Wow!!!! CO2 emissions down!!! [View all]

[cally]

I can hardly believe this but I'm overjoyed!!!

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20120816/DA0MNO2G1.html

AP IMPACT: CO2 emissions in US drop to 20-year low
Email this Story

Aug 16, 8:34 PM (ET)

By KEVIN BEGOS

(AP) in this June 25, 2012 file photo, a crew works on a drilling rig at a well site for shale...
Full Image

Google sponsored links
Merrill Lynch Webcast - Learn How Changes In Today's Global Economy May Affect Investors.
ML.com/Webcast

IT Carbon Footprinting - Measure CO2 from IT and reduce costs with accurate online service
www.co2high.com


PITTSBURGH (AP) - In a surprising turnaround, the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen dramatically to its lowest level in 20 years, and government officials say the biggest reason is that cheap and plentiful natural gas has led many power plant operators to switch from dirtier-burning coal.

Many of the world's leading climate scientists didn't see the drop coming, in large part because it happened as a result of market forces rather than direct government action against carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.

Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University, said the shift away from coal is reason for "cautious optimism" about potential ways to deal with climate change. He said it demonstrates that "ultimately people follow their wallets" on global warming.

"There's a very clear lesson here. What it shows is that if you make a cleaner energy source cheaper, you will displace dirtier sources," said Roger Pielke Jr., a climate expert at the University of Colorado.