Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »

Still, despite the alarm sounded by some powerful business interests, there’s little chance that the country’s climate change problems will be addressed primarily through some kind of heavy-handed enforcement system. Unless I’m giving them too much political credit, the Obama administration is moving aggressively in order to prod Congress to do something more feasible and effective.

As an initial step, the EPA may soon require fuel and energy companies, manufacturers, and other industries to report exactly how many greenhouse gases they’re emitting. The agency already tallies up the annual nationwide figures, which provide a glimpse of the activities that would be most impacted (i.e., costly) under any kind of serious new system.

SOURCE

EMISSIONS (MILLIONS OF METRIC TONS)

SHARE OF TOTAL

 

ELECTRICTY GENERATION–COAL

1967.6

27.6%

INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY

857.2

12.0%

PASSENGER CARS

625

8.8%

LIGHT-DUTY TRUCKS

522

7.3%

MEDIUM- AND HEAVY-DUTY TRUCKS

407.4

5.7%

ELECTRICITY GENERATION–NATURAL GAS

373.8

5.2%

RESIDENTIAL HEAT AND ENERGY USE

340.6

4.8%

COMMERCIAL HEAT AND ENERGY USE

214.4

3.0%

AGRICULTURAL SOIL MANAGEMENT

207.9

2.9%

COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT

153.6

2.2%

METHANE PRODUCED BY LIVESTOCK

139

2.0%

LANDFILLS

132.9

1.9%

NATURAL GAS SYSTEMS

104.7

1.5%

MANURE MANAGEMENT

58.7

0.8%

COAL MINING

57.6

ELECTRICITY GENERATION–PETROLEUM

55.3

IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTION

52.2

0.7%

RAIL

50.8

CEMENT PRODUCTION

44.5

0.6%

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

29.3

0.4%

PETROLEUM SYSTEMS

28.8

WASTE INCINERATION

20.8

0.3%

RECREATIONAL BOATS

17.1

0.2%

BUSES

12.1

TOTAL

7125.2

100.0%