Global Warming

Global Warming: An Introduction

In the simplest terms, global warming is just what it

sounds like: the worldwide rise in surface temperatures.
The National Academy of Science has put the rise at 1
degree F over the course of the 20th century, but
measurements from satellites of both land and sea
surfaces are showing that the rate of warming is
increasing sharply.
It's more than just surface temperatures that are going up, however. A lot of
research into temperature changes in the upper layers of the atmosphere, as well as
the deep oceans, is showing warming. Then, there are the more obvious signs: the
rapid retreat of glaciers in Greenland, Alaska, the Himalaya, the Antarctic
Peninsula and on high tropical mountains; the thinning and disappearance of sea
ice in the Arctic Ocean during summer; the melting of permafrost in Canada,
Alaska and Siberia; and the rise of sea level and an increase in extreme weather.
The cause of global warming is what's called the "greenhouse effect." That's
shorthand for the ability of gases in the atmosphere to slow down the release of
heat into space at night. Some gases are better at this than others. Carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxide are the top three "greenhouse gases." They are very
good at absorbing sunlight and converting that energy into heat – rather like a rock
does just sitting in the sun.
Surprisingly, the greenhouse effect isn't a bad thing. It's essential for life on Earth –
when it's not too vigorous. If not for the greenhouse effect, the temperature on the
surface of Earth would be like that of the airless moon – swinging wildly from 225
degrees F (107 C) during the day to -243 degrees F (-153 C) at night. Not a good
place for life.
The greenhouse effect is only troublesome when it gets too strong and warms
things too much. And that's just what scientists say has happened over the last 150
years or so as the people of industrialized nations have extracted Earth's vast buried
stores of fossil fuels and burned them. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution
the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased nearly 30 percent,
methane has more than doubled, and the nitrous oxide concentration is up about 15
percent. All those extra greenhouse gases mean more and more solar energy is
being trapped in the atmosphere, exacerbating the greenhouse effect and making
things warmer.
The result: 2005 was Earth's warmest year in a century, according to NASA
climatologists. The years 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004 were the next four runners-

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up. The year 2005 was also a record-breaking year for Atlantic hurricanes in which
the coastal city of New Orleans – made all the more vulnerable because of sea
level rise – was almost wiped off the map by Hurricane Katrina.
Of course, because the effects of global warming on local climates are very
complicated, it remains to be seen exactly how different regions will feel the heat.
"Global warming is a term that's extremely useful when you're running a planet,"
says John Cox, author of the book Climate Crash. "But it's regional change that
affects people. It's the wet and cold and hot and dry."
That's why climate modelers are constantly refining their simulations, and climate
scientists continue to refine our view of past climate changes to create a better idea
of what to expect.

Report on the latest United Nations scientific report, the

2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The world's climate scientists reported unequivocally in 2007 that the Earth's
climate system is increasingly heating up and that it likely has not been this warm
for at least 1300 years. The fourth report of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) says that evidence for this includes more than increases in
global average air and ocean temperatures.

As has been reported on this site, heating effects are

strong in melting of snow and ice, rising global mean
sea level, widespread changes in precipitation amounts,
ocean salinity, wind patterns and
aspects of extreme weather including
droughts, heavy precipitation, heat
waves and the intensity of tropical
cyclones. With much stronger
language and more assurance than in
previous reports, the IPCC members
said there was less than 10 percent
chance that this global warming was natural -- they pinned it
directly on human greenhouse gas emissions. The amount of CO2 spewed out per
year from fossil fuel burning is 12 percent greater now than in the 1990s, their
report indicated, and the amount of the greenhouse effect is the greatest in 10,000
years.

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The forecast range of possible temperatures by the end of the century reaches
higher in this report than did the previous one in 2001 --11.5 degrees F -- but the
more probable range is between 3.2 and 7 degrees F. The rate of rise depends on if
and how fast emissions are reduced and on possible adverse feedbacks in the
climate system. All probable temperatures are far beyond the increase in the 20th C
and will take modern civilization into uncharted territory. Temperatures are sure to
rise faster in the next decades, the IPCC said, than they did during the same time
span in the last half of the 20th century.

