Local-scale carbon budgets and mitigation opportunities for the northeastern United States

Abstract

Economic and political realities present challenges for implementing an aggressive climate change abatement program in the United States. A high-efficiency approach will be essential. In this synthesis, we compare carbon budgets and evaluate the carbon-mitigation potential for nine counties in the northeastern United States that represent a range of biophysical, demographic, and socioeconomic conditions. Most counties are net sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere, with the exception of rural forested counties, in which sequestration in vegetation and soils exceed emissions. Protecting forests will ensure that the region's largest CO2 sink does not become a source of emissions. For rural counties, afforestation, sustainable fuelwood harvest for bioenergy, and utility-scale wind power could provide the largest and most cost-effective mitigation opportunities among those evaluated. For urban and suburban counties, energy-efficiency measures and energy-saving technologies would be most cost effective. Through the implementation of locally tailored management and technology options, large reductions in CO2 emissions could be achieved at relatively low costs.

Department

Earth Systems Research Center

Publication Date

1-2012

Journal Title

Bioscience

Publisher

University of California Press Journals

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1525/bio.2012.62.1.7

Document Type

Article

Rights

Published as Raciti S, Fahey TJ, Hall B, Driscoll CT, Carranti FJ, Foster DR, Gwyther PS, Jenkins JC, Jenkins JP, Hamburg SP, Neill C, Ollinger SV, Peery BW, Quigley EE, Sherman R, Thomas RQ, Vadeboncoeur MA, Weinstein D, Wilson G, Woodbury P, Yandik W. 2012. Local-scale carbon budgets and mitigation opportunities for the northeastern United States. Bioscience 62:23-38. © 2012 by the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Copying and permissions notice: Authorization to copy this content beyond fair use (as specified in Sections 107 and 108 of the U. S. Copyright Law) for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by American Institute of Biological Sciences for libraries and other users, provided that they are registered with and pay the specified fee via Rightslink® on JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org/r/ucal) or directly with the Copyright Clearance Center, http://www.copyright.com

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