California tops nation in CO2 pollution

No stranger to the spotlight, California is often first on many lists. But a recently-released report detailing carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 to 2004 shows that California ranked first nationwide for the most emissions from motor gasoline consumption and had the third greatest absolute increase in such emissions.

Against a backdrop of towering waves, citizen advocacy group Environment California held a news conference Thursday morning on Main Beach to release the data that shows global warming pollution is up 18% nationwide since 1990.

The report found that in California, carbon dioxide emissions from burning gasoline increased by 15% in that time period; vehicle miles traveled in the state also increased by 27%, but cars and SUVs became less efficient.

The findings were presented in Laguna by Emily Monsour, a field organizer for the group.

“It’s a beautiful, beautiful city, and you can just see how the people here are going to be affected,” Monsour said. “This is the exact kind of city that’s going to be affected by ocean levels rising.”

The report, “The Carbon Boom,” found that the largest increases from 1990 to 2004 came from automobiles and electric utilities. The report was the first to show state-by-state emissions data for 2004. It dovetails with last Friday’s report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that dramatic weather-related catastrophes will increase in the United States without swift retaliatory action.

Environment California supports the Safe Climate Act, which was introduced in the House of Representatives last year by Henry Waxman and would freeze emissions by specific percentages over the coming years.

Several local representatives spoke at the press conference, including local contractor and green builder Chris Prelitz; Sherrie Loveland and Margaret Henke from the Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment; Charles Michael Murray of Endangered Planet; Chip McDermott, founder of local advocacy group Zero Trash Laguna; and Rick Conkey of Help Blue Water.