By Doug Fletcher,Staff Writer

Click to access driving_gw.pdf

CO2 emissions
Worst

Top 10 towns for per-worker carbon dioxide emissions by place of residence (communities with greater than 5,000 metric tons of emissions annually)*

Town Emissions (pounds per year)

Limington 8,110

Naples 7,629

Waterboro 7,510

Hollis 6,901

Bridgton 6,736

Raymond 6,397

New Gloucester 6,000

Standish 5,890

Lebanon 5,863

Turner 5,859

Best

Lowest 10 cities, towns for per-worker carbon dioxide emissions by place of residence (communities with greater than 5,000 metric tons of emissions annually)*

Town Emissions (pounds per year)

South Portland 1,838

Portland 2,196

Bangor 2,270

Westbrook 2,516

Lewiston 2,656

Waterville 2,789

Falmouth 2,978

Augusta 3,054

Old Town 3,057

Presque Isle 3,169

Source: The report “Driving Global Warming”



*

///this might have to go, depending on how we end up doing it

Note: See a more extensive breakdown at www.sunjournal.com

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Suburban drivers fouling air
Report: Rides to work contribute to global warming

A typical commuter from New Gloucester spews 6,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions into Maine’s air each year.

His or her counterpart in Turner isn’t far behind. That daily trip to work churns out 5,859 pounds annually of the gas, a pollutant linked to global warming as well as health problems.

The towns are among the top 10 in Maine in terms of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from commuters. Limington in York County leads the list. Its workers generate 8,110 pounds yearly of the gasoline byproduct.

By contrast, the average commuter living in Lewiston produces 2,656 pounds of carbon dioxide; in Portland it’s less, 2,196 pounds.

The figures come from a report issued Thursday by Environment Maine and the Natural Resources Council of Maine. The organizations crunched numbers gleaned from the U.S. Census to arrive at their conclusions.

The report, “Driving Global Warming, Commuting in Maine and its Contribution to Global Warming,” is intended to make people aware of the consequences of trips to work and elsewhere.

It also links emissions to social trends, in particular the choice made by many people to live in rural, suburban communities and drive to work in the state’s larger communities, which typically have greater employment opportunities.

One of the report’s conclusions is obvious: The longer the commute, the greater the amount of carbon dioxide that’s emitted per driver per year. Cities faired better than most rural towns in terms of emissions because people in cities typically don’t have to drive as far from their home to get to work.

But the study also turned up some nuggets.

Carbon dioxide pollution in most college towns, for example, is lower than in other typically sized communities. That’s largely because more people in college towns tend to commute by alternative means – bicycles, skateboards, by foot.

Lower emission figures for larger cities could also be influenced by easier access to public transportation: buses and trains, the report found.

Meanwhile, people commuting from southern Maine towns into Portland were the worst offenders in terms of airborne pollution.

“Portland-bound commuters were responsible for more emissions than commuters heading to any other location in the state – 13 percent of the state’s total commuting-related emissions,” the report says.

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