Report: Most LI greenhouse gas emissions come from homes

An analysis of greenhouse gas emissions on Long Island found that the region's biggest share - 39 percent - comes from residential energy use, with transportation a close second.

The regional emissions inventory was released Monday by the Rauch Foundation, a nonprofit based in Garden City that studies Long Island issues such as the environment, and the group Local Governments for Sustainability, an international association of more than 1,100 local governments, including Suffolk County and six Long Island towns and villages.

Long Island produced 38,290,752 metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2005, according to the report, which examined emissions caused by human activity. Transportation was responsible for 31 percent of the Island's carbon footprint, while businesses and institutions contributed 26 percent. The remaining 4 percent came from a mix of activities, including sewage treatment.

Organizers said the assessment is Long Island's most comprehensive look at local production of carbon dioxide and other gases that have been linked to climate change.

John McNally of the Rauch Foundation said the report sets a baseline that local governments and utilities can use to track the progress of measures intended to reduce emissions, such as town codes that set energy-efficiency standards for new homes.

"We hope the release of this information today serves as a catalyst for the entire region to come together with a comprehensive and pragmatic plan to reduce emissions," McNally said at a news conference in Old Westbury with county officials and representatives from local utility companies who supplied much of the data. Both groups praised the report.

The analysis used regional energy data from 2005 to track emissions from power consumption, vehicle use, decomposition of waste and other human activities. Emissions from aviation were not included, nor were those from goods and products Long Islanders consume that were produced elsewhere.

Comparing Long Island's output to that of other regions is difficult because methods to calculate emissions vary, as do sources of greenhouse gases. Cities tend to have lower per capita emissions than suburbs.

Long Islanders have an average carbon footprint of 13.7 metric tons per year per person, the report said. Estimates of national per capita emissions in the U.S. range from 19 to 24.5 tons. Recent inventories using different methodologies found that New York City residents generated an average of 7.1 tons per year.

Speakers at the news conference said the Long Island numbers posed a significant challenge. "We are stepping onto that big carbon dioxide scale, and we've just learned that we weigh about 38 million metric tons," said Gordian Raacke, of Renewable Energy Long Island, a clean energy advocacy group. "So now the big question is, what kind of diet are we going to go on?"

The report found that passenger cars and light trucks produced 77 percent of emissions in the transportation sector. Buses and the Long Island Rail Road generated just 2 percent apiece.

Rauch officials said the next step will be to break the regional inventory into town-by-town data, which they plan to complete by 2011.

Five things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint at home:

SOURCE: FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.