On Energy, We're Finally Walking the Walk - by Lester Brown

[bananas]

In The Washington Post:

On Energy, We're Finally Walking the Walk

By Lester R. Brown
Sunday, September 20, 2009

The United States has entered a new energy era, ending a century of rising carbon emissions. As the U.S. delegation prepares for the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December, it does so from a surprisingly strong position, one based on a dramatic 9 percent drop in U.S. carbon emissions over the past two years and the promise of further huge reductions.

Prominent among these carbon-cutting initiatives are stronger automobile fuel-economy standards, appliance efficiency standards, and the potential to heat, cool and light buildings with carbon-free sources of electricity. On the supply side are efforts supporting the development of U.S. wind, solar and geothermal energy resources.

Even though part of this decline in carbon emissions was caused by the recession and higher gasoline prices, part of it came from gains in energy efficiency and shifts to carbon-free sources of energy, including record amounts of new wind-generating capacity. This impressive drop in carbon emissions should enable the United States to push for a steep cut in Copenhagen.

For a country where oil and coal use have been growing for more than a century, the fall since 2007 is startling. Last year, oil use dropped 5 percent, coal 1 percent and overall carbon emissions 3 percent. Projections for this year, based on Energy Department data for the first eight months, show oil use down by an additional 5 percent. Coal is estimated to fall by 10 percent. Altogether, carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels, including natural gas, dropped 9 percent over the two years.

In the past, I've been considered a pessimist in my work on mounting population pressures and looming food crises. I'm still very concerned about these issues. But today the improving numbers on carbon emissions are not debatable.

<snip>

Lester R. Brown is the president of the Earth Policy Institute and author of the forthcoming "Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization."

Wow - Lester Brown is sounding optimistic!
:applause:

[diane in sf]

1. thanks! good news!

[GliderGuider]

2. As the US economy continues to crumble, you should see ever greater reductions.

Best wishes for continued decline.

[Nederland]

3. Doubtful

My bet is that Q3 GDP will be positive and a recovery will be in full swing by next year. It will take a long time for unemployment to go back down, and undoubtable that is responsible for at least some of the carbon declines. However, it is a positive thing that the decline in carbon emmission occurred at least in part, during "normal" economic times.