Greenhouse pollution: Utah warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. The findings in particular note that:

    • The average temperature during the past decade was higher than observed during any other comparable period during the past century and about 2 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the 100-year average.
    • The state is expected to warm more than the average for the entire globe, bringing fewer frosts, longer growing seasons and more heat waves.
    • Greenhouse gas emissions at or above current levels will result in a decline in mountain snowpack and the threat of severe and prolonged droughts.
    • Emissions in Utah amounted to nearly 80 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2005, about 1 percent of the nation's total. Each Utah resident contributes about 29 tons annually, slightly higher than the national average of 27.5 tons.
    • Gross carbon-dioxide emissions in Utah are rising at a faster rate than the rest of the country. Statewide, emissions increased 40 percent between 1990 and 2005, compared to 16 percent nationwide.
    • The main source of Utah's greenhouse gases is electricity use (37 percent), followed by transportation (25 percent) and all residential, commercial and industrial fossil fuel use combined (18 percent).

[From the Salt Lake Tribune]