CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A new study estimates that western U.S. ecosystems — from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Northwest rain forests and the Sonoran desert — absorb and contain as much atmospheric carbon every year as the annual emissions of more than 83 million passenger cars.

That’s the equivalent of nearly 5 percent of annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, helping to offset the pollution that contributes to climate change, the Interior Department said Thursday.

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