Illinois, Iowa to participate in gas registry

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By Tom Saul | Monday, January 29, 2007 1:01 AM CST | () comments

Eight Midwestern states — including Iowa — and Pennsylvania emitted as much greenhouse gas as the country of India in 2001, according to the World Resource Institute.

Unrestrained discharge of such gases from transportation, agriculture, power generation, industry and other sources trap heat in the atmosphere that is believed to be responsible for the earth’s rising average temperature, melting of polar ice caps, rising sea levels and increasingly unusual weather patterns.

But the amount of greenhouse gas that is emitted is largely a matter of estimate, said Mike Koerber, executive director of the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium. The agency will help eight Midwestern states, including Iowa and Illinois, establish a voluntary registry for who emits what.

“Now, all the data is top down, meaning it is mostly estimates,” Koerber said. “When you try to bring figures down to the state level, the numbers get real fuzzy real fast. This will be an attempt to get more accurate data on what is actually being emitted.”

Iowa and Illinois, along with Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin, will participate in the voluntary registry that is expected to be in operation by the end of the year. On it, industries and others can register the amount of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide that they emit and track efforts to reduce them.

The eight states were estimated to have discharged 23.4 percent of all greenhouse gases released nationwide in 2001, according to the World Resources Institute, a Washington, D.C., environmental think tank that tries to encourage people to live in ways that protect the earth.

In Iowa, coal-fired power plants that emit carbon dioxide and methane from agricultural operations are the largest sources of greenhouse gas, said Catharine Fitzsimmons, air quality bureau chief for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Some industries in the state already keep voluntary records of what they emit, Fitzsimmons said. But the state intends to approach more to encourage them to participate in the new registry.

“This voluntary registry will allow Iowa companies and industries to quantify emissions and document voluntary reductions aimed at climate change,” Fitzsimmons said.

Aluminum maker and processor Alcoa, with a large rolling and drawing plant in Bettendorf, has been keeping track of greenhouse gas emissions at its U.S. operations since 1990 and has seen amounts discharged drop by 25 percent, said Kevin Lowery, a company spokesman.

Although he could not say if the company will participate in the newest registry, Lowery said the company has tried to take a leadership role in reducing the amount of greenhouse gases discharged by U.S. industry. It was instrumental in founding the United States Climate Action Partnership and, earlier this month, was among those who asked the federal government to enact national legislation to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Alcoa has taken the stance on greenhouse gas emissions “because it is the right thing to do,” Lowery said. It has meant higher costs for implementing the energy-efficiency programs and technology needed to reduce emissions.

But, in the long run, stronger laws that reduce emissions could increase demand for aluminum, especially for use in transportation, Lowery said. A light-weight, strong metal, aluminum could be put to greater use in cars, trucks, trains and aircraft to lower their weight. As a result, less fuel would be needed to propel them, and greenhouse gas emissions would be cut. Transportation is a leading source of emissions.

Koerber acknowledged that voluntary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions can be costly for companies. But it can also save money by reducing energy costs and could stave off more strict regulations imposed by federal and state authorities.

More accurate information on the exact amount of gases emitted by companies and others also will provide a greater ability to understand the problem and its ill effects, Koerber said.

“Our goal is to get the most accurate data we can,” Koerber said. “You can’t really start to address the problem until you know what it is.”

Tom Saul can be contacted at (563)383-2453 or tsaul@qctimes.com.