Quantifying CO2 Emissions

In the Vulcan Project, scientists have devised a new way to precisely track daily patterns of carbon dioxide emissions at the scale of individual power plants, factories, roadways, and neighborhoods. Housed under the North American Carbon Program, the project features maps and other data that are 100 times more detailed than previous federal surveys of emissions. You can see a few of these fascinating maps in a short presentation posted on YouTube. This type of mapping is also being extended to Canada and Mexico, and a new initiative called the Hestia Project will be launched to quantify greenhouse gas emissions for the entire planet. These efforts have tremendous practical application, in that they will allow us to verify reductions in emissions mandated by state and federal programs or by cap and trade systems.

Hat tip: Dot Earth blog