Energy and Electricity - Introduction to Carbon Capture and Sequestration

Environmental Engineering Reference

In-Depth Information

Due to Berkeley's fortuitous location in a fairly temperate zone, many

people do not use air conditioning, and use limited electricity during the

summer. While some heating may be necessary in the winter, the tem-

perature almost never drops below freezing, making “house” a limited

(~5%) component of a typical Berkeley student's carbon footprint. By far

the largest contributors to the carbon footprint of the average Berkeley

student seem to be the secondary lifestyle choices (37%), followed by

car travel (27%). This result may be atypical to the rest of the United

States due not only to the location, but to the nature of the student life-

style. Students are more likely to walk or use a bike as their primary mode

of transportation and are likely to share rooms or apartments with several

roommates, which cuts the total carbon footprint per person.

It may be worth noting a few anomalies in the individual footprints.

Student A just recently moved from Los Angeles, a city much more cen-

tered on driving, which explains the higher contributing percentage of car

travel to her total. Student B had taken several flights in the last year for

both conferences and vacations, increasing his flight total. Student C

does not own a car and tends to make more environmentally conscious

consumer choices, which ultimately leads to her lower overall footprint

than those of the other two students.

In Table 1.5.3 we calculate a fourth student's, Student D's, carbon

footprint before and after his acquisition of a car. After acquiring a car,

his carbon footprint increased by more than 50%. In Table 1.5.4 we

compare his results to the average carbon footprints per capita in the

USA, China, and India. While his total levels are much lower than the USA

Table 1.5.3 Calculation of Student D's carbon footprint with and without a car

Metric tonnes of CO 2

per year trial w/o car

Metric tonnes of CO 2

per year trial w/ car