business and industry continue to evolve, we expect our total GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions to rise before dropping toward our absolute emissions reduction target,” Google’s report stated, without explaining what would precipitate the drop. “Predicting the future environmental impact of AI is complex and evolving, and our historical trends likely don’t fully capture AI’s future trajectory. As we deeply integrate AI across our product portfolio, the distinction between AI and other workloads will not be meaningful.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-greenhouse-gas-emissions-climbed-nearly-50-percent-in-five-years-due-to-ai-002646115.html?src=rss

Google’s greenhouse gas emissions climbed nearly 50 percent in five years due to AI

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Google’s greenhouse gas emissions spiked by nearly 50 percent in the last five years thanks to energy-guzzling data centers required to power artificial intelligence, according to the company’s 2024 Environmental Report released on Tuesday. The report, which Google releases annually, shows the company’s progress towards meeting its self-proclaimed objective of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Google released 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023, the report states, which was 48 percent higher than in 2019, and 13 percent higher than a year before. “This result is primarily due to increases in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions,” said Google in the report. “As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment.”

Google’s report spotlights the environmental impact that the explosion of artificial intelligence has had on the planet. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Apple and other tech companies plan to pour billions of dollars into AI, but training AI models requires enormous amounts of energy. Using AI features uses significant amounts of energy too. In 2023, researchers at AI startup Hugging Face and Carnegie Mellon University found that generating a single image using artificial intelligence can use as much energy as charging a smartphone. Analysts at Bernstein said that AI would “double the rate of US electricity demand growth and total consumption could outstrip current supply in the next two years,” the Financial Times reported. Last month, Microsoft, which also pledged to go “carbon negative” by the end of this decade, reported that its greenhouse gas emissions had risen nearly 30 percent since 2020 due to the construction of data centers.

Google’s report said that the company’s data centers were using way more water than before to stay cool as a result of expanded AI workloads. Some of those workloads so far have involved Google Search suggesting that people eat rocks and put glue on their pizza to prevent the cheese from falling off, as well as Gemini, the company’s AI-powered chatbot, generating images of ethnically diverse Nazis.

In 2023, Google’s data centers consumed 17 percent more water than the year before. That’s 6.1 billion liters, enough to irrigate approximately 41 golf courses annually in the southwestern United States, according to the company’s strangely kooky measure.

“As our business and industry continue to evolve, we expect our total GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions to rise before dropping toward our absolute emissions reduction target,” Google’s report stated, without explaining what would precipitate the drop. “Predicting the future environmental impact of AI is complex and evolving, and our historical trends likely don’t fully capture AI’s future trajectory. As we deeply integrate AI across our product portfolio, the distinction between AI and other workloads will not be meaningful.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-greenhouse-gas-emissions-climbed-nearly-50-percent-in-five-years-due-to-ai-002646115.html?src=rss

Amazon says it’s cut down on those plastic air pillows in packages

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You know those little plastic air bags in your more fragile Amazon purchases that make perfect popping noise makers when you crush them? Amazon says it's reduced its usage of them and plans to completely eliminate using them by the end of the year.

The ecommerce behemoth announced on its news blog that it has reduced the use of plastic air pillows by 95 percent and switched to crumbled paper filler instead. Amazon also says it plans to use paper filler for “nearly all” of its customer deliveries on Prime Day.

The company says its decision to phase out the use of plastic air cushions at its distribution centers aims to eliminate unnecessary waste and focus more on using recycled materials.

Plastic pollution has always been a concern when it comes to our environment but it has dramatically increased as a result of Amazon’s meteoric rise especially during the COVID pandemic. The nonprofit ocean conservation group Oceana released a study in 2021 showing that Amazon produced 599 million pounds of plastic waste in 2020. The group also estimated that the waste produced from plastic air pillows alone “would circle the Earth more than 600 times.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-says-its-cut-down-on-those-plastic-air-pillows-in-packages-222953642.html?src=rss

The EPA reveals final auto industry regulations to try to keep the world habitable

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled its final pollution emissions standards for the auto industry on Wednesday. The regulations, which include a looser timeframe than those proposed last year, mandate that by 2032, most new passenger car and light truck sales in the US must be electric or hybrid.

Earth is on a disastrous trajectory with climate change, and no amount of baseless conspiracy theories or talking points from the oil and gas industry, Donald Trump or anyone else will change that. Only phasing out fossil fuels and emissions will beat back its worst effects. The Biden Administration’s EPA is trying to do that — while throwing a bone to stakeholders like unions and automakers to navigate the landmines of today’s political realities.

The final rules present a timeline to wind down gas-powered vehicle purchases, making most US auto sales fully electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or advanced gasoline by 2032. The transition begins in 2027 but moderates the pace until after 2030. That’s a key change from last April’s proposed standards, which called for EVs to make up two-thirds of vehicle sales by 2032.

The shift was an election-year compromise for Biden, who has to balance the crucial battle against climate change with 2024 auto union endorsements. Labor unions had pushed for the more relaxed pace out of fears that a more aggressive transition, like the EPA proposed last year, would lead to job losses. EVs typically require fewer assembly workers than traditional gas-powered vehicles.

Last year, United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain withheld support for Biden’s reelection due to concerns about the EV transition. But (perhaps after hearing assurances about the revised rules) the UAW endorsed his reelection bid in January.

“The EPA has made significant progress on its final greenhouse gas emissions rule for light-duty vehicles,” the UAW wrote in a statement about the new rules published by the EPA. “By taking seriously the concerns of workers and communities, the EPA has come a long way to create a more feasible emissions rule that protects workers building ICE vehicles, while providing a path forward for automakers to implement the full range of automotive technologies to reduce emissions.”

Contrary to what online misinformation or your uncle may tell you, the rules — aimed at the auto industry and not consumers — don't make gas-powered cars and trucks illegal. Instead, they require automakers to meet specific emissions standards throughout their product lines. The rules apply to new vehicle sales, not used ones.

The EPA says the final rule will lead to $99 billion in benefits and save the average American driver $6,000 in fuel and maintenance over the life of their vehicles. Other advantages include avoiding 7.2 billion additional tons of CO2 emissions through 2055 and offering “nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society.” The reduction in fine particulate matter and ozone will allegedly prevent up to 2,500 premature deaths in 2055 while reducing associated health problems like heart attacks, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

“Three years ago, I set an ambitious target: that half of all new cars and trucks sold in 2030 would be zero-emission,” President Biden wrote in a statement supplied by The White House to Engadget. “I brought together American automakers. I brought together American autoworkers. Together, we’ve made historic progress. Hundreds of new expanded factories across the country. Hundreds of billions in private investment and thousands of good-paying union jobs. And we’ll meet my goal for 2030 and race forward in the years ahead. Today, we’re setting new pollution standards for cars and trucks. U.S. workers will lead the world on autos making clean cars and trucks, each stamped ‘Made in America.’”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-epa-reveals-final-auto-industry-regulations-to-try-to-keep-the-world-habitable-195612588.html?src=rss