CO2 Emissions - Comparative Data

[Michael]

Just released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on carbon dioxide emissions per state in 2005 shows that renewable energy initiatives do pay off. The 10 cleanest states based on per capita emissions—in order, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, California, Idaho, New York, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Washington—have aggressive renewable energy and/or efficiency programs.
...
The gap between the cleanest and dirtiest states is even wider. The 10 dirtiest states emit, on average, over five times as much carbon dioxide per capita as the 10 cleanest states. The 10 top emitters—in order, Wyoming, North Dakota, Alaska, West Virginia, Louisiana, Montana, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, and New Mexico—all produce or burn significant amounts of oil and/or coal.

Source & Interactive US State Map (http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/10/emissions_interactive.html)

This is interesting information of comparative pollution policies in the USA based on emissions per capita on a state-by-state basis.

I'd love to see some similar data for the countries of Europe - not to mention Canadian provinces. :)

[partofme]

Looks like Kentucky is in the top ten but Wyoming stilt has emission levels about four times what ours are. Do they just leave their vehicles running all night?

[Michael]

I found some sources for international comparison. Lots of surprises on the list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_ capita

http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.php?action=select_countries&theme=3&variable_ID=466

It appears that Canada and USA have pretty much identical CO2 emissions (per capita) - and apart from Luxembourg, these are the highest in the western world.

By looking at the list, it is obvious that fossil fuel producing nations have among the highest CO2 emissions.