Ever since news broke that 8 Republicans casted a crucial 'aye' vote for the climate bill—which passed by the razor thin margin of 219-212—their own party has set out to crucify them. In fact, an entire campaign has been mounted, Cap and Tr8tors, to rally conservatives to get the Republicans out of office. A slew of derogatory press has surfaced, and talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh have been scathing in calling for their heads.

So let's show them a little love.

Especially if you live in one of the 8 pro-climate bill GOPer's districts. They made a pretty bold move—even if in some cases the vote was designed to better their chances for reelection in liberal-leaning districts in their home states. They've risked alienating themselves from their party—Republicans have already been sending an old-fashioned style Wanted poster around the internet with their faces plastered on it—but they've helped make a crucial step towards instigating real climate action in the US.

So send an email or a letter to any one of these Reps:

• Mary Bono Mack (Calif.)
• Mike Castle (Del.)
• Mark Kirk (Ill.) (Who just so happens to be one of TreeHugger's greenest Republicans)
• John McHugh (N.Y.)
• Frank LoBiondo (N.J.)
• Leonard Lance (N.J.)
• Dave Reichert (Wash.)
• Chris Smith (N.J.)

Let them know you support their good work in helping the US move towards renewable energy development, curb carbon emissions, and wean us from a dependence on foreign oil. They could probably use a kind word or two about now.

I'm sure you've heard someone say that the US uses x amount of coal, or natural gas, or wind power. Or that the average us electrical usage per month is, say, 1000 kWh. Or perhaps that the average per capita carbon emissions in the US are about 20 tonnes per year. Which is all fine and good, but that really over-simplifies the situation.

In reality, there are great variations by state, region and level of urbanization in all of these, and they are all closely linked together: In New York a person's carbon footprint is far lower than someone living in Illinois; which is lower than someone living in, say, Louisiana.

Why is this? At the personal level, it comes down to two primary factors: Electricity usage and how that electricity is generated. At the state level it often comes down to the about of heavy industry. Let's look at the numbers for several states:

New York = 53% of National Average

In New York state the Department of Energy reports that the average monthly electricity usage for residential customers is about 590 kWh/month (in New York City it's about two-thirds of that by the way...downsizing your living area has a big impact).

The main source of electricity in the state is natural gas (36%), with nuclear coming in second (29%) and hydropower coming in third (17%). That means that the average carbon emissions from electricity usage in the state comes out to be about 3.25 tons per year.

Combined with other energy usage in the state from industry agriculture and commercial uses, plus the distances people regularly travel, means that per capita carbon emissions for New York state are about 10.75 tons/year. Half the national average.

Illinois = 93% of National Average

By contrast, in Illinois the per capita carbon emissions are pretty close to the national average, at slightly under 19 tons per year.

When you look at electricity usage, you find that the average monthly residential usage is 770 kWh/month. And that the electricity comes nearly evenly from nuclear power (49%) and coal (48%). Which means that from electricity, Illinois residents emit about 5.45 tons of CO2 per year.

Louisiana = 210% the National Average

Then there are states like Louisiana, that by virtue of the type of industry there (lots of petro-chemical manufacturing and refining) plus high electrical usage means that per capita carbon emissions are through the roof. This is skewed somewhat, in terms of how much of an impact that the way people individually live have versus industry, but the per capita carbon emissions there top 43 tons per year.

That said, residential electricity usage is also really high, at about 1260 kWh/month; and when you figure in that 46% of electricity comes from natural gas, 27% from coal, and 19% from nuclear (the remainder is biomass, and other sources), you come on with about 9.3 tons of CO2 emitted per year per person—nearly three times that of New York, and about 1.7 times that of Illinois.

Some Places Are Genuinely More Green Than Others

The goal of all this isn't really to point fingers. Rather it's to illustrate the real impact that the amount of electricity we all use in our daily lives varies greatly across the country, as does the way it's generated.

The regional variations in energy consumption are so widely divergent that any statement that tries to make a claim about what the US does as a whole is only useful at the most broad level. When you look at individual regions you start to see that some places really do things differently and can act as models to emulate.

