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Impact of transportation on the environment
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Assignment 1: Impact Logbook – 2015
Appendix 1
1. Personal Energy – Electricity Footprint
Based on my collected data, the energy consumption for my refrigerator alone is approximately 38% of the average energy consumption per day. (The energy consumption of the refrigerator is the highest).
On the day in which I decided to use the washing machine and the dryer, my average energy consumption approximately increased by a factor of 2 from the average energy consumption of my normal daily routine.
Energy saving and conservation potentials:
Using energy more efficiently can be an effective way for households to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also defer the need to develop new sources of energy. The Government has set a target
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Personal Mobility Footprint
Transportation is an ever-growing sector in our society today. Because of the bustling city life we have today, most of us use transportation means to get from one place to another. Generally, road transportation comprised of nearly 40% of all energy sector emissions. While road transports in 2012 were up by 68% over 1990 levels, the trend has been flat ever since 2007. This flat trend in transport activity combined with improving efficiency. Transport of passenger and freight by rail is less carbon intensive than by road (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment New Zealand 1 and 6)
Wellington is indeed a busy city life. However, most of us use walking as our means to get to our destination. This causes our carbon footprint emission from our personal mobility to be very low. Based on my personal mobility footprint, it can be seen that most of the days, my CO2 emission is zero because I am walking majority of the time. The day when CO2 is emitted in my footprint is when I decide to use the city bus. Nevertheless, when I consider the use of air travel in my annual figure, my carbon footprint increased substantially. However, my use of air travel is only limited to a few times a
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By engaging ourselves to more eco-friendly transportation means such as walking and biking, we can substantially reduce the impact of our mobility footprint towards the environment.
Limitations
My actual CO2 emission will deviate from my calculated value because of the constraint of the quality of data I obtain. The average carbon dioxide emission factor (CO2-e per kg) that I incorporated in my table may not be an actual representation of that in reality and this will affect my overall accuracy of my calculated value. Apart from that, due to the fact that I cannot complete ascertain how much more am I going to travel in the upcoming months (I may be using the bus more often or make unexpected train/air travels), the figure of my carbon footprint will vary from its actual value, questioning its accuracy once
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, DST increases overall energy consumption by “approximately 1 percent” (Kotchen) and rises to 2-4 percent in the fall. The use of air conditioning, television, lighting, and other appliances causes the residential energy demand to
Instilling this new way of energy usage into off-grid communities will inevitably increase the state of living for those in cities and other well-populated areas. The change to renewable energy sources could drastically lower the pollutants currently being dispersed into the atmosphere by coal mines and other harmful power options, increasing the supply of renewable energy would allow us to replace carbon-intensive energy sources and significantly reduce U.S. global warming emissions. a 25 percent by 2025 national renewable electricity standard would lower power plant CO2 emissions 277 million metric tons annually by 2025—the equivalent of the annual output from 70 typical (600 MW) new coal plants (“Benefits of Renewable Energy Use”). Electricity production accounts for more than one-third of U.S. global warming emissions, with the majority generated by coal-fired power plants.
With around 40% of all car trips in Melbourne being less than 2km and nearly 80% of children getting driven both to and from school, the pressures from climate change, poor citizen health and inefficient energy use and transportation methods have become paramount (Environment Victoria, 2014).
Personally, I fly about 10-25 hours per year back and forth from Canada, Michigan, and Florida. “One round-trip flight from New York to Europe or to San Francisco creates a warming effect equivalent to 2-3 tons of carbon dioxide per person! The average American generates about 19 tons of carbon dioxide a year” (Rosenthal). Traveling by plane significantly contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer. Carbon dioxide emission is a major pollutant, and contributor to the greenhouse effect.
The energy used in homes account for approximately 35% of all greenhouse gas emissions. California has aggressive goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the state energy consumption. There are many buildings in existence that are operating inefficiently; and making the improvements through the Energy Upgrade California program is helping address this and helping to improve the environment.
... reduce natural gas consumption. Long-term I am committed to installing new energy efficient windows to truly reduce energy consumption. To help reduce the family’s water consumption we recently installed an energy efficient washing machine that uses over 60% less water than the previous model that was installed. As an additional means in which to help conserve water I will be installing a rain barrel in the summer to water our outdoor plants. While these actions might not seem significant, they can make a significant difference. According to Energy Star, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star qualified CFL, in just one year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes. That would prevent the release of greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of about 800,000 cars.
