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Carbon Footprints

Carbon Footprints. Information from How Bad Are Bananas ? By Mike Berners-Lee . Carbon Footprint. Best estimate of full climate change impact of something Carbon – Usually talking about CO2e (CO2-eq) not actually just carbon Footprint – Total impact . CO 2 e.

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Carbon Footprints

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  1. Carbon Footprints Information from How Bad Are Bananas? By Mike Berners-Lee

  2. Carbon Footprint • Best estimate of full climate change impact of something • Carbon – Usually talking about CO2e (CO2-eq) not actually just carbon • Footprint – Total impact

  3. CO2e • Total climate change impact of all greenhouse gasses caused by item or activity

  4. Direct vs. indirect emissions • Direct emissions of an item • Manufacturing process • Transportation of item to retailer • Indirect emissions • Everything else • Example: offices in the factory use paper clips made of steel that were mined and have their own carbon footprint

  5. Context for numbers • 1 gram of CO2e would be produced if you burned a pea sized blob of gasoline • 1 Kilogram (2 lbs) of CO2e would be produced if you burned 2 cups of gasoline • 1 Ton of CO2ewould be produced if you burned 60 gallons of gasoline

  6. Context for numbers • The average American has a carbon footprint of 28 tons CO2e / year • World GHG emissions are 34 Gt CO2e / year • The global average carbon footprint is ~6 tons CO2e / year / person

  7. Carbon footprint of items • Leaving the lights on • Having a child • A forest fire • A Burger • A bottle of water • 2.5 acres of deforestation • Using a cell phone • A computer • International flight (LA-Barcelona) • A pint of beer • Cycling a mile • Manufacturing a car • A web search • Walking through the door • A banana • Spending 1$ • Road trip (NY to Niagara falls) • 10 lbs of trash

  8. Which type of beer would have the highest carbon footprint per pint? • Locally brewed at the bar  • Store bought, locally bottled • Store bought, bottled elsewhere, imported long distances

  9. Pint of beer • Locally brewed at the bar  • 300g CO2e • Store bought, locally bottled • 500g CO2e • Store bought, bottled elsewhere, imported long distances • 900g CO2e

  10. Which food would produce highest carbon footprint for cycling a mile? • Air-freighted asparagus • Bacon • Bananas

  11. Cycling a mile • Powered by bananas • 65g CO2e • Powered by cereals with milk  • 90g CO2e • Powered by bacon  • 200g CO2e • Powered by cheeseburgers  • 260g CO2e • Powered by air-freighted asparagus • 2,800g CO2e • A hummer has a lower carbon footprint per mile

  12. The carbon footprint of manufacturing a new car is ____ compared to the carbon footprint of driving that car over its lifetime • Very small • Roughly equivalent • Very large

  13. A new car • Citroen C1, basic spec  • 6 tons CO2e: • Ford Mondeo, medium spec  • 17 tons CO2e: • Land Rover Discovery, top of the range • 35 tons CO2e: • The CO2e emissions associated with producing the car are comparable to the CO2e emissions out of that car’s tailpipe over its lifetime

  14. A web search • Goggle estimates 0.2 g CO2e for the electricity it uses when you enter a search term • 0.1g CO2e for 20 seconds of use from an efficient 20 watt laptop • Local network and servers would use 0.1 g CO2e • Maintenance on the whole system (replacing parts ect.) doubles the above figures • Total = 0.8 g CO2e

  15. A web search • Desktop computers are more power Hungary • ~150 watts • 0.75 g CO2e for 20 seconds of use • Increases in maintenance and network CO2e • Total = 4.5 g CO2e • Google accounts for just 0.2 g CO2e of that (4%)

  16. A web search • Searching the web non-stop for a year • 5 tons CO2e • Does not include • Wearing clothes • Keeping warm • Burning calories • Getting closer to your next need for medical attention • Living in a building that needs maintenance • Ect.

  17. Walking through a door • Automatic door • 6.5 feet wide by 8 feet high • Stays open for 18 seconds • Power from electric motors to open door is 1 g CO2e • If the temperature inside is equal to that outside then this is the entire carbon footprint • If it's cold outside (say 20°f) then the footprint jumps to 84 g CO2e because of the energy required to heat that air

  18. Bananas • Bananas have very low carbon footprints compared to other foods • Grown in natural sunlight (not in a heated greenhouse) • They don’t spoil quickly • So instead of shipping them by plane, you can ship them by boat (1% the carbon footprint of flying) • No packaging • Total = 80 g CO2e if shipped from across the world

  19. Spending 1$ • In our current energy system it is very difficult to spend a dollar without it adding to your carbon footprint

  20. Spending $1 • Exception would be spending on something that reduces net emissions • Minus 220 kg (485 lbs) CO2e on a well executed rainforest preservation project • Minus 2 kg (4.4 lbs) CO2e on solar panels

  21. Spending $1 • In the middle of the spectrum would be spending on groceries • 620 g (1.37 lbs) CO2e per $1 • Flying is among the worst activities for carbon emissions • 10 kg (22 lbs) of CO2e per $1

  22. Road trip • San Francisco to LA and back (~800 miles) • Banana powered bike • 53 kg (117 lbs) CO2e • Bus • 66 kg (146 lbs) CO2e • Small efficient car • 330 kg (728 lbs) CO2e • Plane • 500 kg (1,100 lbs) CO2e • Large SUV • 1,100 (2,530 lbs) CO2e

  23. 10 lbs of trash • The average US citizen sends 1,250 lbs of garbage to landfills each year • The average US citizen recycles 640 lbs of garbage each year • Landfill emissions are produced when the garbage decomposes (methane) • Sending metals, glass, plastics and paper to landfills (rather than recycling them) forces new materials to be produced for future products • It takes much more energy to make a new product from raw materials than it does to make one from recycled materials

