Iowa has joined several other Midwestern states in the development of a voluntary midwest registry for greenhouse gas emissions. Catharine Fitzsimmons, air quality bureau chief at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says the registry has a couple of purposes. Fitzsimmons says it will provide Iowa industries a place to register where there greenhouse gases are and how the companies are reducing greenhouse gases.
Fitzsimmons says Iowa is one of the top 25 greenhouse gas emitting states. She says many of out utilities and industries are already measuring their carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions and this will give them a way to "show their clients and others the good work they’re doing for the environment." The state environmental directors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin have signed a resolution in support of the registry.
Fitzsimmons says Iowa is voluntarily joining the other states. Fitzsimmons says industry leaders approached her and asked the state to join in the registry to find a way to quantify the reductions they’re making. Fitzsimmons says some other states have established mandatory reductions of the greenhouse gases. Fitzsimmons says the state doesn’t plan making greenhouse gas reduction a mandate. She says they currently aren’t looking at any regulations in Iowa, although Fitzsimmons says some people would like to see the regulations.
Fitzsimmons says the state has agreed for now to move forward with the registry. Fitzsimmons says they’ve signed on to assist in the development of an "inventory tool" for facilities to use to measure greenhouse gases. She says they hope to develop a way for businesses to sign on and register their greenhouse gas emissions into a database. The Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium is leading the effort to create the registry. For more information, surf to: www.ladco.org .