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The nation's largest electric producers continue to substantially reduce emissions of key air pollutants, the latest comprehensive analysis of U.S. power plant emissions shows. The new report analyzed publicly reported data on carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and mercury emissions from the nation's 100 largest electric power producers, which account for 85 percent of the nation's power production.

pilot project that sought to demonstrate that carbon dioxide emissions could be locked up by turning them into rock appears to be a success. Tests at the CarbFix project in Iceland indicate that most of the CO2 injected into basalt turned into carbonate minerals in less than two years, far shorter a time than the hundreds or thousands of years that scientists had once thought such a process would take. Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/iceland-carbon-capture-project-quickly-converts-carbon-dioxide-stone-180959365/#GpYzrDcLOjF1tUZx.99 Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

Researchers in Iceland found a new way of tackling climate change by pumping carbon dioxide underground and turning it into stone.

Environmental advocacy organizations Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth filed a lawsuit against the EPA to accelerate the completion of an "endangerment finding" that would allow the agency to regulate CO2 emissions from U.S. aircraft. The EPA was expected to finalize a proposal for an endangerment finding in mid-2014. 

"BP Energy Outlook 2035" (BP) projects that global energy consumption will increase 41% from 2012 to 2035, with 95% of the growth occurring in emerging economies. The report also projects that CO2 emissions will increase 29% over that same time period, with virtually all growth driven by emerging markets.

Members of UK retail industry body the British Retail Consortium including McDonald's, Asda and Sainsbury's have pledged to reduce their absolute carbon emissions from retail operations 25 percent by 2020 based on 2005 levels as part of a raft of environmental targets covering waste, transport, resource efficiency in buildings, water and refrigeration.

The Coca-Cola Company has installed its 1 millionth hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-free cooler using natural refrigerant, preventing the emission of 5.25 million metric tons of CO2 over 10 years, the company says.

Sainsbury's supermarket in Leicester, which opens today, is one of two "triple-zero" stores the retailer has just opened. It emits zero CO2 from all operational energy used, zero waste goes to landfill, and the store has zero impact on the water usage of the local catchment area because of its "water-neutral" status, the UK grocery chain says.

Coca-Cola will convert 100 of its Chevrolet Express service vans into hybrids using technology from XL Hybrids. The move is expected to reduce fuel consumption up to 20% and avoid 4,000 tons of CO2 emissions over the vans' lifetime.

For the first time in human history and likely for the first time in at least 800,000 years, the average level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth's atmosphere topped 400 parts per million for an entire month.

Coca-Cola and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment expect SeaWorld's switch to PlantBottle plastic in its refillable cups to remove 35 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, the companies say. The recyclable cup, using Coke's sustainable packaging technology, is now available in all SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks across the US.

Revised government figures in Japan showed that greenhouse gas emissions were the second-highest on record for the year ended March 2014, with a total of 1.552 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The record emissions level was set in 2007 at 1.556 billion tons. Japan's 48 nuclear reactors provided 26% of the country's electricity in the past, but all have been shut down since September 2013

China pledged to reduce its CO2 emissions by 60-65% per unit of GDP by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. The country also pledged to procure 20% of its electricity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

George's Chicken reduced its fleet size by 10 percent, cut road miles by 5 percent, and reported saving $31,000 a year on fuel costs. George's has 250 stores in the Northeast US.

IKEA, the world's leading home furnishings retailer, today announced it had officially plugged-in Kansas' largest rooftop solar array, atop the recently opened IKEA Merriam. The 92,000-square-foot solar array consists of a 730.17-kW DC system, comprised of 2,394 panels, and will produce approximately 986,800 kWh of electricity annually for the store, the equivalent of reducing 680 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) - equal to the emissions of 143 cars or providing electricity for 94 homes yearly (calculating clean energy equivalents at www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html).

The days of conventional concrete and carbon-intensive building materials are waning. Along with promising advancements such as concrete made from biofuel waste, carbonate rock made from captured CO2 emissions, and a smart gypsum board that can help regulate room temperatures, three recent innovations in material development illustrate the intensifying search for more sustainable materials - from city streets to cement production plants

Knowing how conventional cotton is grown and denim is made, Patagonia has set out to change the industry. The company has partnered with Archroma on a new denim collection, launched this week, which is said to use 84% less water, 30% less energy and 25% less CO2 compared to conventional denim dyeing processes - as well as a campaign telling us all about it.

Nike identified water inadequacy and resource cost volatility among the risks, opportunities and challenges surrounding its business. This became the driving force behind the forging of the relationship between Nike and Dutch award-winning startup DyeCoo, a Dutch company that launched the world's first ever industrial dyeing machine that uses high pressure carbon dioxide (CO2) as a replacement for water to dye polyester.

Apple has reportedly reduced the CO2 emissions from production, distribution, consumer use, and recycling of its iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus devices by 14 to 16%, compared to last year's models. The company also released environmental reports for both the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

Carbon Engineering has one idea for taking dangerous greenhouse gas emissions out of the air. It sounds like it's from a cartoon, but it's real life.