Eighty-four percent of participants in the study conducted by New York University School of Law agreed that greenhouse gas emissions pose a significant risk to U.S. and global economies.

Tony Lupo, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Missouri, said he was surprised by the study. “I didn’t realize that all of these economists are basing their opinions on human-induced climate change.”

With varying opinions on the economic costs of current climate change legislation, some assume economists would be opposed to climate change policy. However, the findings of the study prove that most economists believe the benefits of limiting carbon emissions will greatly outweigh the costs.

Ninety-two percent of respondents preferred market-based methods such as a carbon tax or cap-and-trade setup, with near unanimous agreement (97.9 percent) that “placing a price” on carbon will encourage innovation and energy-efficiency in the country.

Lupo is skeptical if the proposed climate change legislation will really be as beneficial as the responses to this study suggest.

“To spur advances in alternatives, we should provide incentives for companies in the form of tax breaks and grants rather than rationing or taxing. Limiting the amount of energy may spur innovation, but it is going to cost consumers in the long run,” he said.

But no matter the method, 94.3 percent of the economists believe the U.S. should agree to an international climate treaty with the promise of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said it should be done regardless of the actions of other countries.

Current climate change legislation will begin by distributing allowances and then slowly moving toward an auction system.

Dubbed “Cash for Caulkers,” the program would give households money for weatherization projects. Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s chief of staff, tells reporter David Leonhardt the proposed program is “one of the top things he’s looking at.”

The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program ended in August, resulting in around 700,000 cars soldn thanks to the month-long program and its roughly $3 billion budget. The initiative was deemed a success as car dealerships across the U.S. moved vehicles off their lots, something that had been quite difficult in recent months.

But the CARS program pulled in more than just car sales. Economists estimated that the initiative yielded about 700,000 to 1.5 million jobs. Advocates for the weatherization program say it could produce similar results, creating jobs in the slumping construction industry.

According to The New York Times, the Doerr plan would cost $23 billion over the course of two years, and a chunk of the funding would go to home weatherization projects, around $2,000 to $4,000 in incentives.

However, the homeowner would pay at least 50 percent of the project’s total cost. Additionally, about $3 billion would be set aside for retailers and contractors, a trade-off to program promotion, similar to car dealerships and the Cash for Clunkers program.

According to the EPA, in the U.S., approximately 4 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (almost 9,000 pounds) per person per year (about 17 percent of total U.S. emissions) are emitted from homes. The EPA has an in-depth program that produces a rough, “ballpark” estimate of your personal or family’s greenhouse gas emissions and explores the impact of taking various actions to reduce your emissions.

The proposed Eagle Mountain Landfill would draw trains from Los Angeles County with an estimated 20,000 tons of waste each day for 117 years. The total capacity of the proposed landfill, an abandoned iron ore mine, is approximately 708 million tons.

For two decades, Ontario-based Kaiser Ventures Inc. has been fighting to develop the 4,654 acres surrounded on three sides by the park and located one-and-a-half miles from Joshua Tree.

Mark Cipra, the California desert program manager with the National Parks Conservation Society (NPCS), called the ruling “a landmark victory for Joshua Tree National Park’s bighorn sheep, desert tortoises and the 1.3 million people who come here every year to enjoy our beloved national park.”

Kaiser Ventures acquired the land during a swap with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 1997. MSNBC reports that two jojoba farmers sued to stop a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) deal necessary for the development 20 years ago.

The NPCS later joined the case. This panel upheld a lower court’s ruling that the BLM’s appraisal of the land was not accurate because it did not take the future use of the land as a lucrative landfill into consideration.

Kaiser Ventures and the BLM now have the option of appealing the decision to the full appeals court.

According to the Worcester Business Journal, in Massachusetts alone, the number of solar installers has risen from 50 to more than 200. But these projects have been put on hold due to lack of funding. This trend is spreading, and more states have cut funding, including New York and California.

Triple Pundit reports that Austin Energy cut solar rebates for homeowners by a third. Xcel Energy will cut its rebate program in half. The Long Island Power Authority has made an immediate program cut, and another is scheduled for January. And in October, New York reduced its solar incentive by 50 cents per watt.

Now states are thinking outside the box. For example, New Jersey’s funding ran dry in 2005, and a cut in rebates generated its incentive program based on Solar Renewable Energy Credits.

In most states, solar incentives are still available for a variety of renewable energy technologies. Amounts vary based on the type of technology used and the scope of your project.

Earlier this year, the controversial Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. A key component of the bill requires public utilities supplying electricity to become more energy efficient and fulfill their customers’ energy demands with more renewable sources as time goes on.

The funding was awarded during Climate Investment Funds’ (CIF) trustee meetings in Washington, D.C. this month.

“The CIF support for Africa is coming at a critical  time,” said Katherine Sierra, vice president of sustainable development at the World Bank. “Climate change has the potential to turn back the clock on hard won development gains across the continent. CIF financing is teaching us how to work together with governments, civil society and the private sector to make truly transformational investments a reality.”

Clean energy development in Africa will contribute to long-term economic growth. South Africa will receive the largest chunk of financing, about $500 million.

Channeled through the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), the financing will support the nation’s goals of generating 4 percent of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2013; improving energy efficiency by 12 percent by 2015 and providing 1 million households with solar water heating in the next five years.

Egypt will receive $300 million from CIF to develop wind power and low-carbon urban transport systems. Morocco will receive $150 million to establish a national energy development fund, which will serve as the nation’s central pillar of government strategy to pursue low-carbon growth and enhance energy security.

