CO 2, Climate Change, and What We Can Do About it Presented By C. David Cooper, PhD, PE, QEP Professor of Engineering University of Central Florida Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering
Outline of Presentation Overview of Global Climate Change Cause of GCC Possible Effects of GCC Evidence of GCC Magnitude of the CO 2 Problem Approaches to Controlling CO 2 What can we do? (real life examples)
Cause of Global Warming Certain gases in the atmosphere absorb infrared radiation (heat) from the earth s surface, and radiate the heat back to earth. Those gases are increasing. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), Methane (CH 4 ), Nitrous oxide (N 2 O), Chlorofluorocarbons and HCFCs
Some possible effects Bigger storms Flooding Loss of habitat Change in agriculture More insects Sea level rise Hotter heat waves more human deaths (2003: AP: European Heat Wave Killed Some 19,000
What would 10-ft rise mean to Florida?
Heat can kill. More people die each year from heat than any other weather-related cause More than lightning, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards Most vulnerable are children and elderly 2015: 12% of U.S. are older than 65 2050: 21% of U.S. will be older than 65
Number of days/yr > 100 o F
Scientific Evidence
Concentrations of CO2 & CH4
Anecdotal Evidence Bigger storms Katrina, Superstorm Sandy, more intense tornadoes Hotter heat and longer droughts Texas, California, Arizona Loss of summer sea ice in Arctic Rapid melting of world s glaciers A picture is worth 1,000 words
Glacier National Park: 1920 vs 2008
Himalayas southern edge of Tibetan Plateau: 1921 vs 2008
Tibetan plateau often called the third pole Facts: 640 million acres, 14,000 foot-elevation Most glacial ice outside of Antarctica, Greenland, and Canada Source of water for 7 major rivers that supply water to 1.3 billion people in Asia Temperatures are rising, ice is disappearing, permafrost is melting
Ice-melt rivers from Tibet
Main Culprit: Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) where does it come from? CO 2 is an invisible gaseous product of burning carbon-based materials: Fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) and wood Trash, garbage, plastics, paper Also, CO 2 is produced by all living things and exhaled in the breath
Strong correlation between global temperature and CO 2
The Global Carbon Cycle: Flows and Storage
We are out of balance More CO 2 is going into the atmosphere than is coming out. We must either stop making so much CO 2, or We must capture some of what we are making
Magnitude of the Problem CO 2 is emitted at enormous rates worldwide, and most of it comes from burning coal, oil and gas. World emissions of CO 2 (2012 only) China: 8.3 Gt (9.1 billion tons) U.S.: 4.5 Gt (5.0 billion tons) Europe: 3.7 Gt (4.1 billion tons) Rest of the world: 14.9 Gt
CO 2 by Source and Sector
U.S. Reliance on fossil fuels
Fossil Fuels Past & Future
Renewable Energy Solar Wind Hydro Biomass Alt. Fuels
Harvesting the Wind Abundant ND, KS, and TX alone could satisfy U.S. energy needs Source DOE EERE, Plan B 3.0 Earth-policy.org
Harvesting the Sun Sunlight hitting the earth in 1 hour could power global economy for 1 year Source: EIA
Alternate Fuels Biodiesel or Ethanol Diesel fuel or gasoline from crops or algae Biomass Burn crop residues for heat and electricity Both just recycle CO 2 already in the atmosphere, and displace fossil fuels Hydrogen Zero CO 2 (if hydrogen is made from solarpowered electrolysis of water)
How much CO 2?
Controlling CO 2 Capture of CO 2 (carbon capture) Industrial wet scrubbing, dry sorption, biogenic Transport of CO 2 Pipelines, ships Sequestration of CO 2 Deep underground, deep oceans Prevention of CO 2 emissions Conservation, efficiency improvements, renewable fuels, nuclear power
Capture CO 2 via Wet Scrubbing
Biogenic Capture of CO 2 Land-based plants Trees, food crops, energy crops Algae farms Algae for energy or for food chain Algae can capture 50-100 times more CO 2 than land-based plants per unit area of land
Algae Open-pond System in Hawaii
Sequestration (underground or in the ocean)
How can we prevent CO 2 Emissions? u u u u Conserve energy Electricity, gasoline, natural gas Conserve materials Repair, Reuse, Recycle Be efficient Efficient appliances, plan your activities Stay local Eat local foods, support local merchants
Energy Use in your Home
Conserve Power and Save $ Electricity costs about 11 cents / kwh One kwh = about 1-2 pounds of CO 2 Average power use is about 1,000 kwh/ month Can you cut 5%? (50 kwh/mo or 600 kwh/ year). You will prevent 600 to 1,200 lbs of CO 2 per year You do something good for the planet and save $60-70 for you
Conserve gasoline and save $ Gasoline costs about $3.00/gallon Average use is about 500 gallons per year, and 1 gal = 20 pounds CO 2 Can you cut 5% (25 gal/year)? You will prevent 500 lbs of CO 2 You do something good for the planet and save $75 for you
How can we cut electricity use? Adjust your thermostat Heating and cooling your home accounts for ~50% of your electric bill When you are on a trip, or just when sleeping One (1) degree makes a difference! (about 1%) Turn off lights when you leave the room Lighting accounts for ~10% of your electric bill Use different light bulbs Compact fluorescents (CFLs) Light emitting diodes (LEDs)
Comparing light bulbs LEDs use only about 10% of the power of the old incandescent light bulbs CFLs use 20% power but contain mercury
How can we cut gasoline use? Don t drive as much (walk, bike, bus ) Plan your trips smarter (trip chain) Keep your tires inflated AND YOU.CAN.
.Car Pool J
Car Pooling Numbers If 4 people go 25 mi & if cars get 25 mpg, and if they go in In 4 cars 80 lbs CO 2 emitted In 1 car 20 lbs CO 2 emitted This also saves money; total cost for 4 people in 4 cars = $12.00 ($3.00 each) 4 people in 1 car = $3.00 ($0.75 each)
Summary We talked about climate change it s causes, effects and evidence to date We discussed the size of the CO 2 problem We saw some ways to capture CO 2 We finished with some things we can do as individuals
A fun Quiz (not for grading) Where does carbon dioxide (CO2) come from? burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) burning garbage/trash/paper/plastics breathing all of the above How can carbon dioxide be turned back into carbon and oxygen? Oxygen bars Pixie dust Industrial chemical processes Can t be done Living green plants - photosynthesis
Quiz (continued) Which country burns the least amount of fossil fuels per person? Germany France United States Russia How much CO 2 does the average car in America emit each year. 100 pounds 300 pounds 1,000 pounds 8,000 pounds
Quiz (continued) Switch 10 old incandescent 60-watt light bulbs to LED 60-watt light bulbs; how much CO 2 and money would you save in a year? 2.5 pounds of CO 2 $0.25 10 pounds of CO 2 $1.00 160 pounds of CO 2 $7.00 1,700 pounds of CO 2 $70.00 How heavy is a large oak tree; how much CO 2 did it absorb to grow that big? 500 pounds 915 pounds of CO 2 1,000 pounds 1,830 pounds of CO 2 10,000 pounds 18,000 pounds of CO 2 1 million pounds 1.8 million pounds of CO 2
Questions?