The Silver Lining to the Weak Economy

Thanks to the slow economy and some changing over from coal to natural gas, the carbon footprint of the United States is expected to be down by 6 percent in 2009! By the end of the year, we'll be more than halfway to the 2020 Waxman-Markey target (8.5% total, with a target of 17% below 2005 levels).  Fortunately, the expected increase of .9% in 2010 is relatively small in comparison.

From the Energy Information Administration Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government:
"Projected carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels fall by 6.0 percent in 2009 because of the weak economic conditions and declines in the consumption of most fossil fuels (U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Growth Chart).  Coal leads the drop in 2009 CO2 emissions, falling by nearly 10 percent because of fuel switching from coal to natural gas in the electric power sector.  The projected recovery in the economy contributes to an expected 0.9-percent increase in CO2 emissions in 2010." http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/contents.html