Calculate your carbon footprint

Learn how to calculate your carbon footprint and how to offset the greenhouse gas emissions you produce everyday.

 

Countries fail to meet Kyoto agreement, must pay billions as penalty

Japan, Italy and Spain were the three worst offenders under the Kyoto treaty, according to a recent Bloomberg article. The three countries underestimated “economic growth and future emissions from factories and utilities” and may face up to $33 billion as a result, the article states.

Kyoto Protocol requires countries to reduce the level of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by a certain percentage. If the countries fail to curb enough greenhouse gas emissions they must buy credits in the market.

The cost of a permit to spew a ton of CO2 into the skies surged this year after evidence of global warming mounted and European states reacted by restricting the supply of allowances. The price for a 2008 certified emission-reduction credit rose 14 percent in the three months through Nov. 27 to a record 18.20 euros ($26.85) to release a ton of CO2,” according to Bloomberg

 

One of the greatest ledes . . .

“Coal, the dirtest fossil fuel, is the crack cocaine of the developing world.” (Coal Factors large into climate change: Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Times writer Alan Zarembo argues coal is just too good to give up for many countries, adding that fact alone will likely undermine the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The Nobel Prize-winning panel presented a plan that in order to work requires the world’s largest coal producing countries to drastically reduce emissions over the next 20 years.

 That includes China which has more than doubled its CO2 emissions from coal since 2000 and has built 603 coal-fired generators - 64 percent of the new generators built worldwide - over the last eight years.

” . . . a recent analysis by climate experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that even if the U.S. and Europe could stop all their carbon emissions, the developing countries are on pace to create a climate crisis on their own,” the article states.

 

Green reality check

An article in Tuesday’s Chicago Tribune, detailed the rather hefty price tag on a truly green Chicago.

The article seems to question the reality of the Chicago plan, which is still being drafted and is scheduled for release next year.

Here are some highlights:

• The primary goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 25 percent from 1990 levels.
• To do that, $2.7 billion needs to be invested in transportation improvements. (Let’s not forget the CTA’s budget blues.)
• Existing homeowners need to spend $1.65 billion through 2010 to reduce energy consumption 30 percent.
• Existing Chicago buildings would need to cut energy consumption by 30 percent to reach the goal of a 44 percent reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide and equivalent gas emissions by 2020.
• Daley already broke a promise to use green energy for at least 20 percent of the city’s electricity by the end of 2006. According to the article, “nearly all of the power for City Hall and other government buildings still comes from nuclear-and coal-powered plants.”

 

The future of nuclear energy debated

Chicago-based Exelon Corp. is the largest marketer of wind-powered electricity east of the Mississippi. The company also owns the country’s largest fleet of nuclear reactors — 17 at the moment. The paradoxical relationship has environmentalists expressing both support and dissent for the energy giant, run by CEO John Rowe.

Rowe has pushed for legislation at the state and federal level to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the company offers programs, such as its discounted compact fleurescent light bulb program, to consumers so they too can help reduce GHG emissions. However, Commonwealth Edison - a subsidiary of Exelon - has generated about 10,000 metric tons of radioactive spent fuel since it began using nuclear fission to produce electricity in 1960, according to the article. As of now, there is no way to permanently dispose of nuclear waste, so nuclear power companies are left to hold the waste in ponds of water on their sites or in massive concrete containers and hope it remains there for thousands of years.  

According to the article, Rowe believes that some type of carbon cap and trade program looms on the horizon and, therefore, believes that his company is not only ahead of the game but also is investing in a form of energy that only will become more valuable over time.

 ”Therein lies not just a debate about a company but a debate about the future of energy. New nuclear plants are in the planning stages and could play a larger role in generating electricity for the U.S., now dominated by coal-fired plants which pour millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Rowe argues that in 10 years many environmentalists will support nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil-fueled power plants,” the article states.

 

Residential consumers and small companies now can offset greenhouse gas emissions

U.S. Energy Savings Corp., an alternative fuel provider in the United States and Canada, is offering its natural gas customers in Illinois, Indiana and Buffalo, N.Y., an opportunity to offset their greenhouse gas emissions through carbon reductions. The Greenhouse Energy Option plan for natural gas customers, or GEOgas, allows customers to choose whether they wish to reduce carbon emissions in 20 percent increments. Consumers will be charged an additional $4 a month for a 20 percent reduction and $20 a month for a 100 percent reduction.

The carbon offsets will then be traded on the Chicago Climate Exchange. Nadine Evans, U.S. Energy Savings spokeswoman, said Illinois customers will invest in initiatives in Illinois and Indiana customers will invest in Indiana. Traditionally, larger corporations worried about carbon offsets, but GEOgas is one of the first programs to allow residential and smaller companies to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.

There are many ways to offset carbon emissions, including planting trees to investing in a wind farm or some other type of alternative energy that emits less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Consumers who wish to determine how much carbon they are producing can use a variety of carbon calculators available on the Internet. One of the easier climate change calculators to use can be found on the American Forest’s Web site.

The Citizens Utility Board cautioned consumers about these programs, saying consumers end up paying much more than necessary for their natural gas.
 

 

Carbon Dioxide Sequestration

The Chicago Tribune had an excellent article in today’s newspaper that not only explained exactly what CO2 sequestration is, but also why it is important. Basically scientists all over the world are looking at ways to store greenhouse gas emissions underground in an effort to combat climate change. The idea is to inject CO2 into the ground, which will act like a sponge and absorb the gas.

This is especially important considering about 80 percent of the world’s energy consumption comes from fossil fuels. Not to mention that about 3,700 miners are employed in Illinois. For more information on Illinois coal consumption and production, check out this interesting fact sheet from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.