What Cities Need To Know About Green Power

With so many environmental issues competing for the attention of local officials, why does electricity really matter? According to the Environmental Defense Fund, electricity production is a leading cause of air pollution in the United States. Every year, fossil fuel power plants emit almost two billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the Earth’s atmosphere. CO2 is responsible for at least half of the gases that cause global climate change. Traditional power plants also produce two-thirds of the pollutants that unleash acid rain; half of the country’s nuclear waste; and 30 percent of the particulate air pollutants that, among other things, are a chief cause of childhood asthma.