Transcript Carbon Footprint - Department of Meteorology and Climate Science

BAESI – Global Warming
Carbon Footprint
Dr. Eugene Cordero
Department of Meteorology and Climate Science
Energy and Climate Change
 Obviously, one of the main issues related to
climate change is the burning of fossil fuels
 Thus, energy use, and the continuing demand
for energy are central to the challenges of
climate change.
CA CO2 Emissions (per person)
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22,941 lbs CO2 per person
Annual usage:
Electricity Usage: 7,032 kWh
Natural Gas Usage: 422 therms
Vehicle Usage: 571 gallons per person.
Global Average: 8,750 lbs CO2 per person
http://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/about/environment/calculator/assumptions.pdf
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Agriculture ~ 20-25% of all emissions
CO2 emissions per person
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Questions
1. What percentage of electricity generation comes from
the burning of natural gas?
2. What percentage of transportation energy comes from
natural gas burning?
3. What percentage of transportation energy use comes
from coal?
4. If you buy an electric car, what is the mostly likely
source of energy?
5. Where does most residential energy come from?
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Emissions of heat trapping gases
Indirect emissions
Embodied Energy
Apple
Apple
Ipod
1 Energy Unit
100-250 Energy Units
Photo credit: Terry Nathan
Carbon Footprint
of Apple products
MacBook Air -2008
13-inch MacBook Pro
17-inch MacBook Pro
15-inch MackBook Pro
MacBook-2008
iMac (24 inch)-2008
iMac (20 inch)-2008
LED Cinema Display
Mac Pro
Mac Min
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS
iPod nano
iPod touch
iPod shuffle
Role of Agriculture on
Carbon Emissions
Growing Food
Methane
14-18% of all emissions due to livestock
U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, 2004
Carbon Footprint of Food
Input Fossil Energy
Food Energy Efficiency 
Calories
+
Animal related methane emissions
Carbon Showdown
vs
Emissions from Transportation
Annual transportation (USA)
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9,000 average passenger car miles
Toyota
Prius
(50 mpg)
Chevrolet
Cobalt
(28 mpg)
Ford
F-Series
(13 mpg)
1.8 tons/yr
3.5 tons/yr
5.2 tons/yr
US Dept. of Transportation
Food: Three Diets
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High:
– 38% animal products
– All red meat
Normal:
– 28% animal products
– Mix of red meat, poultry and fish
Low:
– 18% animal products
– Chicken instead of red meat
Auto -Automobile/Diet
Diet Comparison
Comparison
5.2
Ford F-series (Truck)
Chevrolet Cobalt
(Sedan)
3.4
Toyota Prius
(Hybrid)
1.8
High (animal/beef)
4.4
Avg (animal/beef)
2.4
Low (animal/beef)
0.6
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
CO2 (tons/year)
4.0
5.0
6.0
Don’t eatCarbon
a hamburger
Showdown
in a hummer
vs
vs
Vegan
Auto -Automobile/Diet
Diet Comparison
Comparison
5.2
Ford F-series (Truck)
Chevrolet Cobalt
(Sedan)
3.4
Toyota Prius
(Hybrid)
1.8
High (animal/beef)
4.4
Avg (animal/beef)
2.4
Low (animal/beef)
0.6
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
CO2 (tons/year)
4.0
5.0
6.0
Carbon Footprint of US Food
7% 5%
4%
83%
Weber and Matthews 2008
Burrito
Burrito (Beef):
Calories per dollar: 140
850 calories: $6.10
CO2: 3.8 kg
CO2 per dollar: 636
Burrito (Veggie): 830 calories: $5.75
Calories per dollar: 145
CO2: 0.5 kg
CO2 per dollar: 94
Climate Solutions
Transport
Housing
Food
We can’t change
what we don’t measure
Ecological Footprint
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Good surrogate for carbon footprint
Broad assessment (housing, transport, food)
Units of measure are acres of land
Component of footprint is land required to absorb
waste (such as CO2)
http://www.myfootprint.org/
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Ecological Footprints
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The amount of
ecologically
productive land
used by
individuals,
cities, countries,
etc.
Production and
use of goods and
services involve
land use: have
ecological
footprints
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Carbon Footprint
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Ecological Footprint
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Ecological Footprint Calculators
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Myfootprint.org (We’ll use this one today)
Footprintnetwork.org/calculator
Other related info:
www.thestoryofstuff.com (Very provocative video on
consumption)
Sustainable energy without the hot air: (My favorite
numbers book of the year!)
http://www.withouthotair.com/
Activity
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Pair into teams of two
Jointly compute your ecological footprint (average
your results)
Compare to average American and speculate why
they are different
Develop a strategy for how you might reduce your
footprint by 20% for a week. Use the calculator to
guide your reductions.
User: dilbert Pass: Dogbert7 (log onto local
machine, not METR)
http://www.myfootprint.org/