Even now, the scientists reported, the last time the Arctic
was significantly warmer was about 125,000 years ago,
before the last ice age. At that time, sea level rose 4 to 6
meters as polar ice melted. For this coming century the
IPCC is forecasting sea level to rise from 7 inches to
about half a meter, depending on emissions and warming.
The scientists expressed uncertainty about rapid melting
of the Greenland ice cap, citing a lack of enough research
so far; this is sure to be one of the more controversial
parts of the report since some glaciologists think
Greenland and possibly Western Antarctica glacier melt will add considerably
more to sea level.

Scientists said "it is very likely that hot extremes, heat waves, and heavy
precipitation events will continue to become more frequent," that it was very
certain that the ocean would become more acid from taking up more CO2 and that
the great currents in the North Atlantic were likely to slow but not stop.

If CO2 emissions can be reduced far enough, the report estimated, the atmosphere
could be stabilized at a much lower level of greenhouse effect than is forecast now.
Still, the effects of global warming will be with us for many centuries, the IPCC
said, because of the inertia of the atmosphere and oceans and the 100 + year
persistence of greenhouse gases.

The significance of this report is less its absolute numbers, than in the strength of
its judgements and its acceptance, in the UN's consensus procedure, by the world's
nations including the U.S. and China. The IPCC also reported on changes to the
natural world, and on mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce the impact of
climate change.

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Putting the brakes on global warming is no easy matter. Some ways to reduce our
contribution of greenhouse gases include setting strict emissions standards,
reducing our fossil fuel use, developing alternative sources of energy to replace
fossil fuels, removing carbon dioxide from emissions at the source, eliminating the
use of chlorofluorocarbons, slowing or mitigating deforestation, and developing
agricultural techniques that release less carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

These changes would have far-reaching impacts on our current use of energy,
affecting industries and the economy. Some point out that developing new
technologies to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels could spur economic growth,
but critics contend that the costs of implementing an effective program would be
too high.

The most recent international effort to address the greenhouse effect was the Kyoto
Protocol, an agreement among the industrialized nations of the world to reduce
emissions of six greenhouse gases over a certain period of time. More than 170
nations signed the treaty, including the U.S., the European Union, Canada, and
Japan. If the treaty had been ratified by the U.S. Congress, it would have required
the U.S. to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 7% below 1990 levels, from
2008-2012. The Congressional Research Service Report, Global Climate Change:
Reducing Greenhouse Gases - How Much From What Baseline (1998) describes
the Kyoto Protocol, particularly the energy, economic, and carbon sequestration
variables associated with its implementation in the U.S.

What Causes Global Warming?

An increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere especially a
sustained increase great enough to cause changes in the global climate is Global
Warming. The earth has experienced numerous episodes of Global Warming
through its history and currently appears to be undergoing such warming. The
present warming is generally attributed to an increase in the greenhouse effect.
Expected long term effects of global warming are rising sea levels, flooding,
melting of polar ice caps and glaciers, fluctuations in temperature and
precipitation, more frequent and stronger El Ninos, drought, heat waves and forest
fires.

Scientists have spent decades figuring out what is causing global warming. They've
looked at the natural cycles and events that are known to influence climate. But the
amount and pattern of warming that's been measured can't be explained by these

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factors alone. The only way to explain the pattern is to include the effect of
greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by humans.
To bring all this information together, the United Nations formed a group of
scientists called the International Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. The IPCC
meets every few years to review the latest scientific findings and write a report
summarizing all that is known about global warming. Each report represents a
consensus, or agreement, among hundreds of leading scientists.
One of the first things scientists learned is that there are several greenhouse gases
responsible for warming, and humans emit them in a variety of ways. Most come
from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production.
The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, also called CO2.
Other contributors include methane released from landfills and agriculture
(especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals), nitrous oxide from
fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes, and the loss of
forests that would otherwise store CO2.
Different greenhouse gases have very different heat-trapping abilities. Some of
them can even trap more heat than CO2. A molecule of methane produces more
than 20 times the warming of a molecule of CO2. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more
powerful than CO2. Other gases, such as chlorofluorocarbons (which have been
banned in much of the world because they also degrade the ozone layer), have
heat-trapping potential thousands of times greater than CO2. But because their
concentrations are much lower than CO2, none of these gases adds as much
warmth to the atmosphere as CO2 does.
In order to understand the effects of all the gases together, scientists tend to talk
about all greenhouse gases in terms of the equivalent amount of CO2. Since 1990,
yearly emissions have gone up by about 6 billion metric tons of "carbon dioxide
equivalent" worldwide, more than a 20% increase.

