Fresh Loaf

While leaders and scientists debate the pros and cons of setting long-term goals to lower carbon dioxide emissions, the greenhouse gas responsible for global warming continues to rise. According to the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit environmental group, carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants climbed 2.9 percent in 2007, the biggest single-year increase since 1998. The electric power industry’s carbon dioxide emissions have risen 5.9 percent since 2002 and 11.7 percent since 1997, the group says. Carbon dioxide emissions from power generation are predicted by the U.S. Department of Energy to increase 19 percent between now and 2030. The EIP used data from the Environmental Protection Agency to compile its findings.

In Georgia, the report says, CO2 emissions from power plants have risen 20 percent, or by 16.8 million tons, in the last five years, second to Texas. Last year, the Southern Co.-owned Plant Scherer outside Macon emitted 27.2 million tons of CO2 in 2007, up roughly 2 million tons since 2006. The facility is the country’s foulest coal-fired power plant.

From the report, here’s where Georgia ranks:

• The top 10 states that emitted the most CO2 in 2007 (measured in total tons) are: Texas, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and West Virginia.

• The top 10 states with the largest increases in CO2 emissions over the last five years (between 2002 and 2007) are: Texas, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

• The top 10 states with the largest increases over the past ten years between 1997 and 2007) are Texas, Arizona, Georgia, California, Illinois, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

So, what can we do?

The EIP recommends the nation’s oldest coal-fired power plants, some of which were constructed 50 years ago, need to be retired and replaced with cleaner sources of energy, such as wind and solar power. Problem (from my point of view): A 2007 study by Georgia Power and Georgia Tech concluded that wind power could be generated along the state’s coast, but the capital costs associated with the technology are expensive.

Second, the EIP says that we have to start constructing more energy-efficient buildings. Since the study pegs utilities as the biggest contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, if we lessen our demand, we’ll lighten the load on energy the plants have to produce. Problem (again, from my point of view): Energy-efficient homes, while becoming more affordable, are still not affordable to everyone. Especially the segments of the population who face the most severe burden from high energy bills.

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