NYT: LA # 2 for lowest per capita carbon footprint

The region’s mild climates, hydropower and aggressive energy-reduction policies give its residents smaller carbon footprints, on average, than those of their counterparts in the East and Midwest.

The Honolulu area ranked No. 1 in the study, from the Brookings Institution, followed by the area including Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California, the Portland-Vancouver area in the Northwest and the New York metropolitan area. A cluster of Rust Belt urban areas were at the bottom of the rankings, including Toledo, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Lexington, Ky., which ranked last.

The authors offer a partial portrait of overall emissions, concentrating on residential electricity and fuel use and the mileage traveled by cars and trucks — factors that contribute about half of overall carbon emissions. The calculations do not include industrial emissions, those from commercial or government structures and those from air, rail or sea transportation. But they provide a new look at metropolitan areas.

The report was accompanied by policy recommendations, including federal legislation setting a price on carbon emissions, increasing financing for energy research and development, revising federal policies that reward states with high levels of travel and fuel use and providing more, and more predictable, financial support of mass transit.

While the report did not go into the precise causes of each ranking, it provided hints at the factors that correlated with higher or lower scores. Population density and the availability of rail transportation were associated with lower per capita carbon emissions; the Los Angeles area is the most densely populated in the country, according to Brookings figures . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/us/29pollute.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=los%20angeles&st=cse&oref=slogin

“The Washington, D.C., metro area’s residential electricity footprint was 10 times larger than Seattle’s footprint in 2005,” the report said. “The mix of fuels used to generate electricity in Washington includes high-carbon sources like coal while Seattle draws its energy primarily from essentially carbon-free hydropower.”

But I noticed that some cities in cold climates also had good ratings. Some of that is probably due to better public transit in places like NYC, Chicago and Boston.

Arvin, California: Home to the Most Polluted Air in America

By Sarah A., published Aug 21, 2007

The small town of Arvin, California seems unlikely to be famous for having the most polluted air in America. However, it is the sad reality its residents must face. The town lies in a rich agricultural region full of vineyards and orange groves. Arvin is a picturesque place, surrounded by mountains and wonderful views. Unfortunately, it is also the final destination of air pollution from the bigger cities.

Oddly enough, Arvin is not home to any of the factories that dump pollution in the air. Neither does it have any congested freeways. In fact, Arvin produces very little air pollution of its own. However, air pollution from big cities such as Las Angeles and San Francisco blows to the area and gets trapped by the surrounding mountains. This causes a whole slew of problems. The effects of these pollutants becomes even more evident during hot days.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/345375/arvin_california_home_to_the_most_polluted.html