Humans Are Causing the Problem

While there are many natural causes of global warming, these causes do

not account for the extra warming we are currently seeing on our planet.
The current warming is anthropogenic, created by humans.
How do humans cause global warming? We are accelerating the natural
climatological cycles with our human-created emissions of greenhouse
gases.  The primary gas, carbon dioxide, is released every time you use

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fossil fuels- currently our main energy source. Unless you help stop
those emissions, there is little hope of a secure future for humans.

You'll see that dangerous shifts in the Earth's climate are happening as
we speak due to human induced global warming, and as it continues the
consequences will worsen. Furthermore, such changes may be self-
reinforcing. From an objective perspective, it looks like we are playing
Russian roulette with all of life on Earth!

The main causes of global warming, in order of the magnitude of their

impact, are:

1. Carbon Dioxide from:

1. Fossil Fuel
2. Deforestation
3. Failing Sinks
2. Methane from:
1. Cattle and Rice Paddies
2. the Artic Tundra
3. Clathrates
3. Nitrogen Oxides from Farming
4. Other Gases

The Most Significant Cause

The buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, mainly from yourfossil fuel
emissions, is the most significant human cause of global warming. Carbon dioxide
is released every you burn something, be it a car, airplane or coal plant. This means
you must burn less fossil fuel if you want the Earth's climate to remain stable! And
unfortunately, we are currently destroying some of the best known mechanisms for
storing that carbon-- plants.

Deforestation increases the severity of global warming as well. Carbon dioxide is

released from the human conversion of forests and grasslands into farmland and
cities. All living plants store carbon. When those plants die and decay, carbon

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dioxide is released back into the atmosphere. As forests and grasslands are cleared
for your use, enormous amounts of stored carbon enter the atmosphere.

An unstoppable feedback loop may happen if you let this continue. If the

activities mentioned above warm the Earth just enough, it could cause natural
carbon sinks to fail. A "carbon sink" is a natural system that stores carbon over
thousands of years. Such sinks include peat bogs and the arctic tundra. But if these
sinks destabilize, that carbon will be released, possibly causing an unstoppable and
catastrophic warming of the Earth.

The oceans are no longer able to store carbon as they have in the past. The ocean
is a huge carbon sink, holding about 50 times as much carbon as the
atmosphere. But now scientists are realizing that the increased thermal
stratification of the oceans has caused substantial reductions in levels of
phytoplankton, which store CO2. Increased atmospheric carbon is also causing an
acidification of the ocean, since carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid when it reacts
with water. The tiny plants of the ocean, the very bottom of that vast watery food
chain, are suffering from the effects of global warming, which means they are
becoming less able to store carbon, further contributing to climate change.
As carbon sinks fail, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere climbs!

Methane's Huge Impact

Per unit of volume, it is twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide when its
impact is measured over the course of a century. When you consider its effects
within a single decade, methane is 100 times as powerful as carbon dioxide as a
greenhouse gas! Carbon levels in the atmosphere are about 385 parts per million
(ppm) currently, whereas methane is only about 1.8 ppm. But because methane is
so powerful, it has the potential to have significant impacts on the future of global
warming.

Methane is created when bacteria break down organic matter under oxygen-

starved conditions. This occurs when organic matter is trapped underwater, as in
rice paddies. It also takes place in the intestines of herbivorous animals, such as
cows, sheep, and goats. Because human agriculture has grown over time to engulf
most of the arable land on the planet, it is now adding a lot of methane to the
atmosphere. Landfills and leakage from natural gas fields (methane is a component
of natural gas) are also significant sources of methane.

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Clathrates are a hidden source of Methane. Clathrates are frozen chunks of ice
and methane that rest at the bottom of the world's oceans. As the water warms, the
ice melts, and the methane is released. If the current global warming, which is
caused by humans, were to cause changes in the Earth's ocean currents, then a
rapid melting of clathrates would be possible. This too would create a positive
feedback loop that would cause further global warming. It is believed that some of
the warming cycles in the Earth's history have been caused by the sudden thawing
of clathrates.

