Estimates of Annual Fossil-Fuel CO2 Emitted for Each State

Estimates of Annual Fossil-Fuel CO2 Emitted for Each State in the U.S.A. and the District of Columbia for Each Year from 1960 through 2001. Consumption data for coal, petroleum, and natural gas are multiplied by their respective thermal conversion factors, which are in units of heat energy per unit of fuel consumed (i.e., per cubic foot, barrel, or ton), to calculate the amount of heat energy derived from fuel combustion. Results are expressed in terms of heat energy obtained from each fuel type. These energy consumption data were multiplied by their respective carbon dioxide emission factors, which are called carbon content coefficients by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These factors quantify the mass of oxidized carbon per unit of energy released from a fuel. In the U.S.A., they are typically expressed in units of teragrams of carbon (Tg-C = 10^12 grams of carbon) per quadrillion British thermal units (quadrillion Btu = 10^15 Btu, or "quad"), and are highest for coal and lowest for natural gas. Our results are given in teragrams of carbon emitted. To convert to carbon dioxide, multiply by 44/12 (= 3.67).