Also emphasized in this strategy is a more robust risk assessment component that incorporates product life cycle analysis and ethical, legal, and societal implications of nanotechnology.

WHITEHOUSE: Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog

According to scientists who conduct so-called "life cycle analysis" for solar, the transport of waste is not currently being factored into the carbon footprint score, which measures the amount of greenhouse gases produced when making a product.

NPR: Solar Industry Grapples With Hazardous Wastes

These conclusions are from a life-cycle analysis of 14 different source-fuels made by a team at M.

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Thus, the life-cycle analysis shows that for every mile driven, the average electric car indirectly emits about six ounces of carbon-dioxide.

WSJ: Bjorn Lomborg: Green Cars Have a Dirty Little Secret

Moreover, although controversial, life-cycle analysis indicates that fugitive methane emissions make shale gas obtained by hydraulic fracturing as carbon-intensive as coal.

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Life-cycle analysis goes beyond just energy use, however.

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According to a life-cycle analysis, the land-based crops all were found to sequester more carbon than that incurred in growing them, while the contrary was true for growing algae, meaning that replacing fossil fuels by algal fuels could cause an overall increase in carbon emissions.

FORBES: Report Says Algal Biofuels May Not Cut Carbon Emissions, But Read More Closely