In 2012, carbon dioxide emissions from energy use in the US reached the lowest level since 1994 and were 12% lower than their peak in 2007. This is certainly good news, but just how good?
The US Energy Information Administration likes to look at energy intensity, which is the amount of energy we use per dollar of gross domestic product. This metric compensates for such things as economic recessions, which tend to lower our energy use in ways that are not necessarily positive.
That being said, over the past five years, our energy intensity has dropped almost 10%. Why? There are multiple causes: we have had some mild winters, we are driving more efficient cars, we are generating more electricity with natural gas instead of coal and with renewables such as wind power, and we have had lower industrial output.
Not all of these things are deliberate and not all of them are necessarily good. Our mild winters lower our carbon emissions, but are quite likely a product of climate change from CO2 we’ve added to the atmosphere. Our lower industrial output reflects that much of our most energy-intensive manufacturing has been relocated overseas.
The key question is whether the carbon emissions from that manufacturing have simply been moved to locations outside of the US or even worse, actually increased the use of dirty energy sources in foreign lands.
Our lower carbon emissions are most certainly good news, but in the big picture, we have a long way to go.
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U.S. Carbon Emissions Fell Last Year While Economy Grew
Photo, taken on May 28, 2006, courtesy of FutureAtlas.com via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.