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Transportation Now Largest Source of U.S. Emissions

TriplePundit Feb 20, 2018
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Transportation Now Largest Source of U.S. Emissions Giving Compass
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Buried under the headlines of tax reform and of course, holiday distractions, came some big news from the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA): after years of power generation emitting the most carbon in the U.S., that badge is now worn by the country’s transportation sector.

This switch is the first time emissions from power generation were less than those from transport since the late 1970s.

Since the EIA started tracking annual emissions in 1988, emissions from transport were significantly lower than those generated by the nation’s power sector. The emissions patterns generally followed the same trajectory: when the economy would sputter, as it did during the recession of the early 1990s and fiscal crises a decade ago, emissions would both fall – only to rise again during an economic recovery.

But over the past year, a shift occurred, and the assumption that low transportation fuel prices over the past four years had something to do with this change do not tell the full story. As EIA researchers have noted, “the carbon intensity of the power sector has fallen much faster than the carbon intensity of the transportation sector.”

Read the source article on U.S. emissions by Leon Kaye at TriplePundit

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Climate is a complex topic, and others found these selections from the Impact Giving archive from Giving Compass to be good resources.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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    Climate Change: Can we Agree on Something?

    It's my belief that climate change is real and humans are a cause, that's me. According to NASA, most climate scientists agree the main cause of global warming trend is the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect." But I also have some smart, caring friends that are not so sure about that perspective. Despite our differences, we do agree that we need more wind and solar energy as fast as possible, and the jobs that go with it. We also agree that pollution, caused by many of the same elements that may cause climate change, is a major health concern. Those areas of agreement give us a path forward to work together, despite our disagreements. A significant portion of the US population is represented by one of these divergent views on Climate Change, its causes and the specific actions we can take as a result. That divergence is a major obstacle to making progress on environmental challenges for our planet's and kids' futures. For example, there is vast partisan disagreement on the question of whether scientists near-unanimously agree that human industrial activity is a cause of global warming. Only 13 percent of self-identified conservative Republicans think that’s the case, as compared to 55 percent of liberal Democrats. I'm not saying it doesn't matter to have a strong debate, but we can also frame some things we do, in fact, agree on. Here's one way that friend of mine put it, when we were discussing one day -- Dirty air is a leading cause of serious health problems in India and China, and that pollution spills over to other countries. Globally, the volume of garbage we dump into the oceans continues to increase ... I think we agree on the fact that neither of us wants to swim in polluted waters or gather our food from it." We should not only talk about our Climate Change disagreements, but we must take action together and we can start with these four recommendations. Whether you live in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or most major American cities, you'll find a group of like-minded people contributing with their money or volunteering to make our environment healthier together, which is one of the most important behaviors we observe from real Impact Givers. It's easier to work alone, but you get more done when you work together, whether you are working on climate change or our kids' health or maybe even both together someday. ## Sir Paul Shoemaker is the Founding President of Social Venture Partners International


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