Questions tagged [greenhouse-gas-emissions]

Gases that contribute to global warming by trapping radiant heat from the sun in the atmosphere. Use this tag for questions about sources of emissions, or ways of reducing emissions. For question about measurements use the [carbon-footprint] tag. For questions about offsetting use [carbon-offsetting]. For questions about the effects of [global- warming] use that tag.

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For Electric vehicles, HOW are miles per gallon equivalent (or L/100 Km) calculated, accounting for different sources of energy in the grid?

Could someone giver a clear and authoritative answer on HOW miles per gallon equivalent (or L/100 Km) are calculated for Battery electric Vehicles like Tesla Model 3 AWD long range? On the Electric ...
Sanjay Biswas's user avatar
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2 answers
86 views

Is there any evidence more renewables lowers oil consumption

Has anyone provided any evidence that building more wind turbines results in less oil wells being drilled?
D J Sims's user avatar
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1 answer
31 views

GHG emissions per company per year (carbon footprint database)

Which countries require corporations to report their GHG emissions (eg tonnes of CO2 or GWP emitted), and where can I find those numbers per company? I'm trying to find companies who do high-energy ...
Michael Altfield's user avatar
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Is there a (clear) target of GHG emissions per year for companies (by industry)?

From an individual point of view, we have a clear target to go under 2000 kgCO2eq/year by 2050. (I need to find an actual source for that target, any suggestions?) If you want to setup such a target ...
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How could sustainability of a cryptocurrency system be measured effectively by LCA?

Hypothetically and theoretically, which existing cryptocurrency is the most sustainable one and by which criteria would you measure it scientifically and data-driven? I am thinking of criteria similar ...
ABC's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Is a fish based diet most sustainable?

It is in the news (paper, writeup) that a study has just come out that some seafood, particularly small wild pelagics such as mackerel, herring and pilchard (eg. Japanese pilchard = 0.498 kg CO2e per ...
User65535's user avatar
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3 answers
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How exactly does food waste generate huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions?

In reading an article in the New Yorker entitled Africa's Cold Rush and the Promise of Refrigeration, there were the following snippets: if global food waste were a country its greenhouse-gas ...
evianpring's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
81 views

What is the climate change impact of releasing one tonne of methane in the atmosphere vs. the impact of burning it?

I've always wondered if it was any better (in terms of emissions reduction) to burn methane that would otherwise be released in the atmosphere? I suspect it would be, given that methane is a more ...
pea's user avatar
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1 answer
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What's the effect of space launches on climate?

(I haven't received a proper answer on Earth Science SE so I decided to try my luck here since I can't yet start a bounty) Do space launches warm or cool the surface temperature (admittedly, for a ...
Sergey Zolotarev's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
77 views

GHG-wise sustainability of our daily caffeine-dose

I was wondering if there's any analysis on which source of caffeine is GHG-wise the most sustainable. Coffee is often shipped around half the globe, while energy drinks usually come in a can, which - ...
Erik's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
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Building/improving continental trains to replace intra-continent flights?

As the climate change emergency is high, I am wondering whether long-range train service across countries of same continents are being built to limit as much as possible flights (and cars) which are ...
Noil's user avatar
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2 answers
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Why do the UK and US EPA electricity emissions factors differ?

I'm building an open source climate accounting application, and I'm looking for emissions factors of electricity generation for the same country from two different data sets. There is data from both ...
Si Chen's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Cost analysis of changing cow diet to lower methane emissions

Methane emissions by livestock are responsible for 14.5% of the global emissions. The number can be actually higher considering that methane is 84 times more potent than CO2 in a 20-year span. ...
Ameer Jewdaki's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
116 views

Is vermicomposting our food rubbish sustainable in term of climate change?

I'm a fan of indoor, cold, worm composting (vermicomposting) to reduce my rubbish. This uses a box with many worms that eat your vegetable remains in a very efficient way, without any odor, and ...
Noil's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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Can oil be used as a fuel source without contributing to global climate change?

I just posted this other question regarding oil, and as a follow-up, I would like to ask if oil can be used as a fuel source for energy without contributing to global climate change?
RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
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How is composting different from regular aerobic decomposition?

How is composting different from regular aerobic decomposition in terms of its (negative?) GHG footprint? Or are those the same thing?
Sergey Zolotarev's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
42 views

Does landfill paper constitute a net source of GHGs or not?

