Comment: U.S. climate efforts didn't hurt economy; they grew it

By Valerie Thomas / For The Conversation

Countries around the world have been discussing the need to rein in climate change for three decades, yet global greenhouse gas emissions — and global temperatures with them — keep rising.

When it seems like we’re getting nowhere, it’s useful to step back and examine the progress that has been made.

Let’s take a look at the United States, historically the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter. Over those three decades, the U.S. population soared by 28 percent and the economy, as measured by gross domestic product adjusted for inflation, more than doubled.

Yet U.S. emissions from many of the activities that produce greenhouse gases — transportation, industry, agriculture, heating and cooling of buildings — have remained about the same over the past 30 years. Transportation is a bit up; industry a bit down. And electricity, once the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, has seen its emissions drop significantly.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-u-s-climate-efforts-didnt-hurt-economy-they-grew-it/