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HELENA – Montana’s output of emissions that cause global warming has increased by 10 million metric tons since 1990, a 36 percent increase, according to a report compiled by Environment America, a national conservation group.
The state’s production of carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, is a small piece of the national pie, which saw CO2 emissions increase by about 1 billion metric tons from 1990 to 2007.
But the state can and should be a leader in developing clean energy and attempting to reverse the trend of increased CO2 production, said Zoee Turrill, state associate for Environment Montana in Missoula.
“Maybe we aren’t the biggest part of the problem, but maybe we can be the biggest part of the solution,” she said. “We shouldn’t say, ‘Other states are doing worse, so it’s not our problem.’ ”
Environment Montana used to be the environmental arm of the Montana Public Interest Research Group, or MontPIRG. The report, released Thursday, was compiled by the group’s national organization.
Democratic state legislators who support green-power development said the report shows that the “status quo” of CO2 production in Montana isn’t acceptable.
“We must usher in a new energy future by reducing our pollution to improve national security, economic development and environmental integrity,” said Rep. Mike Phillips, D-Bozeman.
The report compiled the data by looking at fossil fuel consumption information from the U.S. Department of Energy.
It said Montana produced about 38 million metric tons of CO2 in 2007, compared to 28 million in 1990. That placed Montana at 42nd among the states in 2007 – the same position it had in 1990.
Texas was the top producer at 675 million metric tons.
Montana had one of the highest percentage increases among the states and was sixth in per-capita production of CO2.
Electricity production accounted for about half of Montana’s CO2 emissions, such as coal-fired power plants, and transportation and industrial activity added another 40 percent, the report said.
David Hoffman, spokesman for PPL Montana, which operates the Colstrip coal-fired power plants in southeast Montana, said any increase in emissions from the plants “has been very modest during that time period.”
In fact, the plants made some efficiency upgrades to enable them to increase their output while not increasing the amount of coal burned, he said.
When asked if Environment Montana is suggesting that coal-fired power plants be shut down, Turrill said the group would prefer development of more green power, like wind power, instead of any additional coal-fired energy production.
“We know that we have the second-greatest potential for wind energy in the country (of any state),” she said.