Want to understand your impacts on the environment in carbon terms? Becoming your own personal “carbon accountant” is simple. The below table includes carbon dioxide coefficients to help you quantify many of your day-to-day activities:
|
Lbs of CO2-Equivalent Emissions
for Common Energy Uses
|
|
Energy Use / Activity
|
Carbon Intensity
|
|
Electricityab
|
1.775 lbs / kWh
|
|
Natural Gasc
|
12.36 lbs / Therm
|
| Common Vehicle Fuelsc |
See below for Gasoline and Diesel |
| - Gasoline |
19.4 lbs / Gallon |
| - Diesel |
22.37 lbs / Gallon |
| Airline Traveld |
1.3068 lbs / Passenger Mile |
|
Water Consumption (Electricity for Treatment + Distribution)e
|
5.098027 lbs / Thousand Gallons (kgal) of Water |
| |
| aThe Climate Registry (Pacificorp system-wide estimate; includes generation outside of Utah) :http://www.theclimateregistry.org |
| bThe Low Carbon Diet workbook assumes CO2 from electricity to be 1.34 lbs / kWh. Due to high amounts of coal usage, Utah’s electricity is more carbon intensive than the national average used by the Low Carbon Diet. |
| cThe Climate Registry: http://www.theclimateregistry.org/ |
| dColorado Carbon Fund: http://coloradocarbonfund.org/explained.html |
| ePark City data & EPA’s eGRID |
| NOTE: the emissions figures reported reflect the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere as a result of combusting the aforementioned energy sources. Life-cycle CO2 emissions for these energy sources are higher than reported here. Gasoline and natural gas are just two examples where extraction, refining, and other activities result in more significant emissions than the above table suggests. |