EIA Says Emissions Dropped by Nearly 6% in 2009

According to a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the total U.S. anthropogenic (human-caused) greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 were 5.8 percent below the 2008 total. EIA researchers stated the decrease resulted primarily from three factors: an economy in recession, a particularly hard-hit energy-intensive industries sector, and a large drop in the price of natural gas that caused fuel switching away from coal to natural gas in the electric power sector.

http://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/ghg_report/