Study: Cities with worst 'carbon footprints' not the usual suspects

0 Comments | USA TODAY, May, 2008 | by Larry Wheeler

WASHINGTON -- Sprawling, car-dependent metropolitan areas with low-cost electricity emit more carbon dioxide per capita than densely populated cities with extensive mass transit systems where electricity is more expensive, according to a report from the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning think tank.

Per capita carbon emissions were highest in Lexington, Ky., 3.4 metric tons per person, and lowest in Honolulu, 1.3 metric tons per person, the report found.

Such places as Indianapolis and Nashville are significantly more carbon-intensive than New York City or Chicago, the group's research found, and traffic-clogged Los Angeles had the nation's second-lowest per capita "carbon footprint."

"There is a residue of misinformation in the public's...