  24. 10 lbs of trash • Garden waste • 910 g (2 lbs) CO2e • Average trash contents • 3.1 kg (7 lbs) CO2e • Aluminum and copper • 41 kg (90 lbs) CO2e

  25. Leaving the lights on • Light on continuously for 1 year • Depends on where you are • Iceland produces almost all of its electricity from fossil fuel free geothermal and hydroelectric power plants • The US produces much more of its electricity from fossil fuels

  26. Leaving the lights on • Assuming US electricity generation • Low energy bulb • 1 year • 90 kg (198 lbs) CO2e • 100-watt incandescent bulb • 1 year • 500 kg (1,100 lbs)

  27. Having a child • The decision to reproduce ends up being one of the biggest carbon choices people ever make • Assuming that the child lives to 75 • Assuming the child lives a nationally typical lifestyle • Assuming that GHG emissions are reduced in the coming decades • 700 tons CO2e • 150 tons for a carbon conscious child • 2,000 tons for high-impact child

  28. A forest fire • If you chose to start a forest fire • One of only decision you could make that has a larger carbon impact than having a child • Your lifetime carbon footprint would increase by 1000s of times • 2008 California forest fires • 231 million tons CO2e • A certain portion of the carbon releases will be taken back over time as the forest regrows

  29. A bottle of water • Most emissions come from packaging and transport • 80 g CO2e just from the plastic

  30. A bottle of water • Locally sourced and using local distribution • 110 g CO2e • Traveling 600 miles by road • 215 g CO2e • Bottled water is 1000X more carbon intensive than tap water • The world consumes 53 billion gallons of bottled water a year which accounts for 1/6th of a percent of TOTAL world GHG emissions

  31. 2.5 Acres of Deforestation • 32 million acres of rainforest are cleared per year • 17 percent of all human emissions • Why? • 35-45% Small farms • 20-25% for cattle grazing • 15-20% Intensive agriculture • 10-15% logging • ~5% other (urbanization, mining, roads, ect.)

  32. 2.5 Acres of Deforestation • 2.5 acres = 1 Hectare • 500 tons of CO2e • Equivalent to driving the average car 28 times around the world

  33. A Burger

  34. The energy that you use to live and move around came from the sun. Which is a more efficient way to transfer energy from the sun to you? • : • : • 1 and 2 are equal

  35. A Burger • Animal products tend to be more carbon intensive than vegetables and grains because animals consume a lot of energy just to keep themselves warm and move around • Converting animal feed into meat and milk is inherently inefficient

  36. A Burger • In addition to being inefficient… • Cows/sheep are ruminants • They belch out methane (CH4) • Beef/lamb has double the carbon footprint (per kilogram of meet) of pork • Excessive demand for meat provides an incentive for deforestation to provide more grazing land

  37. A Burger • Beef cheeseburger • 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) CO2e • Veggie Burger • 1 kg (2.2 lbs) CO2e • If you ate nothing but cheeseburgers for a year, your carbon footprint from food alone would be 4.6 tons CO2e

  38. Using a cell phone • Depends on how often you use it • Components of footprint • Manufacturing of phone • 16 kg (35 lbs) CO2e • Power over 2 years • 6 kg (13 lbs) CO2e • Energy required to transmit calls across network • 66 kg (146 lbs)

  39. Using a cell phone • 1 minute cell-to-cell phone call has the same carbon footprint as an apple =

  40. Using a cell phone • As of 2009 there were 2.7 billion cell phones in use (almost half the world) • Cell phone calls account for about 125 million tons CO2e • 1/4th of a percent of global emissions • Texting is a much lower carbon option

  41. Using a cell phone • A year’s typical usage of just under 2 minutes per day • 47 kg (103 lbs) CO2e • A year’s usage of 1 hour per day • 1,250 kg (2,760 lbs) CO2e

  42. A Computer • Machine itself • 2010 21.5-inch iMac • 720 kg (1,590 lbs) CO2e • Electricity consumption • 2010 21.5-inch iMac • 69 g (0.2 lbs) CO2e per hour • Use of servers and networks • 55 g (0.1 lbs) CO2e per hour • Overall computing may be only a few % of your carbon footprint

  43. A Computer (and using it) • Most of the manufacturing footprint comes from the microprocessor • The electricity emissions typically equal the footprint of manufacture after 15,000 hours • 9 hours every day for 5 years

  44. An International Flight • Economy class • 3.4 tons CO2e • Average • 4.6 tons CO2e • First class • 13.5 tons CO2e • One trip is equivalent to 340,000 disposable plastic bags

  45. An International Flight • First class tickets are particularly high in impact because the seat uses up more of the plane and by paying more money you provide more of a commercial incentive for the flight

  46. An International Flight • When a 747 takes off about 1/3 of its weight is fuel • As the fuel burns, it creates 3 times its weight in CO2

  47. Carbon footprint ranking Beef cheeseburger – 2.5 kg CO2e A pint of beer – 500g CO2e Bottle of water – 200g CO2e Cycling a mile – 100g CO2e Banana – 80g CO2e Walking through a door – 10g CO2e A web search – 2g CO2e • Forest fire – 100 million tons CO2e • Having a child – 700 tons CO2e • 2.5 Acres deforestation – 500 tons CO2e • A new car – 17 tons CO2e • Flight (LA to Spain) – 4.6 tons CO2e • A new computer – 720 kg CO2e • Road trip: SF to LA – 500 Kg CO2e • Light on for a year – 400 kg CO2e • $100 on groceries – 62 kg CO2e • Moderate cell phone use (year) – 47 kg CO2e • 10 lbs of trash – 3.1 kg CO2e

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