A new, high-resolution, interactive map of US carbon dioxide emissions finds unexpected trouble spots. Too many emissions have been blamed on the northeastern US when the southeastern US is a much larger source than previously estimated. This according to Kevin Gurney at Purdue University, project leader. The maps and system, called Vulcan, show CO2 emissions at more than 100 times more detail than was available before. Previously, CO2 emissions data were reported, at best, monthly at a state level. Vulcan examines CO2 emissions hourly at local levels. Below is a great YouTube video of how it works, told in Geek, but probably understandable to nonGeek speakers or those with Geek as a Second Language. Look hard enough and you can almost find your own tailpipe in the maps.
The three-year project was funded by NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy under the North American Carbon Program, and involved researchers from Purdue University, Colorado State University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Vulcan will revolutionize carbon cycle research. It’s considered the next generation in our understanding of fossil fuel emissions, with enormous implications for climate science, carbon trading and climate change mitigation work.
Julia Whitty is Mother Jones’ environmental correspondent, lecturer, and 2008 winner of the Kiriyama Prize and the John Burroughs Medal Award. You can read from her new book, The Fragile Edge, and other writings, here.
