Bill Chameides
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Dr. Chameides is dean of Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

He was the vice chair of America’s Climate Choices, a multidisciplinary study by the National Academies designed to help policy makers figure out solutions to the problem of climate change. The study was launched in November 2008 at the request of Congress to provide policy-relevant advice, based on scientific evidence, to guide the nation’s response to climate change. The group's final report was published on May 12, 2011. (Read more about America's Climate Choices.)

Chameides combines more than 30 years in academia as a professor, researcher, teacher, and mentor with a three-year stint as chief scientist at Environmental Defense.

In addition to belonging to the NAS, he is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and a recipient of the AGU's MacElwane Award. He has served on numerous national and international committees and task forces and, in recognition of his “extraordinary service,” was named a National Associate of the National Academies. He has been the dean of the Nicholas School since 2007.

He blogs regularly on environmental science at TheGreenGrok.com. Follow his environmental updates on Twitter @TheGreenGrok and/or on Facebook.

Blog Entries by Bill Chameides

It's National Donut Day but Otherwise a Bad Week for Sweet Things

(0) Comments | Posted June 1, 2012 | 6:21 PM

Sweet dreams for America's once-sweetheart sweeteners aren't made of these kinds of moves.

How Opinions on Sugar and Corn Syrup Went Sour

Americans have traditionally loved sweet things. Think about it. You can't get any more American than a sweet slice of apple pie. And we sure love our

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CO2 Emissions for 2011

(2) Comments | Posted May 31, 2012 | 11:31 AM

Sobering numbers from the International Energy Agency.


IEA's estimates for global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2011 are in. Draw your own conclusions.


Global CO2 Emissions

Emissions in 2011: 31.6 gigatons*
Change from 2010: 1 gigaton CO2 increase (3.2%)

Sources of energy-related emissions:

  • 45% coal,
  • 35% oil,
  • 20%...
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Climate Change: North Carolinians Hope to Stop It in Its Tracks

(75) Comments | Posted May 22, 2012 | 7:16 PM

Crossposted with The Green Grok.

Legislation would just plain do away with global warming.

Government: too big or not big enough. It's a hot-button issue this election season. Lots of politicians think that government has gotten too big and powerful and needs to be cut down to size....

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Is There a Clean Energy Standard in Our Future?

(6) Comments | Posted May 17, 2012 | 5:01 PM

Crossposted with The Green Grok.

Americans want it, but how much will it cost?

Just because Congress is unlikely to pass a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade bill anytime soon does not mean the United States can't work on lowering its greenhouse gas emissions. It turns out there's more...

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America's No. 1 Environmentalist Subversive

(99) Comments | Posted May 11, 2012 | 6:43 PM

Crossposted with TheGreenGrok. We all know environmentalists are un-American, right? But do you know who the first and worst of them was?

Environmentalists took over Hollywood and the media ages ago. And now, with those crazies in the White House, they've taken over our government. Next, they'll take...

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U.S. Acid Rain Regulations: Did They Work?

(2) Comments | Posted May 10, 2012 | 4:19 PM

Crossposted with TheGreenGrok.

U.S. acid rain regulations have worked. What's more, they didn't seem to get in the way of the country's longest economic expansion.


Environmental regulations are none too popular these days. According to some, they're plain ineffective; for others, they're job killers;...

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1,4-Dioxane and Laundry Soap: Free and Gentle or a Marketing Free-for-All?

(2) Comments | Posted May 7, 2012 | 6:50 PM

More than 80,000 chemicals are produced, used, and present in the United States. This is one of their stories.

"Free of dyes and perfumes" on the label doesn't mean "free of carcinogens."

Independent Testing Reveals Undisclosed Ingredients

Recently The New York Times' Green blog raised the spotlight on...

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Water Ills Focus of New Documentary

(3) Comments | Posted May 2, 2012 | 11:28 PM

Last Call at the Oasis highlights global water crisis but opines that the "glass is half full."

A new enviro documentary about water by the "company that brought you An Inconvenient Truth, Food, Inc. and Waiting for Superman" [video] attempts to accomplish three things: inspire you with the...

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Climate Change and More Weather Extremes

(18) Comments | Posted April 27, 2012 | 4:48 PM

Crossposted with TheGreenGrok.

The American public may have it right this time.

