How Great Lakes states stack up in powerplant CO2 emissions

Four Great Lakes states rank in the top ten–for 2010 power plant carbon dioxide emissions.

A recent report by the Environmental Integrity Project shows carbon dioxide emissions from power plants rose 5.56 percent nationwide. More than 2.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide, a common greenhouse gas, were released nationally.

Texas topped the list with about 257 million tons. Ohio led the Great Lakes states and placed third nationally.

Staff used data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Markets database.

Sulfur dioxide emissions decreased nationwide between 2009 and 2010 while nitrogen oxide increased slightly.

Below are the carbon dioxide emission rankings for the Great Lakes states:

Carbon dioxide emissions from power plants increased in 2010, and Great Lakes states contributed. Photo: Bill McCoy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

3:   Ohio                  124,966,157 tons

4:   Indiana            124,966,157 tons

5:   Pennsylvania 123,345,742 tons

6:   Illinois             107,082,730 tons

12: Michigan        74,375,752 tons

16: Wisconsin      50,047,776 tons

23: New York       40,031,704 tons

28: Minnesota     34,123,976 tons

One thought on “How Great Lakes states stack up in powerplant CO2 emissions

  1. Because some states are more industrial and with differing populations, a better way to report these emissions would be on a specific basis, such as tons CO2/MWhr of electrical generation.

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