New global network to precisely measure emissions
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
A D.C. area company and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography will announce Wednesday that they are launching an ambitious project that aims to precisely gauge how human activity is affecting the climate.
The $25 million, five-year commercial venture will include 50 sensors in the United States and another 50 around the world to measure atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.
Most governments and industries estimate their carbon footprint based on an inventory of the fossil fuels they burn, the trees they cut or the landfills they create; this technology will allow experts to quantify how much carbon dioxide and methane has entered the air.
"The ultimate goal for society is to encourage comparisons between what is reported and what is actually in the atmosphere," said Ray Weiss, a distinguished research professor at Scripps who is working on the project. As governments across the United States and the globe adopt measures aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, Weiss added, "it is the only way to know if that policy is really working."
(More here.)
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
A D.C. area company and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography will announce Wednesday that they are launching an ambitious project that aims to precisely gauge how human activity is affecting the climate.
The $25 million, five-year commercial venture will include 50 sensors in the United States and another 50 around the world to measure atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.
Most governments and industries estimate their carbon footprint based on an inventory of the fossil fuels they burn, the trees they cut or the landfills they create; this technology will allow experts to quantify how much carbon dioxide and methane has entered the air.
"The ultimate goal for society is to encourage comparisons between what is reported and what is actually in the atmosphere," said Ray Weiss, a distinguished research professor at Scripps who is working on the project. As governments across the United States and the globe adopt measures aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, Weiss added, "it is the only way to know if that policy is really working."
(More here.)
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