|
 |
 |
|
US greenhouse gas emissions grow in ’10, EPA finds
Economic expansion and warm summer weather helped boost U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 following two years of declines, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The agency’s latest report on emissions trends shows that total emissions — including carbon dioxide, methane and other gases — increased by 3.2 percent from 2009 to 2010.
“The increase from 2009 to 2010 was primarily due to an increase in economic output resulting in an increase in energy consumption across all sectors, and much warmer summer conditions resulting in an increase in electricity demand for air conditioning that was generated primarily by combusting coal and natural gas,” the report states.
Overall emissions have grown by more than 10 percent in the last two decades, but the 2010 levels — the equivalent of 6,822 million metric tons of CO2 — are below the 2007 high of 7,253 million metric tons.
Click here for the whole report.