A Growing Problem

The "green revolution" of the twentieth century has allowed the farmers of the
world to use chemical fertilizers and machines to produce far more food than they
ever did before. One of the primary components of the green revolution has been
the development of nitrogen fertilizers that dramatically accelerate the growth and
productivity of plants in the field. Plants "fix," or capture, nitrogen on their own as
well, but green revolution technologies have become so popular that humans are
now adding more nitrogen to the earth than all of the plants in the world combined!
Nitrogen oxides have 300 times more heat-trapping capacity per unit of volume
than does carbon dioxide, and we release them every time we apply fertilizer to
soil. A recent United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization study found that
modern farming is contributing more to global warming than all of the
transportation sector combined!  This is due partly to the fuel burned in modern
farming, but more significantly, to the release of methane and nitrogen oxides.

The Few But Strong

CFCs and HCFCs (chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons) used in

refrigeration are also powerful greenhouse gases. These gases occur in lower
concentrations in the atmosphere, but because they are so much more potent than
carbon dioxide -- in some cases hundreds of times more potent per unit of volume
-- they contribute to global warming as well.

Global Warming effects

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Green house gases stay can stay in the atmosphere for an amount of years ranging
from decades to hundreds and thousands of years. No matter what we do, global
warming is going to have some effect on Earth. Here are the 5 deadliest effects of
global warming.
5. Spread of disease As northern countries warm, disease carrying insects migrate
north, bringing plague and disease with them. Indeed some scientists believe that
in some countries thanks to global warming, malaria has not been fully eradicated.
4. Warmer waters and more hurricanes As the temperature of oceans
rises, so will the probability of more frequent and stronger hurricanes. We saw in
this in 2004 and 2005.
3. Increased probability and intensity of droughts and heat
waves Although some areas of Earth will become wetter due to global warming,
other areas will suffer serious droughts and heat waves. Africa will receive the
worst of it, with more severe droughts also expected in Europe. Water is already a
dangerously rare commodity in Africa, and according to the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, global warming will exacerbate the conditions and could
lead to conflicts and war.
2. Economic consequences Most of the effects of anthropogenic global
warming won’t be good. And these effects spell one thing for the countries of the
world: economic consequences. Hurricanes cause do billions of dollars in damage,
diseases cost money to treat and control and conflicts exacerbate all of these.
1. Polar ice caps melting The ice caps melting is a four-pronged danger.
First, it will raise sea levels. There are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in ice caps,
glaciers, and permanent snow. According to the National Snow and Ice Data
Center, if all glaciers melted today the seas would rise about 230 feet. Luckily,
that’s not going to happen all in one go! But sea levels will rise.
Second, melting ice caps will throw the global ecosystem out of balance. The ice
caps are fresh water, and when they melt they will desalinate the ocean, or in plain
English - make it less salty. The desalinization of the gulf current will "screw up"
ocean currents, which regulate temperatures. The stream shutdown or irregularity
would cool the area around north-east America and Western Europe. Luckily, that
will slow some of the other effects of global warming in that area!
Third, temperature rises and changing landscapes in the artic circle will endanger
several species of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive.
Fourth, global warming could snowball with the ice caps gone. Ice caps are white,
and reflect sunlight, much of which is relected back into space, further cooling

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Earth. If the ice caps melt, the only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb
sunlight, further warming the Earth.

Global Warming Solutions

What Can We Do?
Main Content

The evidence that humans are causing global

warming is strong, but the question of what to
do about it remains controversial. Economics,
sociology, and politics are all important
factors in planning for the future.
Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases
(GHGs) today, the Earth would still warm by
another degree Fahrenheit or so. But what we do from today forward makes a big
difference.  Depending on our choices, scientists predict that the Earth could
eventually warm by as little as 2.5 degrees or as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
A commonly cited goal is to stabilize GHG concentrations around 450-550 parts
per million (ppm), or about twice pre-industrial levels. This is the point at which
many believe the most damaging impacts of climate change can be avoided. 
Current concentrations are about 380 ppm, which means there isn't much time to
lose.  According to the IPCC, we'd have to reduce GHG emissions by 50% to 80%
of what they're on track to be in the next century to reach this level.
Is this possible?
Many people and governments are already working hard to cut greenhouse gases,
and everyone can help.
Researchers Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow at Princeton University have
suggested one approach that they call "stabilization wedges." This means reducing
GHG emissions from a variety of sources with technologies available in the next
few decades, rather than relying on an enormous change in a single area.  They
suggest 7 wedges that could each reduce emissions, and all of them together could
hold emissions at approximately current levels for the next 50 years, putting us on
a potential path to stabilize around 500 ppm.

