A Waste of My Free Time

JohnWhitehead sucked me into reading the latest EIA Report on Greenhouse Emissions (pdf); a facility which Instructors and bloggers are supposed to possess. I have to say I do not agree with the decline in Methane emissions, considering the melting of the tundra of the Alaskan shelf, the drought in the South (remember that the Report is for 2006), the forest burn patterns in the West and Florida, and the dried overall Groundcover since 2005. The same could be said for the CO2 emissions (natural causes). The N2O emissions increase seems heavy, as 9.9MMTCO2e from agricultural sources seems high, when there should be a consistent pattern, or drop, due to increased Fertilizer Costs. The included 2005 Carbon sequestration rate must be adjusted as well, due to forest fires and Drought; I would suggest about a 20% decline of the 2005 sequestration rates by subsequent environmental damage in 2006. It smells like a very loose Report to me.

I find some disbelief with the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Intensity Summary. Only the last Statement contains real relevance, which is indicative of Production transfers Overseas, rather than any industry adjustment to lower Emissions standards. Redirection to American Manufacturing would again place Us into the earlier ranges for Carbon Gas Intensity. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Overview show that both Industrial and Transportation releases should be cut by 40% apiece, while Residential releases could be minimized to 20% of current levels. Transportation releases occur because of excessive Product transfers, and better Production practices could produce far less Emission release (moving the Emissions to a regenerated resource).

I will leave the rest of the Report to dedicated Students, as I am tired and in search of a cup of coffee. The report highlights a characteristic of recent Administrations, claiming victories on the environmental front, when there has only an alteration of economic pattern without intrinsic structural alteration for better Emission rates. The American Public will have to learn that the only method to fix anything is to change its operation. lgl