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The phrase "carbon emissions" gets tossed around a lot these days. You've almost certainly heard them in the same breath as "global warming" or "climate change," and most everybody out there has at least a pretty basic idea about where they come from. But, at the end of the day, what the heck are carbon emissions, anyway? Let's look a little closer at this ubiquitous term for these ubiquitos emissions.

Basics of carbon emissions

If you take one thing away from reading this, make it this point: Carbon emissions come from burning fossil fuels, which contributes to global warming. Every time you turn the ignition on your car, board an airplane, or (in many cases) turn on a light switch, you're creating carbon emissions.

Technically, though, carbon emissions should be called carbon dioxide emissions; we've gotten lazy and used to talking about them, and have shortened it. This is a small but significant difference, since carbon dioxide is one of the results -- probably the best known -- from all this fossil fuel combustion. So, carbon emissions = carbon dioxide emissions = contribution to global warming.

Even if your house doesn't have a chimney, it's still responsible for carbon emissions. Photo credit: Getty Images / Steve Allen

Carbon emissions: Who cares?

"Okay," you're saying, "so carbon emissions are created all the time, all around the world. So what?" Carbon dioxide creates the largest man-made contribution to the greenhouse effect, which is what is slowly, yet persistently, warming our globe. That makes it the most important greenhouse gas out there; it's currently responsible for about 10 - 25 percent of the greenhouse effect. Methane and ozone, the next two on the list, incidentally, don't crack the double digits, so carbon emissions are in the lead, in a bad way, when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions.

All this is to say, really, that we live not only in a carbon-based world, but a carbon emission-based society and economy, and the scope of activities that produce carbon emissions is just huge. Anything involving petroleum, coal, natural gas has a carbon emission ticket attached; that includes all cars and most transportation, the vast majority of our nations' electricity production (about half comes from coal alone), and a whole lot of home heating systems and even barbeques, just as a small snapshot.

Carbon emissions: The science (quickly)

Here's a quick tour of the science of carbon emissions. Fossil fuels, named so because they have ultimately been created of fossil-aged feedstocks (think dinosaurs) have been through millions of years of Earth's cycles, and now find themselves buried in the ground, under oceans, and other places not often directly in our backyards. They've had a long time to "stew," for lack of a better word, and have a high concentration of energy, which is why someone a few hundred years ago had the idea to use them for fuel.

So, these super-old, carbon-based, former dinosaurs are dug up and, in one way or another, lit on fire. They have high concentrations of carbon, which, when mixed with oxygen during combustion, create carbon dioxide (or CO₂). So, what was formerly interred in the Earth's crust is now out, and the carbon that was sequestered with it comes, too.

Cow burps and farts (yep, seriously) are a growing problem when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. Photo credit: Getty Images / VisionsofAmerica / Joe Sohm

Carbon emissions: Beyond fossil fuels

So carbon emissions are created when we burn fossil fuels, but that's not the whole story. Activities that are often less prescient to many of us on a day-to-day basis have huge emissions, too. Land use changes -- mainly deforestation in the Amazon and other tropic areas -- account for almost 10 percent of global greenhouse gases. It's sort of a matter of addition by subtraction; more carbon emissions stay in the atmosphere as deforestation occurs, since trees and other plant life absorb carbon dioxide as they grow.

Livestock are also becoming a larger player in greenhouse gas discussions; though they tend to contribute more methane than anything, they still merit mention here. How do cows play in to this, you ask? Two words: Enteric fermentation. This is the process that takes place in the digestive systems of ruminants (like cows); without getting too deep into the microbiology behind it (trust me, it's kinda gross -- you can learn more from Wilipedia), basically, it results in an excess of methane being expelled from the animal. That's right: Cow burps and farts, as well as the decomposition of their poo, are serious contributors to greenhouse gases. Agricultural byproducts actually account for more than 10 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions -- and that's more than results from residential sources.

Reducing carbon emissions

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how to reduce your carbon emissions, after all this about what they are, but let's keep this short and sweet. If you're an average American, your carbon footprint -- the measurement used to estimate your personal carbon emissions -- is about 20 tons. If you want to cut that number in half, follow these three steps and you'll have lost 10 tons in what seems like no time flat. Ahhh...

More on carbon emissions
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