The new report, ‘Too Much Pollution’, uses recent data from the US Department of Energy on fossil fuel consumption by states to look at trends in carbon dioxide emissions.
As per the findings of the report, Montana ranked 6th nationwide for the highest per-capita carbon dioxide emissions in 2007. Montana’s electricity generation was the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption – responsible for 52% of the state’s emissions in 2007. The state is reliant on coal. In fact, the state’s carbon dioxide emissions sourced from burning coal jumped 28% from 1990 to 2007.
Until Montana diversifies its electricity sources to include cleaner sources of energy, like wind and solar power, increases in electricity demand from inside and outside the state will continue to increase pollution from dirty power plants.
Chuck Tooley, former mayor of Billings and former president of the Montana League of Cities and Towns, said: “We can drive the economy without driving up pollution. By bringing non-polluting alternatives into our inventory of energy sources, we can start an orderly transition to clean energy. We can cut pollution, help jump-start the economy, and create millions of new clean energy jobs.”