The other three countries, Mozambique, Niger and Zambia, will each receive $50-75 million in grants and/or low-interest loans to help integrate climate risk into their core development planning. The three nations “all share dramatic risks in potential loss of land, life and livelihoods as a result of climate change” according to The World Bank. They have been selected as pilot countries for the Strategic Climate Fund’s (SCF) climate resilience program.

As a part of America Recycles Day, the study profiled Americans’ recycling habits and proved that the “out of sight, out of mind” attitude is no longer dominant. According to the survey, 82 percent of Americans understand that their recycled plastic bottle can be made into lumber for homes and decks, car bumpers, life jackets, boat sails, rope and T-shirts.

But while 80 percent of U.S. households have access to plastics recycling programs, according to Steve Russell, vice president, Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council, Americans still have a long way to go.

“It’s encouraging to see that more and more Americans are making an effort to recycle at home, but there is still a huge opportunity to educate and motivate the remaining third who don’t,” said Russell.

“Many plastics can be easily recycled in most communities and given a second life as carpet, clothing, furniture, backyard decks, new bottles and bags, and other products we use every day.”

The U.S. EPA estimates that 75 percent of what Americans throw in the trash could actually be recycled. The current recycling rate for the U.S. hovers around 30 percent, which saves the equivalent of more than 5 billion gallons of gasoline, reducing dependence on foreign oil by 114 million barrels.

Knowaste Ltd, which has been working on a way to address the problem of diaper waste, is facilitating the innovative recycling project. The site claims that the average baby goes through 6,000 diapers during its childhood, and those diapers take an estimated 500 years to decompose in a landfill.

While the plastic can be reprocessed into roofing tiles, ridges and even screws, this only accounts for about 98 percent of a used diaper. The rest, which we’ll call “organic waste,” for lack of a better word, will be used as renewable energy to help power the plant. Knowaste is working with the city of Birmingham to test the practicality of curbside collection of the diapers.

Knowaste is also working on incorporating feminine hygiene products into the process as they are made from a similar type of plastic. The company will first sterilize all material and separate the products into plastic, organic residue and absorbent polymers. The video below explains the process:

San Jose is the most recent to join a growing list of West Coast cities to outlaw the plastic #6 foam material. Similar legislation has passed in Seattle and more than 20 cities in California. San Francisco was the first major city to enact the ban in 2007.

Earlier this year, California initiated a statewide ban on polystyrene take-out containers. But officials pulled Assembly Bill 1358 before it was due for a vote, citing the country’s economic conditions. The bill would have made California the first state to officially outlaw the material.

But audits have shown that the polystyrene ban has not significantly reduced litter as was intended. A 2008 audit shows that, on an item-by-item basis, the 36 percent reduction in polystyrene litter was offset by an equal increase in coated paperboard.

Nevertheless, the ban is seen as a step forward considering the complexity of polystyrene recycling. Because it’s so lightweight, polystyrene takes up to 0.01 percent of the total municipal solid waste stream by weight, but its weight makes it harder to recycle. Therefore, many curbside programs do not accept the material.

However, polystyrene recycling rates continue to grow yearly. According to a report by the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers (AFPR), more than 65 million pounds of expanded polystyrene (EPS) packaging were recycled in 2007, while the number grew to 69 million pounds in 2008.

The organization is promoting concepts such as using rechargeable batteries in electronic gifts for the holidays and reusing gift wrap or wrapping with alternatives such as newspaper. Both of these ideas prolong the life of products, thereby reducing what needs to be thrown away.

The ULS report claims that not only is the waste generated between Thanksgiving and New Years higher than at other times during the year, but the amount of this waste is actually growing. When the campaign first began, the estimated waste totaled to 5 million tons, and now it is closer to 6 million tons.

ULS has also released a program called CalcuLess that lets consumers quantify the impact of the packaging they use. Simply type in a product and how much it weighs and receive tailored information about the item, such as what it’s made of and how often it’s recycled, according to the EPA.

While it’s difficult to avoid packaging, one eco-friendly option is to precycle when you shop. This means knowing and searching for types of packaging that can be recycled in your community program.

For example, if your community does not recycle glass but does accept PETE bottles, search for packaging with the #1 plastic symbol to ensure you have a recycling option.

The U.S. EPA estimates that 75 percent of our waste is recyclable, however the national recycling rate hovers around 30 percent. But, curbside recycling continues to grow. Currently, more than half of the U.S. population has access to curbside programs.

Lauren Zalanick, head of the NBC Universal Green Council, told the Associated Press in April that the network does not “shy away” from environmentally friendly efforts. While NBC reformatted its programming to fit the Earth Day theme, the network said its green efforts would stretch beyond the national holiday.

While news and informational programs have covered environmental issues throughout the year, until now, the efforts have not shifted to prime-time. According to the Associated Press, story lines will range from recycling highlights to organic produce.

According to Jack McBrayer, who plays the role of Kenneth on the comedy “30 Rock,” the eco-ideas aren’t just in the script.

“Everybody is on board with greening up the place and being more environmentally-friendly in real life,” McBrayer told the Associated Press. “Every now and then people need to be reminded of things that can be done.”

According to Beth Colleton, vice president of the “Green is Universal” campaign, the “30 Rock” set has removed disposable water bottles, drives hybrid transport vehicles and uses chemical-free cleaning products.