Sustainable Issues and Approaches

Chris Hendrickson

1 C3

• Many (>350?) definitions of Sustainability. – Mainstream goal, but underlying this consensus are very different belief systems – What is planning horizon? 4 years, 100 years, 1000 years, … • ‘Meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations.’ – Bruntledge Commission (1997) reconciling goals of environmental protection and poverty elimination. – Egalitarian viewpoint of equal outcomes – Technological progress may negate concern. • ‘design..within realistic constraints such as…sustainability.’ – Required eng. graduate ability in US engineering accreditation, ABET.

2 Slide 2

C3 1. Bruntledge Report Chris Hendrickson, 8/23/2006 One Approach: Triple Bottom Line for Sustainability • Economic: effective investments (eng. econ.), essential finance, job creation, competitiveness • Environmental: natural systems, public health – Reduce use of non-renewable resources – Better manage use of renewable resources – Reduce the spread of toxic materials. • Social: equity, justice, security, employment, participation

3 Numerous Environmental Issues

• Global climate change • Spread of toxic materials: – Conventional air and water pollutants – Organic materials such as endochrine disrupters – Nano-materials • Dwindling biodiversity • Overuse of common resources such as fisheries. 4 Grinnell Glacier, 1900-1998, Montana

Source: usgs

5 Triple Bottom Line Assessment Analytical Difficulties • Multi-objective problem – many dimensions of impact. • Valuation problems for many items. • Priorities differ among stakeholders (such as stockholders…) • Trade-off and dominance analysis relevant. • Role of precautionary principle – do not risk irreparable harm.

6 Valuation Example: Economic Sectors with Highest % of External Air Emissions Costs

Commodity Sector Total Direct Carbon black 87% 82% Electric services (utilities) 34% 31% Petroleum / natural gas well drilling 34% 31% Petroleum / gas exploration 31% 29% Cement, hydraulic 26% 19% Lime 22% 16% Sand and gravel 20% 16% Coal 19% 15% Products of petroleum and coal 18% 12% Primary aluminum 15% 6% Average over all 500 sectors 4% 1%

Ref.: H. Scott Matthews, PhD Dissertation. 1992 Data.

7 Sustainability Metric Examples

• Environmental: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Primary Energy Use, Land Disruption. • Social: Employment, Income, Government Revenue • Financial: Profits, Export Potential, Import Penetration • Source: Balancing Act: A Triple Bottom Line Analysis of the Australian Economy

8 Sustainable Engineering: Examples of Heuristics • Energy reduction over lifecycle (correlation with many environmental indicators) • Reduce packaging and other material waste over lifecycle • Reduced use of toxics

9 Example: Power Tool Datalogger

power supply

Connection to an LED for data transmission

Connections to sensors

10 Datalogger Triple Bottom Line

• Permits profitable re-manufacturing to replace loss making . • Develops information on tool use. • Reduces material use overall. • Creates new low-cost tool option. • No privacy issues raised (unlike autos!) • Must balance cost of datalogger versus benefits – return rate of used power tools is critical.

11 Coming Sustainable Engineering Information • Structural health monitoring. • Toll collection and infraction identification. • Operational monitoring and improvement. • Multi-tasking: wireless . • Quality and security monitoring. •Etc.

Power Tool Datalogger Primitive by Comparison

12 Life Cycle Perspective

• Products may exist for a long period of time (e.g. ) • Products and services may have substantial (global) supply chain. • Focusing upon one life cycle phase can be misleading – minimizing design or construction costs can increase life cycle costs, even when discounted.

13 Residential Life Cycle Energy

18000

16000 31

14000

12000 Demolition 10000 14493 Use 8000 Fabrication 6000 34

4000 4725 Energy Consumption (GJ) Consumption Energy 2000 1509 1669 0 Standard Efficient

Source: Ochoa, Hendrickson, Matthews and Ries, 2005

14 Motor Energy Use

1200000 Suppliers Industry/Vehicle 1000000 1100211

800000

600000

400000Energy Use (MJ)

191432 200000 60676 72151 41333 10800 95418 10533 0 in ion n e ir c efi a n R g ra Operat Rep su n /I roleum ts Manufacture t s Pe d Co e Fix Vehicle Life Cycle Stage 15 Life Cycle Analysis Extraction to End of Disposal Need to Account for Indirect Inputs

16 Some Tools (Continued)

• Triple bottom line assessments (multi- objective optimization) • Life Cycle Analysis • Design heuristics and standards. • Wider range of design alternatives (not a tactic limited to sustainable engineering, of course…) – New technology (datalogger, new materials) – Alternative approaches (different modes)

17 Example: Producing Electricity in Remote Locations • 52% of electricity is produced from coal • Coal deposits are generally not close to electricity demand • The Powder River Basin produces more that 1/3 of U.S. coal, 350 million tons shipped by rail up to 1,500 miles • Should PRB coal be shipped by rail?

