Green House Gases: The Basics
Everything we do has an impact on the environment and every aspect of our environment has an impact on our quality of life. Air quality is a huge issue in the Ohio Valley and it is not uncommon to be asked on a hot summer day to drive less or not mow your lawn. This is because burning petroleum puts harmful gases and particulates (dust and other fine particles) into the air which increases the chances and severity of asthma and other lung complications. These same gases and particulates are released into the atmosphere when we create electricity from fossil fuels, clear land, or send waste to the dump
One way to quantify the environmental impact of an activity is by creating a greenhouse gas inventory. This process tracks a variety of data, such as how much energy is used or waste is produced, and converts this amount into a carbon equivalent. This is possible because nearly every process, turning on a light, driving your car, recycling, etc., use energy which gives you a common unit to add up. Once you have this number it is possible to understand and offset the impact. Perhaps more important than buying carbon credits or planting trees is an effort to reduce environmental impact before it happens by eliminating waste, diverting waste or avoiding environmentally harmful activities all together.
What is Carbon?
Carbon is an common element that is found in every organic being. You will find it in the ground, in the air and in us, but as we have increased our productivity through cheap fossil fuels like oil and gas we have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Since 1950 the levels of carbon dioxide in the air has risen 24% largely from mining and burning fossil fuels to create electricity, but a large portion is also attributed to deforestation and transportation. This is important because of a chemical property carbon dioxide has called “radiative forcing”. Radiative forcing is a fancy term that simply means that it reflects heat in the form of radiation, much like a blanket would. So as we put more of it into the atmosphere the more our Earth gets to keep the heat the sun is beaming down to us. As you can imagine, the more heat trapped, the more our environment will change, and we are seeing the effects of this now in the form of ice caps melting, increased droughts, tropical diseases now found in more temperate regions and islands with unique cultures disappearing into the ocean.
The Cleanest Bit of Energy is the One We Don’t Use
Before looking to offset your impact by purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs), it makes more sense monetarily and morally to reduce your need for them. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, but each look to either increase efficiency, encourage green activities, or create resources instead of wastes. Increasing efficiency not only reduces the amount of emissions you are responsible for, it keeps money in your bank account and pollution out of the environment in the first place.
Why Carbon Offsetting?
It would unreasonable to expect people to stop producing goods, having events, flying to visit family, or using the internet, but we all can agree that it is our responsibility to leave this world in better shape for our children than how we found it. When changing our behavior to reduce our impact is impossible, carbon offsetting becomes a viable option. The first step is to calculate the carbon foot-print or the amount of environmental impact an event, activity, or lifestyle creates. The next step would be to use this data as a baseline and monitor change as one tries to reduce the carbon intensity of their actions while choosing from a variety of carbon offsetting options. One method of offsetting is to support ecology programs such as forestry management which measure the growth of trees or other plants to estimate how much carbon they are sequestering (taking out of the air and putting into their bodies). These trees would normally have been harvested without the added incentive of creating carbon offsets. Other renewable energy and efficiency programs can create offsets by producing the carbon-less energy.
How Do We Support These Activities?
Sometimes these options can lead to difficult decisions between the convenience of the norm and pushing the boundaries of the accepted. That is where we come in. As consultants we can help you navigate the different technologies and applications currently available. Our experienced and thoughtful staff and volunteers can make the transition into sustainability for you and your organization meaningful and rewarding.
Efficiency and planning are two of the most beneficial options for an organization or individual to consider. Louisville Grows has experience with event planners, sustainability departments, and individuals in planning and implementing successful sustainability programs. Each program is tailored to clients needs and constraints and often includes a marketing and outreach strategy. This strategy is created to not only convey to the public environmental efforts and benefits but also to change the internal culture of an organization through education and accessibility.
In addition to efficiency and planning we offer carbon data and life cycle analysis of an individual’s or organization’s operations combined with the ability to source various options for offsetting. This normally comes in two forms, a continuous monitoring of the carbon footprint through implementing a carbon accounting system or a onetime measurement or carbon inventory. In both cases we analyze and account for potential areas of greenhouse gas off-putting including transportation, the built environment, water usage, waste production, electricity usage, fossil fuel usage, and recycling operations. After determining the carbon footprint we offer a number of offsetting options such as local forestry management, carbon credit purchasing or the funding of local renewable energy projects.
Increasing the awareness of the environmental and social impact of our decisions, while providing real solutions to some of these impacts, is paramount to creating a more responsible and just community. Also, providing these solutions and knowledge has been traditionally been targeted at a more affluent constituency where our programs will be directed at the non-profits, government, and community groups who are normally over looked due to their inability to hire costly private consultants. We welcome anyone to employ our services and support this effort.
