Greenhouse Gases: How're We Doing?

Reports Say Gov't Doesn't Know Whether Reductions Reported By 230 Companies Are Real

(AP)  When it comes to global warming, the Bush administration puts its faith in volunteerism and new energy technologies to scale back America's Everest of heat-trapping gases. But government studies say the results are at best uncertain.

One thing is not: Each year, the mountain of “greenhouse” gases emitted by the United States grows bigger.

While the rest of the developed world requires — but isn't always achieving — mandatory cuts in carbon dioxide and other emissions, the nation adding the most gases to the atmosphere is deadlocked in a debate over how to deal with it. Individual states, meanwhile, are taking the lead.

Voluntary programs emphasized by President Bush since 2002 are claimed to be sparing the atmosphere 300 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, or 4 percent of U.S. emissions.

But the government doesn't know — and often can't verify — whether the reductions reported by 230 U.S. companies are real.

“It's difficult to prove,” said Paul McArdle, who manages the Energy Department's voluntary reporting system. “It's my sense that some of these are real reductions.”

What's more, McArdle acknowledged, companies can increase their emissions overall but still claim cutbacks — by counting as reductions such steps as replacing old lighting, using more efficient vehicles or planting trees.

In a review last April, Congress' Government Accountability Office questioned Washington's ability to monitor these voluntary efforts. “Determining the reductions attributable to each program will be challenging,” it said.

In one program with measurable results, it estimated companies have reduced emissions by no more than one-half of 1 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution. Total U.S. emissions — now more than 7 billion tons a year — still are projected to rise 14 percent from 2002 to 2012.

Carbon dioxide from burning coal, oil and other fossil fuels is the biggest of the greenhouse gases, so called because they create a heat-trapping blanket when released into the atmosphere. Others are methane, nitrous oxide and synthetic gases. The atmosphere holds more carbon dioxide now than it has for hundreds of thousands of years, and the Earth's surface warmed an average 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past century.

As a first step, the White House talks of reducing the “intensity” of U.S. carbon pollution — not shrinking emissions overall, but reducing the carbon dioxide emitted per unit of economic growth.

“Our objective is to significantly slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions and, as the science justifies, stop it and then reverse it,” said James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “We're making good progress. It's reasonably ambitious, but it still provides for reasonable human welfare.”

[mjv2944]

I believe even if we comply 100% with all EPA regulations it won't mean diddly squat. All the pollutants that China, India and eastern european countries send into the atmosphere will cancel out our efforts. I don't know if global warming is caused by all this or if it is just a natural happening.

[paul_pitcl]

The atmosphere belongs to everyone, there is no "canceling out". Less pollution is less pollution and it does not matter who produced less, as long as they do.