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There are many possible wedges, including improvements to energy efficiency and
vehicle fuel economy (so less energy has to be produced), and increases in wind
and solar power, hydrogen produced from renewable sources, biofuels (produced
from crops), natural gas, and nuclear power.  There is also the potential to capture
the carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuels and store it underground—a process
called "carbon sequestration."
In addition to reducing the gases we emit to the atmosphere, we can also increase
the amount of gases we take out of the atmosphere.  Plants and trees absorb CO2 as
they grow, "sequestering" carbon naturally.  Increasing forestlands and making
changes to the way we farm could increase the amount of carbon we're storing.
Some of these technologies have drawbacks, and different communities will make
different decisions about how to power their lives, but the good news is that there
are a variety of options to put us on a path toward a stable climate.

Obviously there is no one magic solution to the problem of global warming. There
are instead hundreds of questions that need to be asked and addressed so as to
create an overall Earth plan that will develop our planet wisely. The changes we
can make, both large and small when combined will curtail global warming for the
better. In this section we discuss the latest green designs, products and ideas as yet
undeveloped that will reduce environmental damage overall.
We plan to offer honest value
comparisons of products such as hybrid
cars. If the carbon footprint made from
producing a hybrid is ten times larger
than that it erases it is news that should
be shared. Compact florescent lights are
great energy savers but are all of these
exactly what they claim to be? And
furthermore will light emitting diodes
render CFLs obsolete before they are
universally adapted.
As always the future holds a newer and
possibly better design. We will be
bringing you articles examining what will come and those products that are already
available but await widespread acceptance. Developments in mass renewable
energy production in such areas as solar and wind power are of interest to all. We

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will also be looking back at past successful use of these energy choices. Zenith
sold tiny windmills in the late 1930s that would charge a car battery that in turn
would run a radio for days. Has the technological upgrade been utilized?
We will find solutions to the problem of global warming by asking countless
questions about the processes we rely upon to live. We answer these questions on a
personal level by changing the habits, which build each of our carbon footprints
and on a global level by insisting that social and governmental structure
acknowledge the need for environmental protection.

What is the Kyoto  Protocol?

The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty intended to
bring countries together to reduce global warming and to cope with the effects of
temperature increases that are unavoidable after 150 years of industrialization. The
provisions of the Kyoto Protocol are legally binding on the ratifying nations, and
stronger than those of the UNFCCC.

Countries that ratify the Kyoto Protocol agree to reduce emissions of six
greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming: carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFCs and PFCs. The countries are allowed to
use emissions trading to meet their obligations if they maintain or increase their
greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions trading allows nations that can easily meet
their targets to sell credits to those that cannot.

Lowering Emissions Worldwide

The goal of the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions
to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. Compared to the
emissions levels that would occur by 2010 without the Kyoto Protocol, however,
this target actually represents a 29 percent cut.

The Kyoto Protocol sets specific emissions reduction targets for each industrialized
nation, but excludes developing countries. To meet their targets, most ratifying
nations would have to combine several strategies: 

 place restrictions on their biggest polluters

 manage transportation to slow or reduce emissions from automobiles
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 make better use of renewable energy sources—such as solar power, wind

power, and biodiesel—in place of fossil fuels

Current Status

Most of the world’s industrialized nations support the Kyoto Protocol. One notable
exception is the United States, which releases more greenhouse gases than any
other nation and accounts for more than 25 percent of those generated by humans
worldwide. Australia also declined.

Largest corporations agree to cut global warming

emissions

More than 100 top executives from the private sector and leaders of international
governmental and non-governmental organizations unveileved a plan to cut
greenhouse gas emissions. They said governments need to take immediate steps to
stop global warming. 

"Failing to act now would lead to far higher economic and environmental costs and
greater risk of irreversible impacts," warned the Global Roundtable on Climate
Change in a statement issued Tuesday. "Long-term success will require a concerted
effort to de-carbonize the global energy system." 

