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Denver 42nd in per-capita carbon output
By: Mark Jaffe
The Denver Post
May 29, 2008
"Sprawling, auto-driven"
We're No. 42.
Denver-Aurora ranked 42nd in per-capita greenhouse carbon emissions among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas, according to a study by the Brookings Institution.
The average Denver-area resident generated about 2.4 tons of carbon from highway transportation and residential uses in 2005.
The average for residents in the 100 metro areas was 2.24 tons.
Carbon dioxide is the key gas linked to trapping the sun's heat in the atmosphere, creating climate change. Most man-made carbon dioxide comes from burning fossil fuels.
Denver-Aurora residential emissions declined 2.3 percent from 2000 to 2005, the study found, but highway transportation emissions rose 7.3 percent, to nearly 1.4 tons per capita.
"Denver is still a sprawling, auto-driven metro area," said Marc Munro, Brookings' director of metropolitan policy.
In October, Mayor John Hickenlooper adopted the city's first Climate Action Plan, which aims to cut 1.8 million tons of carbon by 2012.
"We are trying to offer ways for homes and business to become green and energy-efficient," said Michele Weingarden, director of Greenprint Denver, the city's environmental initiative. "It's a big undertaking and one everyone has a role in."
Article URL: http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_9408478
