Report: Recession, Not Fracking, Drove a Drop in U.S. CO2 Emissions

In effect, more than half the carbon decline was due to a drastic drop in the volume of goods consumed by the U.S. population. Almost a third of the drop could be attributed to changes in production structure, including offshoring American industries to China and other countries. Only 17 percent could be attributed to changes in the mix of fuels used to generate energy, and that wasn’t due to the rise in fracking. The shale gas boom didn’t start until 2009, the researchers note. Before that, coal had already been on the decline.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/recession-not-fracking-drove-drop-us-carbon-emissions-180955972/#pi8yjtwZSO5OvPcz.99
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