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Transportation. Michal Hyrc , Eric Tidquist , William Koury & Ryan Henderson. Objectives. To better understand the carbon footprint of Washington University by: Improving estimates from previous projects about ground transportation
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Transportation Michal Hyrc, Eric Tidquist, William Koury & Ryan Henderson
Objectives • To better understand the carbon footprint of Washington University by: • Improving estimates from previous projects about ground transportation • Analyzing carbon intensive transportation that was not previously looked at, such as student air travel • Estimate emissions due to underground or surface parking on a per spot basis
Approach & Methodology Flying • Based analysis on data about students’ home zip codes or countries from 1991 provided by the university • Calculated distances flown by students annually using two methods • Distances to the actual zip codes • Distances to airports near particular zip codes • Multiplying the students and distance per student, found the total passenger miles flown by students annually • Converted passenger miles to a Carbon Footprint • Since the data provided was very detailed, in depth analysis is possible Commuting • Based analysis on data on student and faculty/staff school zip codes from a similar project conducted in 2009 • Calculated distances commuted (either by walking/biking, using MetroLink, using MetroBus, driving alone, or carpooling), taking into account highway versus city driving differences • Found total miles traveled by each mode of transportation • Converted passenger miles to a Carbon Footprint • Found Upper Bound, Lower Bound, and Best Guess for total carbon emissions from commuting at Washington University
Results 2009
Results Parking Analysis
Summary & Conclusions • The best estimate for Wash U transportation carbon footprint is ~40,000 metric tons of CO2 annually • This number is probably an underestimate, as it does not include faculty air travel • The transportation footprint of Wash U has been steadily increasing over the last 20 years • The increase of the aviation commute footprint is driven by less in-state students and more international, particularly Asian, students • Underground parking emits more carbon dioxide than surface parking • To reduce the transportation footprint, we recommend the University • Merging fall and thanksgiving break to reduce flight emissions • Trying to reduce the number of people that drive to work by themselves