greenhouse gases

The Supreme Court kept up its corporatist streak Monday, handing down two key decisions that were certain to please the Chamber of Commerce. The first helped Wal-Mart quash a massive class action sex discrimination suit; the second stopped states from suing power companies over greenhouse gas emissions.

The Easy-Bake Oven is falling victim to the fight against global warming. The incandescent light bulbs that heat the toy ovens are being phased out in 2012 in favor of energy-efficient compact fluorescents. But precisely because they are energy efficient, they don't get hot enough to bake a cookie.

Republicans can be friendly to solar energy -- just don't use the terms "recovery act" or "stimulus package" when lobbying them for government subsidies. That was the message from GOP political adviser Mary Matalin at the largest solar conference in the country on Thursday.

Eight states, New York City and three groups won the legal right to sue greenhouse-gas emitting utilities. The companies appealed to the Supreme Court, and the Obama administration has filed a brief supporting them. Find out the implications of this move.

Carbon offsets are meant to reward companies for cutting their emission of greenhouse gases. But environmentalists claim that some companies are producing extra emissions in order to get paid for destroying it. A U.N. board has halted credits for the projects in question while it investigates.

The price at the pump may soon top $3 a gallon. The higher prices come as carmakers take stock of new regulations that will require them to achieve fuel efficiency of 35.5 miles a gallon -- an increase of nearly 10 mpg above current standards -- by 2016.

Walmart plans to expand greenhouse-gas reduction efforts to the companies that make up its huge supply chain.

What are car makers tooting their horns about? All the earth-friendlier engines at the Detroit auto show. Hyundai's plug-in Blue Will concept car and Nissan's all-electric Leaf are just a couple of the new models. Companies are keen to show they are serious about raising gas mileage and reducing emissions.

Serious Materials is a green construction materials company that has raised more than $60 million in venture capital, thanks to innovative products like its EcoRock sheetrock, which is made with less than one-fifth the energy used to create standard drywall.

Looks like that Climategate thing is about to kick into high gear again. Refuting the claims of global-warning critics, the World Meteorological Organization today released findings showing that the past decade was the hottest recorded in the 150 years that scientists have collected global...