Atlanta’s carbon footprint
May 29, 2008 at 2:04 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsGather ’round, Atlanta, Marietta, Sandy Springs — according to the Brookings Institution, your carbon footprint is shrinking. Everybody gets a gold star.
The Washington, D.C.-based think tank has released a study of the carbon footprint from transportation and residential energy uses of 100 metropolitan areas. The three-city survey conducted from 2000 to 2005 in our neck of the woods shows that our impact has decreased 4.75 percent while that of the average metropolitan areas and nation has increased 1.1 percent and 2.2 percent during this time, respectively. In all the rankings, the three cities hovered in the middle.
Hard to believe, eh? I know what you mean. That could be chalked up to the fact that the areas are more-or-less near one another, that a lot of other metro Atlantans travel from as far off as Gwinnett and Hall County to work in the city core, etc. The output surely hasn’t reduced because of public transit. With how sprawling metro Atlanta is, the three cities selected may not be suitable samples.
The study also doesn’t take into account our food supply, which according to a consultant with Mayor Shirley Franklin’s Sustainable Atlanta initiative, makes for up to a quarter of our carbon footprint that’s often overlooked.
What are the solutions? Researchers say:
Federal policy could play a powerful role in helping metropolitan areas—and so the nation—shrink their carbon footprint further. In addition to economy-wide policies to motivate action, five targeted policies are particularly important within metro areas and for the nation as a whole:
- Promote more transportation choices to expand transit and compact development options
- Introduce more energy-efficient freight operations with regional freight planning
- Require home energy cost disclosure when selling and “on-bill” financing to stimulate and scale up energy-efficient retrofitting of residential housing
- Use federal housing policy to create incentives for energy- and location-efficient decisions
- Issue a metropolitan challenge to develop innovative solutions that integrate multiple policy areas
Marilyn Brown of Georgia Tech, considered one of the leading researchers in energy policy, co-authored the study. After the jump, feast upon the numbers. To view the full study, click here.
Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America
Metro Area Profile: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
The report “Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America” quantifies for the first time the amount and most significant sources of carbon emitted—from highway transportation and residential
energy consumption—by the 100 largest metropolitan areas in 2000 and 2005. Substantial variation exists among these “carbon footprints” of metro areas, due in part to their development patterns, rail transit, freight traffic, carbon content of electricity sources, electricity prices, and weather.
Per Capita Carbon Footprints, 2000-2005 Trends.
Metropolitan Atlanta’s per capita footprint from transportation and residential energy use decreased 4.75 percent between 2000 and 2005. The average per capita footprint of the 100 largest metro
areas and of the nation increased 1.1 percent and 2.2 percent during this time, respectively.
The transportation portion of Atlanta’s per capita footprint decreased 5.7 percent between 2000 and 2005, compared to an increase of 2.4 percent in the 100 largest metro areas. The residential portion of Atlanta’s per capita footprint decreased 3.2 percent between 2000 and 2005, compared to a slight decrease of 0.7 percent in the 100 largest metro areas.
Snapshot = 2005. The average resident in metropolitan Atlanta emitted 2.682 tons of carbon from highway transportation and residential energy in 2005 (rank 68th). This compares with 2.24 tons of carbon emitted by the average 100-metro resident and 2.60 tons of carbon emitted by the average American from transportation and residential energy.
From highway transportation: The average Atlanta resident emitted 1.634 tons of carbon from highway transportation (rank 66th). The average 100-metro resident emitted 1.310 tons and the average American emitted 1.44 tons from highway transportation.
The average Atlanta resident emitted 1.224 tons from autos (rank 73rd) and 0.410 tons from trucks (rank 58th), compared to 1.004 tons from autos and 0.305 tons from trucks from the average 100-metro resident.
From residential energy use: The average Atlanta resident emitted 1.049 tons of carbon from residential energy use (rank 54th). The average 100-metro resident emitted 0.925 tons and the average American emitted 1.16 tons of carbon from residential energy use.
The average Atlanta resident emitted 0.837 tons from electricity (rank 63rd) and 0.211 tons from residential fuels (rank 42nd). This compares to 0.611 tons from electricity and 0.314 tons from fuels from the average 100-metro resident.
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May 30th, 2008 at 7:48 am
I’m pretty sure they used data from the entire Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The Atlanta MSA is officially known as Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta (see http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ga_atlanta_msa.htm). So don’t worry, the Brookings study includes Cumming and McDonough, too.
May 30th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Chintan,
That’s astounding. What steps has the region taken to improve its footprint? I don’t think there’s been nearly enough land-use planning to make that much of an impact. Teleworking can’t be that common.
Again, I’m saying this all on assumption. I’ll do some more digging when I’m off deadline.
May 31st, 2008 at 7:24 am
The Brookings Institution is one of the more objective and reliable of the Think Tanks, but I think there’s something wrong here. No deliberate misleading, but maybe another case of “there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.” This study relied on a tremendous amount of data and sophisticated analysis to come to its conclusions, and my guess is careful scrutiny by other experts would reveal some flaws.
One should not reject scientific truth just because it contradicts your gut feelings. But at the same time, we have a right to remain skeptical when some alleged scientific truth contradicts common sense and your own informed knowledge. Remember cold fusion? The idea that Atlanta, with its burgeoning growth, reliance on the automobile, and slighting of mass transit has reduced its carbon footprint defies common sense.
I’d like people more qualified than I to subject this study to close analysis.
May 31st, 2008 at 9:01 am
Tom,
I’m with you on that. I’ve met Dr. Marilyn Brown and respect her insight and work on energy matters.
I don’t discredit the study, but if the region’s carbon footprint has decreased in the last five years — even in light of our growth and our slight of mass transit — I’d love to know how.
If we’ve got a secret fix, what is it? Perhaps other communities that lack resources could utilize it.
But that being said, the finding does defy common sense.
May 31st, 2008 at 10:12 am
Where’s SOLAR power promotion in this To-Do list? Where’s incentives and requirements for COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS? In OUR Sunbelt metropolis, high rises and mall store roofs should be equipped with solar panels. Coal power is said to produce 40% of CO2 emissions. Commercial building owners can very significantly cut down on coal power usage but augmentation with solar.
Second point about commercial buildings: All lights left on all over all day and all night.
It makes a flashy skyline, but it’s a wasteful expenditure of CO2 budget. Restroom lights — on all the time in empty restrooms. Computers on all day all night.