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Re-activateThere's an ample supply of bad news out there for the average American, including the subprime-mortgage meltdown, a feeble dollar, and soaring health-care and energy costs.
But the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration shared an unexpected good tiding on November 28: U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions declined 1.5 percent in 2006. You read that correctly—these emissions, linked to global warming, went down, not up. What's more, carbon-dioxide emissions from energy consumption and industrial processes, which had climbed 1.2 percent per year on average from 1990 to 2005, fell 1.8 percent in 2006.
Al Gore might want to take credit for this encouraging news, but Mother Nature earns the kudos for these dips: "Favorable weather patterns, where both heating and cooling degree-days were lower in 2006 than 2005, and higher energy prices, were the primary causes of lower total energy consumption," reads the EIA report.
We humans did our part, too, mainly by generating more electricity with natural gas than with carbon-heavy coal. Those of us who replace incandescent lightbulbs with CFLs or purchase green power from a utility company or drive a fuel-efficient car can take credit as well.—Daniel DiClerico
Essential information: Visit the Global Warming Solutions Center on GreenerChoices.org to learn more ways save energy and reduce your carbon footprint. And read a PDF of the full EIA report here.
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