Colorado's Greenhouse Gases are Going Down for the First Time in Its History

According to the state of Colorado, greenhouse gas emissions are down for the first time since the state started recording them. In 2005, the state legislature passed a bill that set a goal for reducing the state's emissions, and created a department to monitor emissions levels. "The legislation, House Bill 19-1261, sets the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent or more from 2005 levels — 125 million metric tons — by 2050," Judith Kohler reports for The Denver Post. Getting down to those levels is still a long way off. "Even meeting the first target of a 26 percent reduction by 2025 will be a challenge, staff officials conceded," Kohler writes.

But new sources of power have the state moving in the right direction, as the state's utilities incorporate more wind and solar energy. "The inventory shows emissions from electric power plants dropping while emissions from vehicles are projected to increase and surpass levels produced by electric utilities," Kohler reports. This pattern of growing emissions from transportation follows what has been happening around the country, where more vehicle miles (among other factors) have seen transportation outpacing energy in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.