The coronavirus pandemic is driving U.S. greenhouse gas emissions lowest level in three decades

[DonViejo]

The coronavirus pandemic is driving U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to their lowest level in three decades

The 9 percent fall has been partially offset by extreme forest fires

By Steven Mufson
November 19, 2020 at 7:32 a.m. EST

Greenhouse gases generated by the U.S. economy will slide 9.2 percent this year, tumbling to the lowest level in at least three decades, a new BloombergNEF study says.

Battered by the coronavirus pandemic, the stalled economy is projected to have generated 5.9 billion metric tons of emissions, about the same level as 1983, according to the private research organization.

As a result, the United States has been inadvertently pushed back on track to meet the commitments the Obama administration made at the Paris climate agreement in December 2015, despite the fact the Trump administration pulled the country out of the pact. Before 2020, the United States had fallen badly behind its targets under the accord.

Still, net emissions are expected to be 6.4 percent lower after taking into account the unusually extreme forest fires that swept the West Coast and Rocky Mountains earlier this year, pumping carbon dioxide and other pollution into the air and offsetting much of the drop in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/11/19/us-emissions-climate-bloombergnef/

[Blues Heron]

1. Now we know what needs to be done.

[Baclava]

2. I just stocked up on a year's supply of masks, in case somebody decides the lockdowns stay forever

[Blues Heron]

5. what's your favorite mask? I've been doing k94s from Korea

[Baclava]

6. I have all kinds, 3 layer, 5 layer dust masks, my sister made me nice quilted washable designs

I just had a dental appt for a cleaning, I said I want some of what you are wearing, my girl hooked me up a handful, lol

I'm a collector now I guess

[jimfields33]

3. I can't imagine having to live the last year forever

Its not the decrease driving, or shopping, but not seeing people socially is not great for me and a vacation every now and again is needed for everyone even if it’s visiting family. Long term Is a horrible thought.

[Marthe48]

4. I've filled the car twice since March

Was filling about once a month before isolation

[c-rational]

7. Good to see your posts.

[NickB79]

8. They aren't calculating in fugitive methane emissions from abandoned wells

And with the collapse in demand for oil and gas, far more have been abandoned in 2020.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-millions-of-abandoned-oil-wells-are-leaking-methane-a-climate-menace/ar-BB15z8pe