18 Alternative Shipment Methods

• Coal by rail • Coal by truck or waterways (non-starters!) • Coal to electricity and ship by wire • Coal to gas and ship by pipeline • Coal to gas and ship by wire • Beyond scope of example: move demand, reduce demand, alternative energy sources

19 Wyoming to Texas Coal

20 US Freight Traffic is Increasing

1,800,000 1,600,000 ) 1,400,000 1,200,000

1,000,000 Truck 800,000 Railroad 600,000 400,000

Freight (million ton-miles (million Freight 200,000 0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Year 21 Rail Mileage is Declining

180,000

160,000

140,000

120,000

100,000

80,000

60,000 Miles of Railroad Owned Railroad of Miles 40,000

20,000

0 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Year

22 Leading to Heavier Use and Productivity per Rail Mile

160

140

120

100 Truck (ton-mi) Railroad (ton-mi) 80 Roadway lane-miles 60 Track rail-miles

40 Relative Change (1990=100)

20

0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

23 Transporting Energy from WY to

450 Texas: All New Infrastructure 400 Annual Cost ($millions

350

) 300 250

200 150 100 Annual Cost ($million Cost Annual 50 0 Capital O&M Fuel Externalities Total Coal by Rail Coal by Wire Coal to Gas by Pipeline Coal to Gas by Wire 24 Shipping Energy Conclusions

• If infrastructure exists (rail lines), then it is best to use it. • For new investment, alternatives to rail can be attractive but involve trade-offs.

25 Some Other Common Tools (Continued) • Materials flow analysis • Appropriate boundary setting. • Risk and uncertainty analysis. • Life cycle cost analysis.

26 What can be done to promote sustainability? • Policy • Education • Research • Local Action • Personal Action

27 Some Policy Examples

• Fuel economy requirements and incentives – 25% cut in CO2 emissions proposed in EU. • Higher density development and Brownfields re-development • Toxics emissions and water use reporting and regulation. • Full cost pricing: water, energy, …

• Green buildings 28 Sustainability Engineering Education Approaches • Dedicated Engineering Courses: Two semester sequence for entry level grads or senior undergrads offered through CEE/EPP at Carnegie Mellon. • Dedicated Non-Engr. Courses: “Environment and Technology” for undergraduate non-engineers. • Modules: “Introduction to Environmental Engineering” introduces sustainability.

29 Center for Sustainable Engineering

• Arizona State Univ. (Brad Allenby), Carnegie Mellon (Cliff Davidson) and U. Texas, Austin (David Allen) with EPA/NSF Funding • Benchmarking of existing educational activity. • Development of educational materials • Workshops: 62 faculty & 40 schools at 2006 workshops in Pittsburgh; 7/07 workshops in Austin. • Website and email list

30 Some Research Examples

• Re-use and recycling of goods. • Alternative fuels and power generation. • Energy efficient buildings. • Carbon sequestration. • New Technology (bio-materials, information technology, etc.)

31 Switchgrass (Cellulosic) Ethanol

Infrastructure & Policy Pipelines Rail Shipping Distribution Policy

Coal Electricity Plug-in Hybrid Compact Electric Car

Decisions in the Biomass Ethanol Marketplace Internal Sports Combustion Car Distribution of Oil Gasoline Consumer Preferences

Fuel Light Tar Sands Hydrogen Cell Truck Resources Fuels Engines Consumers Impact: Life Cycle Analysis Resource Use Processing Transportation Manufacturing Use End of Life

32 Wairakei Geothermal Plant, New Zealand

33 Local Action: Carnegie Mellon

34 Some Carnegie Mellon Projects (cont)

35 Personal Action

• A wide range of possible responses, including self-sufficient farms. • Some (relatively) easy actions: – Walk, bike, or ride, don’t drive. – Forgo more material possessions. – Support sustainable policies.

36 What is slowing sustainability?

• Ignorance of methods and the implications of our actions: e.g. climate change debate, ecosystem limits. • Reaction time: political and social changes slower than technology or economy. • Difficult trade-offs among competing interests: e.g. wind power nimby

37 Conclusions

• Promoting sustainable engineering is not really startlingly new, but does require some new perspectives. • Triple bottom line assessment: economic, environmental, social • Life cycle perspective essential • Challenges should not lead to paralysis.

38 Some Resources

• Center for Sustainable Engineering (ASU, Carnegie Mellon, Texas): http://www.csengin.org/ • Carnegie Mellon Green Design Institute: www.gdi.ce.cmu.edu • Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment: website at www.eiolca.net. Book: Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Goods & Services: An Input- Output Approach, 2006. (RFF Discount Code: EGX)

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