Greenhouse

In the universe of the American Philosophical Society, a giraffe is never just a giraffe. In the current instance, la girafe is a prime example of how 19th-century French natural historians gobbled up global flora and fauna and set a course of scientific exploration that zipped at warp speed into the future. Which brings us to Jenny Sabin's greenhouse. Sabin is an award-winning Philadelphia architect whose métier is digitally conceived and created designs that start with abstract concepts like "what would unraveling knots look like and how can they be mashed up (design-wise)

You hear a lot these days about how mindless government policy stifles innovation in the private sector. But in West Virginia's coal country, the opposite has happened. The lack of government rules has prompted a private company to stop work on a promising antipollution technology, which sets a dangerous precedent that utilities across the nation may follow. American Electric Power has dropped its effort to capture carbon dioxide from a huge coal-fired power plant, even though a pilot project was successful.

TRENTON - Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation Monday to force Gov. Christie to stay in a multistate pact to reduce greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. The effort to thwart the governor's planned pullout from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) comes amid protests that New Jersey is forfeiting its status as a national leader in green economy and a debate over what impact the state's two years of participation has really had. Christie announced last month that he would pull the state from the initiative by year's end. A three-bill package introduced Monday would foil that by making participation in the initiative a state law and framing deviation from it as inconsistent with the Legislature's expressed intent to support initiatives that combat global warming.

TRENTON - Gov. Christie said today New Jersey will withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade agreement between 10 northeast states, by the end of the year. The governor acknowledged that humans play a role in global warming but said the program does not address the problem. "This program is not effective in reducing greenhouse gases and is unlikely to be in the future," said the governor, standing alongside Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin at a statehouse news conference.

Bernard Greenhouse, 95, acclaimed cellist and founding member of the renowned Beaux Arts Trio, died in his sleep Friday at his home on Cape Cod, Mass. Mr. Greenhouse was born in Newark, N.J., and began playing cello at age 8. As a teenager, he was admitted to what was then known as the Juilliard Graduate School in New York. He began his career as a soloist in the mid-20th century, but it was a time when concert presenters rarely booked solo cellists, according to the New York Times.

Besides being used to obliterate the Norris Apartments high-rise in North Philadelphia yesterday, a wrecking ball painted with the purple and yellow Philadelphia Housing Authority logo also symbolized destruction of the organization's tarnished image and a fresh start. The demolition is paving the way for PHA to build 51 high-efficiency green units that feature solar panels on the roof to heat water, Energy Star windows, low-flow plumbing fixtures, compact fluorescent-light fixtures and native landscaping.

Clearing the air about greenhouse gases will be the focus of a public meeting on Thursday, the Chester County commissioners said in a news release. The meeting will include a presentation from the Chester County Greenhouse Gas Reduction Task Force. The 64-member group was formed in December 2007 to address climate change and recommend ways the county, municipalities, the private sector and individuals can continue to reduce greenhouse emissions, the release said. The meeting will be held in Courtroom One of the historic Courthouse, Market and High streets, West Chester, beginning at 6:30 p.m.    Kathleen Brady Shea

When it comes to public understanding of climate change - the forecast is hazy with a 90 percent chance of confusion. Is it a threat to life as we know it? Is it a hoax perpetrated by some bicycle-riding, SUV-hating, tofu-eating eggheads? In Copenhagen, President Obama is scheduled to speak on Friday as world leaders continue to work out strategies to curb the world's ever-increasing carbon emissions. Meanwhile, critics are still pointing to a cache of leaked e-mails that hackers stole from climate scientists.

When it comes to public understanding of climate change - the forecast is hazy with a 90 percent chance of confusion. Is it a threat to life as we know it? Is it a hoax perpetrated by some bicycle-riding, SUV-hating, tofu-eating eggheads? In Copenhagen, President Obama is scheduled to speak on Friday as world leaders continue to work out strategies to curb the world's ever-increasing carbon emissions. Meanwhile, critics are still pointing to a cache of leaked e-mails that hackers stole from climate scientists.

In a landmark move that countered eight years of inaction by the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency determined yesterday that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare because they contribute to climate change. The ruling set the stage for the agency to regulate emissions from a spectrum of sources, including automobiles, ships, airplanes, power plants, oil refineries, steel mills, and more. Supporters and critics agreed that the finding was a game-changer with potentially profound consequences, though opponents warned that implementing new rules would have devastating impact on the economy.