I thought it's scientific consensus that landfill paper, as any organic matter with low levels of lignin, is a net source of GHGs. But this Canadian paper of 2008 contains this unusual train of ...
Sergey Zolotarev's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
98 views

Can and should we outsource the computing power of our personal devices to the cloud?

What does it mean? What does Circle Economy (a nonprofit) suggest? Can and should we outsource the computing power of our personal devices to the cloud? It sounds climatically reasonable (it's more ...
Sergey Zolotarev's user avatar
24 votes
8 answers
7k views

Is driving an electric car any better than driving a conventional car if electricity is generated with fossil fuel?

Is driving an electric car any better, GHG-wise, than driving a conventional car if 100% of its electricity is generated by fossil fuel combustion? Are there any peer-reviewed studies of that?
Sergey Zolotarev's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
44 views

Could glomalin-enriched soil be useful for emissions reduction in garbage landfills?

Emissions from landfills, mostly CO2 and CH4, are significant. Could layers of glomalin-enriched soil placed over the heap help contain part of these emissions? Landfill Emissions https://www....
Mark Besser's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
65 views

What kind of refrigerant should I look for in a residential air conditioner?

I live in the traditionally temperate Pacific Northwest, but after the heat waves of summer 2021 I'm thinking about giving up and finally buying an air conditioner. But I've heard that air ...
Nic's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Does 1 container ship really pollute as much as 50,000,000 cars?

I remember seeing many news articles and posts on social media saying that a single container ship pollutes as much as 50 million cars. Is this true? How could that be possible? https://tech.slashdot....
Nic's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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How much methane is leaked for each kWh delivered to my home?

Given how leaky natural gas infrastructure is, reducing my usage at home (by turning back the thermostat, or using more efficient appliances) will also result in reduced methane emissions throughout ...
LShaver's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
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Asphalt (petroleum product) vs cement (carbon emitter) -- how to choose?

This answer to another question points out that asphalt, a petroleum product, is used in large quantities. If we as a society want to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, we will need to find an ...
LShaver's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
329 views

Which countries, regions, or cities have banned natural gas in new construction?

Last week, the city of Denver, U.S.A. announced a proposal to ban all new natural gas connections by 2030. From The Denverite: Changes to natural gas rules will come via revisions to Denver’s ...
LShaver's user avatar
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0 answers
38 views

Which countries, regions, or cities have zero emission vehicle mandates? [duplicate]

Today the governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts announced that starting in 2035, gasoline-powered vehicles will no longer be sold in the state. From the announcement (emphasis added, and a "...
LShaver's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
32 views

How to account for second life usage of lithium ion batteries in a life cycle analysis?

I am looking to conduct a life cycle analysis (LCA) to investigate the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission contributions from lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries. The first part of their lifecycle is ...
user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
54 views

How much additional CO2 emissions will result from recent changes to US vehicle regulations?

From the Guardian, March 31, 2020: Trump to roll back Obama-era clean car rules in huge blow to climate fight (emphasis added): The Trump administration is rolling back the US government’s ...
LShaver's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
130 views

Which countries, regions, or cities have set a date to ban the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles?

This week, the UK announced that sale of gasoline and diesel cars will be banned by 2035. This new policy moves the date up by five years, and also includes hybrid vehicles. From 2035 on, only ...
LShaver's user avatar
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2 votes
4 answers
189 views

How much does the methane content of natural gas vary, and what is the impact?

According to Wikipedia, natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly including varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a ...
LShaver's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
121 views

My residential colony burns dry grass every year; how can I stop them?

Every year during June-October, it rains and a few months later after the rainy season there is a lot of grass growing in the empty sites in my residential colony. So all the grass is cut, piled up ...
Sudhanshu Bharadwaj's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
213 views

How many grams of CO2 are emitted to produce one paper napkin?

Does using paper napkins have a high carbon impact?
smoothware's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
206 views

What are the impacts on CO2 emissions from using cloud software?

I am wondering what are the positive as well as negative impacts on CO2 emissions from using cloud software like Google Sheets, in comparison to traditional software that run locally or on a local ...
orschiro's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
165 views

Which materials dumped into landfills are the largest sources of methane?