Wacky Weather

Weather is fundamentally strange -- as we go from one season to the next, it's hard to know what to expect. Long-range weather forecasts can help a bit, but it's still a crapshoot when trying...

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Food and Environment Smorgasbord

(1) Comments | Posted April 26, 2012 | 8:52 PM

Crossposted with TheGreenGrok.com.

Our cup runneth over with foodie concerns.


Herbicides Blowin' in the Wind


Remember the kerfuffle over a new line of transgenic crops that would dramatically increase the amount of 2,4-D (the number one herbicidal chemical used in U.S. homes and gardens) that could be...

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Energy and Earthquakes: A Whole Lot of Shaking Going On

(23) Comments | Posted April 13, 2012 | 5:56 PM

Crossposted with TheGreenGrok.

In recent years oil and gas production has been on the rise in the United States. So have minor earth shakes. Is there a link?

A new study (PDF) by the U.S. Geological Survey fingers increased energy production in the midcontinental United States1...

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Two for Tuesday: The Latest on Common Pesticide and Coal Ash

(3) Comments | Posted April 10, 2012 | 6:34 PM

Crossposted with TheGreenGrok.

The Environmental Protection Agency decides fate of a toxic pollutant. Coal ash regs still up in the air.

Stand Up for Bastards by Suing Them?

If you have not already, you should check out John and Patricia Adams's A Force for Nature: The Story of NRDC...

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Carbon Capture and Storage: A Fresh Look at Storage and Other Issues

(12) Comments | Posted April 6, 2012 | 1:14 PM

New research concludes we've got space to store carbon, but other issues remain.

The End of Coal-Fired Electricity?

By some reports (see here and here), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed new carbon pollution rule heralds in the new age of natural gas while...

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North Sea Well Blow-out Spikes Carbon Emissions

(0) Comments | Posted April 4, 2012 | 5:10 PM

Crossposted with TheGreenGrok.

Déjà vu? Not quite, but certainly some echoes of BP's Deepwater Horizon incident from two years ago.

On March 25, the French oil company Total found a gas leak at its Elgin platform in the North Sea about 150 miles off the coast of Aberdeen,...

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Chemical Marketplace: The Fine Print on a Common Pesticide, Writ Large

(0) Comments | Posted March 27, 2012 | 5:17 PM

Crossposted with TheGreenGrok.

More than 80,000 chemicals are produced, used, and present in the United States. This is one of their stories.


Do you weed and feed? If so, here are some reasons you may want to reassess the habit.


Spring has sprung early across much...

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The Carbon Footprint of Oil Sands Oil

(15) Comments | Posted March 26, 2012 | 5:50 PM

How large? Some say really large, for peat's sake.

Canadian oil sands are back in the news. President Obama announced last week that he would "fast-track" development of the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline, the proposed avenue that would bring bitumen from...

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An All-Electric Vehicle: Up Close and Personal

(25) Comments | Posted March 21, 2012 | 10:33 AM

Crossposted with TheGreenGrok.

Come along on a test drive of the Nissan Leaf.

Ever wonder what one of those all-electric cars feels like when you're behind the wheel? Well, here's your chance. We'll start by getting the lowdown on what it means to be a "zero-emission vehicle" from one of...

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Climate, Science, and Religion

(148) Comments | Posted March 19, 2012 | 6:14 PM

Despite claims to the contrary, planetary sh*t does happen.

Caveat at the outset: This post addresses some issues of faith. It is not my intention to question or undermine any individual's religious or spiritual beliefs. It's merely to point out that an insistence of "solid or good science" cannot use...

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U.S. Fuel Economy: Past, Present and Future

(12) Comments | Posted March 16, 2012 | 9:20 AM

Crossposted with TheGreenGrok.

To make it to 50 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2025, we'll have to put the pedal to the metal of improved fuel economy.

OK, amidst the discussion of rising gas prices, we have some good news on the car front. The average mpg...

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The Fukushima Accident's Legacy One Year Later

(166) Comments | Posted March 6, 2012 | 2:41 PM

Crossposted with The Green Grok and National Geographic's Great Energy Challenge blog.

Post updated with author's note, 3/12/2012.

A look at things a year after one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents.

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake erupted some 50 miles off Japan’s Tohoku coast. The...

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