Well, Look at That: U.S. Carbon Emissions Are at a 20-Year Low

In the midst of this man-made heat wave and drought, there's some (mostly) good news: carbon emissions are down.

In the midst of an alarming heat wave and drought which are (let's not kid ourselves) almost certainly the result of man-made climate change, there's a bit of good news: The amount of carbon dioxide the United States is sending up into the atmosphere is actually at a 20-year low.



Here's the chart (but note the units on the y-axis; it's a little less dramatic than it looks):


So the upshot: It's good that carbon emissions are down, and this report shows that we can reduce our reliance on coal pretty quickly when there are other economically attractive options, but we certainly haven't saved the planet yet.

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