Texas tops U.S. list of greenhouse gas emissions

The U.S. state of Texas released far more greenhouse gases into the air than any other state in the year of 2010, according to official data released on Wednesday. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday published the data from the largest industrial sources across the country for the first time as part of its effort to reduce emissions. Industry-heavy Texas generated 294 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2010, followed by Pennsylvania, with 129 million metric tons emitted. Texas has 673 facilities reporting greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA, more than any other U.S. state. California came in second with 456 facilities reporting greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA report also found that power plants were the largest stationary sources of direct emissions with 2,324 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, followed by petroleum refineries. The EPA collected data from more than 6,700 industrial facilities that release at least 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases into the air a year.