Oregon Public Broadcasting

Carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants decreased last year, reversing a long upward trend.  But the supposedly "green" Northwest bucked the national trend for the greenhouse gas.  Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

Nationwide, the cooling economy and milder weather have cut demand for electricity.  In turn, carbon emissions as reported by power plants to the E.P.A. fell three percent in 2008.

However, not so in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Carbon dioxide releases rose more than 8 percent in Washington State.  In Idaho and Oregon, utilities ramped up generation from existing gas fired plants.

The manager of the Centralia coal plant, Doug Jackson, says heís well aware of the pressure to reduce carbon emissions.

Doug Jackson: "I think ultimately the industry will transform itself, but it takes time.  It takes tools. It takes offsets. It takes technology, and those donít exist today."

For context, we should note that Washington, Oregon, and Idaho still have some of the lowest carbon emissions per capita of any state because of our abundant hydropower dams.

Online:

Source of the Data

CO2 emissions data were obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Markets webpage.  The database is a publicly accessible repository for emissions and other operational data self-reported by the utility industry, and includes more than 1,000 power plants regulated under the federal Clean Air Actís Acid Rain Program.

Environmental Integrity Project report: U.S. Power Plant Carbon Dioxide Emissions Eased Slightly in 2008, But Much More Progress Needed to Meet CO2 Reduction Goals