Projo Cars Blog

Greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks rose slightly in 2006, even as the United States cut its overall emissions by 1.5%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration and reported by the Detroit Free Press.

The administration said the decline in man-made emissions to 7.08 billion metric tons was the first since 2001, and only the third since 1990.

Higher energy costs, a warmer winter that cut heating demand and a greater use of natural gas instead of coal by electric utilities drove the decline.

But carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks burning gasoline rose 0.3% to 1.19 billion tons, or about 17% of the U.S. total.

Greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. vehicles have risen steadily since 1990, as a growing number of drivers traveling farther every year overwhelmed any reductions from more efficient vehicles.

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