Reduce carbon emissions and slow global warming
By MEGAN WALKER and KATHRYN SCHREINER
For the Journal & Courier
As we celebrate Earth Day 2007, it is evident that the issues most relevant to the continued health and sustainability of the planet have changed.
From an early emphasis on environmental pollutants, the focus of Earth Day has recently expanded to include the causes and dangerous consequences of global climate change.
The primary drivers of recent climate warming are human emissions of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is produced whenever fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas are burned.
At Purdue University, six academic departments spanning the natural and social sciences and linked through the Purdue Climate Change Research Center are taking steps to quantify and suggest means to reduce the university's carbon dioxide emissions through a new course: Carbon Neutrality at Purdue. This assessment of carbon dioxide emissions takes the form of a "carbon footprint" -- the annual amount of carbon (in the form of CO2) which Purdue is responsible for producing, both directly and indirectly.
Purdue University's carbon footprint is composed of the carbon released when Purdue produces or purchases electrical power from fossil fuel sources, and from other activities, such as building construction and transportation.
Accounting for these activities, the carbon neutrality students have calculated that more than 191,000 metric tons of carbon are emitted both directly and indirectly to meet the annual energy and material demands of Purdue University. (For comparison, burning one gallon of gasoline in your car emits a little more than five pounds of carbon.)
However, measuring the size of Purdue's carbon footprint fulfills only half of the goals of the course. With the size and sources of the footprint established, we can now suggest effective means to reduce it.
To be truly "carbon neutral," Purdue would have to emit no net carbon, either by utilizing only carbon-free energy sources, such as wind or solar power, or by offsetting emissions by reducing emissions elsewhere. Our primary focus is reducing carbon emissions locally through a reduction in energy consumption.
Many of the strategies being suggested to reduce energy consumption and the carbon footprint at Purdue can also be undertaken by individuals who want to reduce their own impact on the environment.
Below are a few of the suggestions that the students and faculty of carbon neutrality will present a public forum.
*Adjust your thermostat: Heating and cooling account for almost 50 percent of a home's energy usage. Each degree of thermostat setback in the winter can save 3 percent on your heating bill, and each degree upward in the summer can save 6 percent on cooling.
*Replace traditional, incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. CFLs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs to produce the same quality and amount of light. If every home in the U.S. replaced five traditional light bulbs with CFLs, each home would save $60 a year and would prevent carbon emissions equivalent to that of 8 million cars.
*Insulate and seal your home: Caulk and add weather stripping around doors and windows to prevent drafts. Insulating your attic and walls also significantly reduces the amount of energy needed to heat and cool your home. Well-insulating a home can reduce heating and cooling needs by up to 10 percent.
*Unplug electronics (including computers) when they're not in use: 75 percent of the electricity used in homes is standby power - that is, power that is still flowing to your electronics even though you've turned them "off."
*Take the bus or carpool, ride your bike, or walk: Transportation accounts for approximately 30 percent of all CO2 emissions in the United States, and personal automobiles are big contributors. Lafayette and West Lafayette have an excellent bus system that serves almost all residential and popular commercial areas of the cities.
These are just a few of many energy-conservation suggestions which can not only reduce your impact on the environment, but save money as well.
Walker and Schreiner, graduate students at Purdue's Earth and Atmospheric Sciences department, are members of the Purdue Climate Change Research Center.
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