The Roundtable put forth a series of recommendations for world governments to

reduce the risk of climate change including setting "scientifically informed" targets
for global CO2 concentrations, developing a carbon trading market, promoting
energy efficiency and de-carbonization through the increased used of renewable
energy, providing incentines to reduce deforestation and harmful land management
practices, implementing adaption strategies to prepare populations for the impact
of global change, and launching public awareness campaigns to inform citizens of
the risks of and solutions to climate change. 

"Cost-efficient technologies exist today, and others could be developed and

deployed, to improve energy efficiency and to help reduce emissions of CO2 and

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other GHGs in major sectors of the global economy," stated the Roundtable.
"Research indicates that heading off the very dangerous risks associated with
doubling pre-industrial atmospheric concentrations of CO2, while an immense
challenge, can be achieved at a reasonable cost." 

Alcoa, Ford Motor, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Toyota Motor North
America, and Wal-Mart are among the corporations that signed off on the
initiative. 

With corporations now making up roughly two-thirds the world's 150 largest
entities, the private sector is arguably as important as governments in directing
policy on climate change. This new initiative will likely increase pressure on the
world's largest polluters -- especially Europe and the United States -- to take action
on the issue, which could have a devastating economic impact. A study released in
October by the British government said that economic damage caused by global
warming could rival that of the Great Depression. 

Atmopheric concentrations of carbon dioxide -- the principal greenhouse gas

produced by human activities -- currently stands at the highest levels in at least
650,000 years according to research published in 2005. Most carbon emissions
result from power generation, responsible for more than 40 percent of energy-
related emissions worldwide. Overall, industry accounts for more than 18 percent
of emissions, transport 20 percent, and the residential and services sector 13
percent. The U.S. is the largest polluter, followed by China. 

While the effects of higher CO2 levels are still poorly understood, scientists are
concerned that climate change could have a major impact on weather patterns, the
distribution of ice, ecosystems, and ocean currents and sea levels. During the past
year alone studies have warned that climate change could result in the demise of
coral reefs, the shutdown of the Gulf stream and related currents, melting Arctic
ice and glaciers, emerging diseases, bitter winters and drought, changes in
vegetation, stronger storms and hurricanes, and mass extinction. 

TOP COMPANIES OF THE DECADE

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Business Week, Climate Group, and a panel of judges compiled this ranking
based on total reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs), results relative to
company revenues, and management's leadership on environmental issues over
the past ten years

2004 Sales 
Company $ Billions Metric Tons % Reduction

1 DuPont $27.5 65 million 72

Reduced energy consumption 7% below 1990 levels, saving more than $2 billion -- including at least $10 million
a year by using renewable sources

2 BP $285.1 12.8 million 10

Reached its 2010 GHG reduction target in 2001. Increased valuation by $650 million through improvements in
operating efficiency and energy management

3 Bayer $36.7 4.9 million 63

Boosting energy efficiency also avoided $850 million in investments that otherwise would have been required,
because production grew 22%

4 BT $18.5 1.6 million 71

Low-carbon and renewable sources provide 98% of its electricity in Britain, saving $1.1 billion. Adding 38%
reduction in vehicle emissions almost doubles savings

5 Alcoa $23.5 8.9 million 26

Slashed emissions of perfluorocarbon (PFC) gas from aluminum smelters by 80%. Expects annual cost savings
to reach $100 million next year

6 IBM $96.3 1.7 million 38

Tonnage cuts are from just higher energy efficiency. The reduction triples if other CO2 and PFC cleaning-
solvent emissions are included. Total savings: $791 million

7 Catalyst Paper $1.9 280,000 61

Substantially lower CO2 emissions stem from efficiency initiatives that have netted savings of more than $17
million over the past 10 years

8 STMicroelectronics $9.5 850,000 50

Since 1994, CO2 emissions have been progressively curtailed with better energy practices. Efficiency savings
now exceed $100 million a year

9 3M $20.0 1.85 million 12.8

By cutting energy consumption, 3M has saved more than $190 million since 1990

10 Iberdrola $12.0 3.9 million n.a.

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Tonnage was avoided with renewable fuels, but total emissions grew in 2004. Biomass investments -- $12.7 billion
since 2001 -- will yield 5,500 megawatts in 2008 

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