Cover Story: From gaseous to green

Stats on how Atlanta hurts the environment - and how it helps

Rank among U.S. metro areas in miles driven by the average Atlantan: 1

Metric tons of greenhouse gases from Georgia’s coal-fired plants in 2005: 83 million

Year in which the Atlanta region will draw the maximum 705 million gallons a day from the Chattahoochee: 2030

Acreage of trees eliminated daily in metro Atlanta: 54

Number of commercial and institutional buildings in metro Atlanta with LEED energy-saving certification in 2001: 3

In 2007: 62

Minimum estimated savings over 20 years in utility, emissions, maintenance and health costs for metro Atlanta’s LEED buildings, per square foot, after accounting for the initial costs of building green: $650 million

Number of metro Atlanta single-family housing units: 1.4 million

Number of metro Atlanta houses that meet EarthCraft energy-saving standards: 4,295

Maximum percentage decrease in energy consumption for an EarthCraft-certified home: 40

Estimated reduction, in tons, of CO2 emissions in 2004, thanks to the 1,900 EarthCraft-certified homes in metro Atlanta that year: 10,000

Reduction, in pounds, of SO2 and NOx emissions in 2004, thanks to EarthCraft: 80,000

Number of cars that would have to be removed from metro Atlanta’s roads to reduce emissions at a comparable rate: 2,000

Sources: Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Energy Information Administration, Atlanta Regional Commission, U.S. Census Bureau, Southface Energy Institute, U.S. Green Building Council, Emory University, clean-technology firm Capital E

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