Finding ways to move goods from one point to another at a reasonable cost and within an acceptable time frame is a growing challenge for global businesses today. The costs and risks associated with transportation are increasing with the advent of globalization and low-cost-country sourcing. Even for companies with local operations only, they have to supply their products to various parts of a country which increases the costs and risks. Since the cost of gasoline has been on an upward trend, high level of efficiency in transportation is required to lower the costs involved and the risks associated with the costs. Costs concepts in transportation include economic, social and accounting costs. The risks and costs involved increases if the various modes of transport are used. There has been concern over many businesses failure to strategically think when they employ multimodal transportation services. Many businesses prefer the least expensive multimodal model instead of choosing the most effective; this trade-off is very expensive with hidden costs and risks increasing significantly (Molenaar, Anderson, Schexnayder, National Research Council (U.S.)., National Cooperative Highway Research Program., American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials., & United States, 2010).
Your home is an investment in your family's future, so anything you do to make it work more efficient for you is going to save money in the long run. Making your home energy-efficient involves upgrading some of the appliances or features and changing the way you use things. A lot of small changes over time will result in big energy savings. Preventative maintenance is key.
Carbon footprint can be defined as the amount of greenhouse gases an individual produces at a time through diverse activities. A person’s carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which were induced by an individual’s daily activities for a given time frame. CO2 is one of the many greenhouse gases that are responsible for causing global warming which we are currently experiencing today. Carbon footprint is an extremely powerful tool which we can utilize to understand the impact that our personal activities have on global warming.
The “greenhouse effect” has been a concern for many years now. One of the major gases that contribute to this warming effect is carbon dioxide. There have been many studies on the effect carbon dioxide has on the earth’s atmosphere and weather patterns and how carbon dioxide production from burning fossil fuels, generating electricity, making concrete, cutting trees, and other processes effects the atmosphere we live in. The goal of this paper is to identify some possible contributors of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States.
Manufacturing and power plants contribute heavily to the amount of carbon that is emitted into the atmosphere. The restriction set on power plant emissions will help lower Earth’s global surface temperature. Carbon gas emissions are also working to be reduced by the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement (USMCPA) which “to date, over 1,000 U.S. cities have signed this agreement… to reducing GHG emissions” (Wood 534). The agreement works to help limit a city’s greenhouse gas emissions by setting regulations on production and transportation. Multiple cities across the United States, sharing the same mission, will have a significant impact on the rates of climate change, and its effectiveness to achieve
The most important of the Three R’s is Reduce or lessen. You can have the most impact on the environment by first reducing your usage of and purchasing of products that cannot be reused or recycled. Of course, the most effective way to reduce waste is not to create it in the first place. There are many ways you can contribute to the reduction of energy consumption; some of which are in your purchases. Energy efficient appliances go a long way in contribution to cutting energy use and costs. According to EnergyStar.gov, (www.energystar.gov), a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, products with the Energy Star designation are the same or better than standard products, but use less energy. The EPA estimates that the typical household can save 30%, or $600, on its annual energy bills (approximately $1,900), with similar savings of greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, the purchase of Energy Star approved appliances uses less energy and can save money, with similar savings of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the use of energy-efficient appliances ...
Every day the world around us is changing ever so slightly in many different ways. Humans can affect the environment through our day to day lifestyle without even noticing the change. An ecological footprint is a measurement of how much a person uses the environment around them to live their life. This given measurement can help one to see their impact on the earth. It is an important tool to understand what actually a human does to change the habitat near them. My ecological footprint results gave me a perspective of how my daily life can impact the world I live in, as well as, how I as an individual can change my actions to make less waste on earth. It is also useful for each person to know their own ecological footprint since no one live
Transportation needs to be fuel-efficient in an ideal society. Most modes of transportation emit harmful gases into the Earth’s atmosphere. These gases create a large amount of pollution and damage the air quality of an environment. “...elevated levels and/or long term exposure to air pollution can lead to more serious symptoms and conditions affecting human health. This mainly affects the respiratory and inflammatory systems, but can also lead to more serious conditions such as heart disease and cancer” (“Effects”). Pollution is getting worse and needs to be to be prevented. In order to prevent further harm to people, fuel-efficient transportation would be a valid
Household energy conservation is a very practical and realistic approach to conserving energy within our society. US households consume a tremendous amount of natural gas as well as electric energy. It has been calculated that the amount of energy consumed within the US increased exponentially from about 1850 to 1975. If energy continued to increase at this rate, we would be experiencing severe energy shortages in our current society. Luckily, steps towards conservation, including various energy regulations, have curbed that growth somewhat, brining the predicted 160 Qbtu/yr for the year 2000 down to around 93.8 Qbtu/yr by the year 1996. However, household energy usage is still a major issue as households consume about 38% of the total consumed energy and contribute greatly to natural gas consumption and issues such as global warming. Therefore, it is important that people understand how we use energy in the household and what steps can be taken to conserve that energy.