The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt created a perception of indifference when the Midwestern Governors Association recently pledged to improve the environment by changing the way the region produces and uses energy.

The governors signed pacts to reduce greenhouse gases, increase alternative fuels for vehicles and make greater use of renewable energy sources for electricity.

Of the 12 states in the association, Missouri was the only one not to sign any of the pro-environment initiatives. In fact, Missouri didn’t even participate in the group’s energy summit.

Environmental activists are outraged, discouraged — and not too surprised. Missouri, after all, isn’t perceived as one of the nation’s most environmentally friendly states.

But Missouri has much at stake.

Consider, for example, Missouri’s production of carbon dioxide, a contributor to global warming.

Missouri had the nation’s fifth-highest increase in per-person carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 to 2003, according to government statistics analyzed by The Associated Press this summer. While Missouri’s rate rose 15 percent, the nation’s remained about the same.

One likely reason is Missouri’s 21 coal-fired power plants, which have a total of 49 active coal boilers. When burned, coal produces more carbon dioxide per energy produced than any other commonly used American fuel source. And Missouri is among the states that is most dependent on coal for electricity.

Missouri also is headquarters to Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Coal Inc., ranked as the No. 1 and No. 3 coal producers by the National Mining Association. Together, they accounted for almost 30 percent of the coal produced last year, according to the mining association.

Coal helps keep the lights on in Missouri’s homes and helps support its economy through Missouri businesses.

But the pact signed by other midwestern governors places a target on coal. Among other things, it calls for all new coal-fired power plants to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 and for all older plants to install the environmentally friendly technology by 2050.

Kathleen Logan Smith, executive director of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, believes there’s a connection between King Coal and Missouri’s ambivalence to the midwestern energy pact.

“We’re pretty tied in with the coal industry,” she said. “I think any common sense observer would reach the same conclusion.”

“I’m not sure that pact is hugely meaningful in terms of impact. It’s sort of symbolic,” she added. “But at least it’s a step, and we’d like to see Missouri moving forward.”