SCI-TECH

Wyoming tops lists of CO2 emissions per person in U.S.

Mead Gruver The Associated Press
Published Thursday, February 27, 2014 4:53PM EST

The Laramie River Station coal-fired power plant, shown May 23, 2007, about 70 miles north of Cheyenne, Wyo., produces about 15 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, contributing to Wyoming's designation as the state with the most CO2 emissions per capita in the nation. (AP / Bob Moen)

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CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Turns out the worst state for carbon dioxide emissions per person isn't smoggy California or bustling New York, but a state famous for big, clear skies: Wyoming.

Regulating greenhouse gases is a touchy subject in the least-populated state.

Wyoming faces an outsized challenge since getting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval in December to regulate greenhouse gases. New federal figures show Wyoming in 2011 emitted more than 112 metric tons of carbon dioxide per person -- more than six times the national average.

Wyoming also is the top coal-mining state. Burning coal to generate electricity produces large amounts of CO2. But state officials say EPA efforts to curtail greenhouse emissions are a "war on coal."

Burning coal -- primarily to make electricity -- accounts for almost 70 per cent of Wyoming's CO2 emissions, twice the U.S. average.