Recent research has shown that landfills (garbage dumps) can be major emitters of methane. The largest methane emitters in California are a subset of landfills, which exhibit persistent anomalous ...
Nic's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
30 views

How sustainable is replacing a gas car with an electric car, since gas car still exists? [duplicate]

I drive a 2010 BMW 535i maybe 100 km/week, mostly urban driving. My wife also has a gasoline car which we can use for longer trips. I want to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by buying an electric ...
Eric O's user avatar
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4 votes
3 answers
106 views

What would happen to greenhouse gas emissions if no more humans were born?

While discussing global warming and climate change, I have often seen people say that overpopulation is the real problem and that the biggest thing anyone can do is have one fewer child. Some people ...
Nic's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
111 views

Emissions offsets versus avoidance: can they be compared?

I'm going to be traveling from London to Toulouse next year. I could take a flight for around £100, or a train journey for £170. The emissions for the flight would be about 500kg, which would cost ...
M Juckes's user avatar
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6 votes
3 answers
173 views

Plane and train greenhouse emissions - comparison taking infrastructure in account or not?

In the news or various other places, we see often that train travel produces significantly less greenhouse gas than air travel, without much information about how this is calculated. For example here :...
Bregalad's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
124 views

Life cycle analysis comparing natural gas and propane prior to combustion?

I am choosing between natural gas and propane for a boiler. I see a discussion here where the accepted response primarily deals with the CO2 released during actual burning of the gas. I am curious to ...
susie derkins's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
345 views

How does the climate impact of an LNG-powered cruise ship compare to flying?

Taking the Iona as an example, it is claimed that "The cruise ship will have a reduced carbon footprint with zero sulphur and nitrogen emissions." Sulphur and nitrogen, while pollutants, are not ...
user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
223 views

CO2 track of staying in huts which are supplied by helicopter

How much CO2 do we produce by sleeping on average in a hut (including breakfast and dinner)in high-altitude > 3000 m)? Let's assume that the hut offers 50 beds and that a helicopter has to supply the ...
cerv21's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
209 views

With current technology, how much CO2 is emitted when making renewable power plants?

In order to make a solar panel or a wind turbine, a few basic inputs are required: labor energy water raw materials Given the current abundance of renewable resources, I assume that the first three ...
LShaver's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
39 views

What information is lost when converting other air pollution into CO2e?

I'm struggling to explain the most important aspects of air pollution in a concise way. I understand CO2 is the biggest issue and long-term driver of global warming, but beyond that I'm lost. News ...
krubo's user avatar
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15 votes
4 answers
1k views

Is burning wood the same as letting it biodegrade from a CO2 emissions perspective?

I always thought, that burning wood, would be bad for the total CO2 in the atmosphere until I heard it being pitched as "renewable energy". Now I am slightly unsure. The logic goes like this: Wood ...
user1721135's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
119 views

Shortcut carbon emission trading by buying and sinking coal

Carbon emission trading is supposed to use market mechanisms to make carbon-intense processes less attractive. Unfortunately, the EU market is flooded with emission certificates, such that the ...
Rainer Glüge's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
193 views

What is the average CO2 emission for a human while debating?

I am looking to calculate the CO2 emission of an average male human while arguing/debating. It is my understanding that the amount of CO2 emitted will be based on the respiratory rate of any given ...
user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
66 views

Which climate change mitigations take longer than 12 years to see a net benefit?

The recent IPCC SR15 Report has garnered a lot of press coverage because it warns that we must dramatically reduce CO2 emissions by the year 2030, less than 12 years away. Global net anthropogenic ...
Nic's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
86 views

How much increase in GHG emissions is caused by Amazon Prime?

From Wikipedia: Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service offered by Amazon that gives users access to free two-day delivery (one-day in some areas) [...] and other benefits for a monthly or ...
LShaver's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
82 views

A more useful metric for greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets?

A useful metric for vehicle efficiency is miles per gallon, kilometers per liter, or liters per 100 km. The amount of gasoline used by a given vehicle can easily be understood and compared. Energy ...
LShaver's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
702 views

Why is the per capita CO2 emissions so much higher in Wyoming than in the Northeast?

Per capita CO2 emissions are several times higher in the "red" states of the West and South than it is in the Northeast. I cannot imagine why. From "List of U.S. states by carbon dioxide emissions"...
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