Google Map Carbon, and Discover a Future Political War

Proving that Google Earth is a tool with nearly unlimited potential for fun and mischief, researchers at Purdue University have used the interactive map to put together data showing the carbon dioxide output of every major emissions source in the United States. The scientists created the project, called Vulcan, with data from 2002.

I’ve been waiting for a good tool like this for some time, because I think that what it shows is going to be increasingly relevant. Here’s the short and simple: Carbon emissions, especially from power plants, are not evenly distributed by population or geographic area.

Of course, anyone who is from West Virginia already knew that. And senators from that state, as well as Ohio, Pennsylvania and others, have already been agitating for their state’s rights to burn and/or mine coal, the worst offender in terms of carbon emissions from electricity generation. Industry-heavy states like Michigan are also worried.

But we have yet to see this really become an issue. President Obama, along with many legislators, wants to put a national trading scheme in place. Several years after that happens, when carbon prices have risen to regular trading levels, the reality Purdue’s map shows will become a major political issue. States with low populations and income levels but high carbon emissions will be hit hard. You can bet that both the populace and the legislators in those states will suddenly decide they didn’t fight hard enough back when the trading scheme was passed.

For a hint of what I’m talking about, check out the maps below. The first map is a screenshot of Purdue’s data for electricity-related emissions. The second is a census map showing population density. See any poor, relatively lightly populated states with big carbon footprints?