Nevada’s carbon dioxide pollution has gone down 12 percent percent since 2004, the year in which pollution levels began to peak in many states, according to a new analysis of government data released Thursday by Environment Nevada.

"By reducing the use of coal and harnessing the power of the wind and the sun, we can cut pollution and transition to clean energy sources that don’t harm the environment, never run out, and create new, local jobs,” said Pete Dronkers, an advocate with Environment Nevada.

Overall, America’s use of fossil fuels and subsequent global warming pollution have been on the rise, the Environment Nevada report said. The report's authors state that the United States must cut its global warming pollution by 35 percent by 2020 to be able to stop the worst effects of global warming.

Using data from the U.S. Department of Energy on fossil fuel consumption by state to look at trends in carbon dioxide emissions, the report's key findings include the following:

• Nevada’s carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption declined by 12 percent between 2004 and 2007, reversing a decades-long trend toward increasing pollution.

• In Nevada, carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation declined by 34 percent from 2004 to 2007. Carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal for electricity dropped by 57 percent over this period. This was due to the closure of the 1500 megawatt Mojave Generating Station near Laughlin – a coal fired power plant decommissioned in 2005.

Pollution from electricity production is not a factor in Washoe County since there are no such plants in the area, said Tracie Douglas, spokesperson for the Air Quality Management division of the Washoe County Health District. The only electricity generation here is geothermal, she said.

• Nationally, emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel consumption increased by 19 percent between 1990 and 2007. Power plants and vehicles, the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, were responsible for the lion’s share of the increase.

In total, more than one-third of the states succeeded in cutting pollution from 2004 to 2007 – before the onset of the economic recession. The initial success of these states shows that moving to clean energy can have a significant and immediate impact on overall emissions — and that emission reductions and robust economic growth can occur side by side. For instance, four northeast states — Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts and New York – cut their pollution levels by 5 percent since 1997, while increasing their gross state product by 65 percent.

“We can drive the economy without driving up pollution. By moving to clean energy, we can cut pollution, help jump-start the economy, and create millions of new clean energy jobs across the country,” Dronkers said.

The report recommends that the federal government build on the initial progress made by some states by passing strong clean energy legislation and adopting common sense EPA rules to cut pollution from aging coal plants and big smokestack industries. The Senate is in the process of considering the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, sponsored by Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer. In addition, EPA has proposed a rule to require coal plants and other large smokestack industries to use available technology to cut their global warming pollution when new facilities are constructed or existing facilities are significantly modified.