By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – Carbon dioxide emissions have more than doubled in Missouri over the last four decades.
The Missouri Public Interest Research Group, or MoPIRG, released a report Tuesday based on numbers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The state by state break-down of CO-2 emissions show an increase of 128% in Missouri from 1960 to 2001.
MoPIRG's Jackson Foote says that means Missouri is a big contributor to global warming.
"This report simply shows that Missouri plays a huge role in this issue having the ninth largest overall increase in the last 40 years in the entire nation only behind states like Texas and California with much larger populations," Foote said.
A scientist with the U.S. Department of Energy verified MoPIRG correctly presented the carbon emissions research.
MoPIRG is backing federal legislation introduced Tuesday by California Congressman Henry Waxman that would cut greenhouse gas emissions significantly.
The bill proposes cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2% annually beginning in 2011 and by 5% after 2020.
The group also is asking Missouri Congressman Russ Carnahan to support the bill.
A spokesman for Congressman Carnahan says the Democrat has not had a chance to review the bill but is likely to support it.