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Adaptation to Climate Change andReducing Carbon Footprint

Stephanie DaloStructural EITMarch 5, 2015

Mitigating World Issues

“A technological society has two choices; first it can wait until catastrophic failures expose systemic deficiencies, distortion and self deception; secondly a culture can provide social checks and balances to correct for systemic distortion prior to catastrophic failures.”

- Mahatma Ghandi

Addressing Climate Change

• Climate change – caused by a series of gases with heat-trapping properties that act on the earth's atmosphere much as a greenhouse acts on the air within it.

• Reducing a project’s carbon footprint will reduce its overall environmental footprint.

Carbon Footprint

• Reported in CO2 equivalents (CO2e)i.e. Methane has 23 times the global warming

potential of CO2 1 ton of methane emissions is equivalent to 23 tons of CO2

• Dividing total carbon footprint by project area’s population can provide per capita value

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Sources

Primary• Land-Cover Changes• Solid-Waste Emissions• On-Site Power Production/Consumption• On-Site Fuel Use• Fugitive Emissions (HVAC equipment, fuel

depots, etc.)

GHG Sources (cont’d)

Secondary• Customer and employee travel to and from

site• Design team and other consultants• Importation of goods and materials• Off-site power production (including

transmission and distribution losses)

GHG Sources (cont’d)

Tertiary• Embodied energy of materials production• Embodied energy of food production• Embodied energy of water production

Methods for calculating footprint:• Energy• Water• Travel• Materials• Waste• Land-Cover Changes

Key Components

Energy

• GHG from electricity use, fuel use and other energy sourced can be converted to CO2e.

• Emission Factors – average emission rate of CO2 for a given utility relative to the energy used, i.e pounds of CO2 per MWh.

• Emission Factor is calculated based on electricity provider’s energy portfolio and CO2 emissions for each energy source.

Water

• Amount of energy required to treat and transport water

• Method for producing energy to transport water

Determine the energy use of both potable and wastewater systems.

Carbon Footprint = Energy Use x Emission Factor for Electric Provider

Water (cont’d)

Solutions:• Use pervious materials that will allow

stormwater to penetrate surface to soils below

• Design structures to retain or hold and slow the rate of stormwater runoff

• Harvest Rainwater – collect and reuse

Travel

• Travel can be calculated using vehicle miles traveled, flight miles, or fuel sales (i.e. island conditions)

Conversion factors for calculating Carbon Emissions

• Automobile – 19.56 lbs CO2 / gallon of gasoline

• Air Travel – 0.64 lbs CO2 per mile traveled

Materials

• Difficult to quantify• Embodied Energy – energy used to create and

transport materials to site• Deconstructing and reusing material greatly

reduces a project’s carbon footprint• For new construction try using local material

Waste

Emissions associated with Landfills:

• App. 40g Co2 and 20g methane / lbtrash

• 450 g Co2 and 0.2 g methane / lbcompost

• 447 g Co2 and 0.56 g NOx, among other pollutants / lbtrash incinerated

Waste (cont’d)

Solution:Incineration can provide energy source / offsetGHG emissions from another source

Example:Waste-to-Energy Plant in Peekskill, N.Y.Enough electricity to power 88,000 homes in Westchester County

Land-Cover Changes

Land-use change highly dependent on:• Type of existing or new vegetation• Age of existing vegetation• Climate

IPCC estimates a value of 350 to 900 tones of CO2 avoided per hectare of deforestation prevented.

Sustainable & Resilient Bridge Design

Environmental Social Economic

Ecology & Biodiversity Community Interaction Life Cycle Cost

Landscape Community Livability Project Management

Stormwater Impacts Human Health Impacts Financial Sustainability

Construction Waste Management

History & Cultural Preservation Economic Analysis

Material Use Scenic & Natural Qualities Safety Programs

Energy & Carbon Safety Land Use

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Equity Operation & Management System

Reduce Energy & Emission Stakeholder Involvement Bridge Management Systems

Noise Pollution Transportation Impacts Energy Efficiency

Resiliency Resiliency Resiliency

Sustainable & Resilient Bridge Design (cont’d)

• Rapid construction – prefabricated components• Integration of recycled or beneficial reuse materials• Complementary cementing materials• Ultra-high performance concrete• High-performance fiber reinforced cementitous

composites• Recycled concrete aggregates • Internal curing• Photovoltaic and LED lighting• Vertical wind turbines

Conclusion

“Scientists discover the world that exists; Engineers create the world that never was”

-Theodore von Kármán

Sustainable development, climate change mitigation, and adaptation will need to be at the centre of the engineering agenda, because engineering will be at the very centre of efforts to building a carbon-free future.

Thank You