Model Airplanes

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Strong US job growth in Feb. helps dispel recession fears

WASHINGTON (AP) — A robust February jobs report showcased a resilient U.S. economy just as fears of a new recession had begun to surface.

Economic reports in recent weeks had fueled anxieties about a looming downturn: Manufacturers were slumping. Stocks had plummeted. China was slowing sharply along with other emerging markets. The rising dollar had crushed exports.

But last month, U.S. employers sent a clear message of confidence. They added a healthy 242,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate held at a low 4.9 percent, the government said Friday. The gains showed that the economy is surmounting its challenges without suffering much damage.

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US investigates 420,000 Ford F-150s for brake failure

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government is investigating complaints that the brakes can fail on Ford’s F-150 pickup truck, one of the most popular vehicles in the nation.

Ford’s F-Series pickup is the top-selling vehicle in the U.S., and the F-150 accounts for two-thirds of those sales.

The probe covers about 420,000 pickups with 3.5-Liter, six-cylinder engines from the 2013 and 2014 model years, according to documents posted Friday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.

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Federal probe of bid-rigging goes beyond Chesapeake ex-CEO

DALLAS (AP) — As advanced drilling technology opened untapped sources of oil and natural gas, it triggered fierce competition among energy companies to scoop up rights to drill on vast swaths of land across the country.

The rush caused lease prices to skyrocket in the most promising fields. In a few cases, gas companies responded

Article source: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article64122677.html

TEMPE, Ariz. – From the rooftop of Klaus Lackner’s seven-story building on the Arizona State University campus, photovoltaic panels seemed to glisten in every direction. The school claims to have more solar capacity installed than any other university in America – part of a plan to offset the carbon emissions of this institution of more than 80,000 students.

But the odd little box Lackner had come to check might someday take things a big step further. If it works on a larger scale, what’s in the box could make the university a negative emitter – more than offsetting the amount of carbon it releases into the air.

Lackner’s box is part of a new wave of technology aimed at heading off climate change. Such devices were considered a pipe dream until recently, but more and more, they are seen as indispensable. That’s because a goal set by last year’s Paris accord on climate change – holding global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) more than pre-industrial levels – may not be achievable unless such technology comes to fruition.

Solar power and electric cars won’t be enough, scientists say. Humans may have to engineer ways to draw carbon out of the air, the way trees do naturally, and on a gigantic scale.

“If you want to balance the books at this point,” Lackner said, “I don’t think you have a choice but to pull CO2 back that has already made it out, or is about to make it out, because we

Article source: http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/features/perspective/science-takes-on-quest-for-negative-emissions/article_595352f6-e18c-11e5-ad96-8720d2a755d4.html