FAQ's Related to Climate & Energy

 

  • How long does it take a university to complete the Inventory Calculator? How long did it take your staff to input the data? It sounds like it is a full time job to input and regularly monitor the data.

The amount of time it will take to complete a greenhouse gas inventory will vary greatly from campus to campus. Generally, about a semester would be a good estimate for a full time sustainability officer, or for 2 part-time people. The vast majority of the time will be spent finding out who on campus collects the data needed, and getting it from them. If data collection is highly centralized (say in an institutional research office or a single business office that covers the entire campus) this will be very simple; if not it could take a couple of months.
The next step is to enter the data; again this varies greatly from campus to campus. If each type of data is recorded in a single document (or in electronic form), data entry will be trivial and take a few hours at most. If, on the other hand, data needs to be manually entered from years worth of electric bills stored in someone's filing cabinet, this could be more time consuming.
Scope III emissions, such as airline travel and commuter trips, will be the most difficult to acquire, and may need to be considered additional projects outside of the normal time it takes to complete the rest of the inventory since they will generally not already be recorded by any office on campus and will need to be estimated based on data that is collected. It may be good idea to tackle the Scope I and II emissions in one semester and the Scope III emissions the next semester, using the contacts developed in the first round to help you with the second.
The key is to build relationships with the people who handle and collect the data as part of their normal job responsibilities. This will make each subsequent round of updating the inventory progressively easier. After the first complete inventory is finished the goal is that updating it ever year or so should be simple. Once all the contacts have been made, the need to collect the data made known to everyone involved, and all the historical data gathered, maintaining the inventory over time should hopefully be a matter of sending out a few e-mails at the end of the year asking for the new data.
For more information and guidance -- including how to download the Inventory Calculator co-created by the UNH University Office of Sustainability and Clean Air - Cool Planet, we recommend that you take a look at UNH's greenhouse gas inventory and Clean Air - Cool Planet's Campus Toolkit.

  • Does UNH use compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL's) and other energy efficient lighting?

Yes! UNH has invested several million dollars in retrofit projects including high efficiency lighting systems, motors, and control systems. In fact, UNH has used energy efficient compact fluorescent lighting (CFL's) for several years. In combination with T-8 and T-5 fixtures, UNH uses CFL's as a matter of routine on new construction and major renovation projects. UNH has also done some specific lighting upgrade projects using this technology. It is UNH Facilities policy to remove all incandescent lighting through attrition and replace this lighting with CFL's. What's more, no new purchases of incandescent bulbs (unless specific conditions are required that cannot be attained through CFL's) are allowed. More detail on UNH's energy efficiency investments can be found here and here.

  • Do CFL's contain mercury?

Here are a few facts to keep in mind about compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL's) and mercury: 1) The single largest source of mercury emissions are power plants, so switching to CFL's, which contain a small amount of mercury, will lower mercury released to the environment through reduced electric demand, especially if that electricity is generated through coal-fired power plants. 2) A CFL only has about 5 miligrams of mercury - about 5 times less than a small battery (like a watch battery). 3) Many recycling programs will recycle CFLs, and 10 years from now when they burn out even more programs will take them. For more information, take a look at this U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-based fact sheet (PDF) or a recent answer to the mercury/CFL question by Grist's "Ask Umbra."

  • Does UNH incorporate LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards in its renovations and new buildings?

As part of its Climate Education Initiative, UNH is committed to being as sustainable as feasible in its construction and renovation of buildings, including but not limited to following the intent of U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in terms of current standards and practices. In November 2007, UNH committed to establishing a process to ensure that all new construction and major renovation projects achieve the equivalent of LEED silver standards. A formal process to achieve this was put in place and will be applicable to all new projects initiated once the UNH Construction and Repair Standard has been modified.
The replacement of DeMeritt Hall on the UNH Durham campus is a perfect example of this. Our DeMeritt Design Team (Architerra Inc.), is very familiar with LEED and prides themselves in being on the leading edge of sustainable design. Though not registered with LEED, Architerra, Inc., says the DeMeritt Hall replacement, expected to open in August 2008, will be comparable to a Silver LEED building in their opinion. In addition, we believe that we have been building sustainably for years; the measures taken to ensure durability, quality, and energy efficiency at UNH, especially in our core campus capital projects, have contributed to that end. Other highlights of UNH's commitment to sustainble buildings include:

  1. UNH’s comprehensive approach targets high impact intervention areas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as impacts on biodiversity and cultural continuity. With respect to environmental impacts, UNH Design Guidelines used by Facilities Design and Construction require that designs use energy efficient systems and components and consider environmental impacts UNH was awarded the first EPA ENERGY STAR ratings for residence halls in the country; we have eight such designated buildings.
  2. UNH Housing performs energy efficiency improvements as part of all major residence hall renovation projects.
  3. The upcoming renovation of James Hall (2008), which not coincidentally houses the departments of natural resources and earth sciences, will include designs and renovation that facilities energy efficiency, emissions reduction, water conservation, and beyond. Discussions are on-going to make James a LEED-certified renovation project, and the building itself a “living experiment” for students in those departments.

Learn more about sustainable buildings at UNH.

  • How much energy does it take to power a UNH residence hall during a normal school day/week? What about over breaks? How much does the University's energy need increase when the residence halls are full?

The average residence hall uses about 600,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month, which goes up to about 2,000,000 kWh per month in the winter. The increase in the winter is mostly due to the fact that there are 5 residence halls on campus with electric heat. Over the 2006 Thanksgiving break there was about a 37% decrease in electricity use. When the residence halls fill up at the end of the summer, there is typically a 45% increase in energy use.

  • Will using gas from a landfill to power UNH encourage people to waste and further promote a "consumer society" lifestyle?

No. Climate change is a dramatic challenge that demands a systemic and proportional response. We must reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible to avert the worst impacts of climate change that will occur in the next 50 to 100 years if we do not cut our emissions drastically in the next decade. In light of this challenge, it's important to keep the following points in mind when considering UNH's landfill gas methane pipeline that will fuel our on-campus cogeneration combined heat and power plant in 2008:

  1. The gas will last for 20 years, even if the landfill is closed tomorrow. Turnkey Landfill is expected to continue to accept waste into the future.
  2. We need to cut greenhouse emissions now -- an estimated 80% by 2050. Therefore, eery landfill in the country should use or sell its methane gas for power - gas that is already being produced now from waste ALREADY in landfills.
  3. Ending the consumer society is an important concern, and we're not going to get to carbon neutrality without addressing it in a sustainable way. However, since we have only a decade in which to substantially reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need to explore renewable power sources like landfill gas.
  4. Until we can have a zero waste society, landfills are the best option for managing waste. Incineration, export, ocean dumping, etc., all have their own environmental and social problems. What's more, waste characterization and utilization research and engineering continue to improve our landfills and how we handle waste.
  5. Our US consumer society (like our car culture) developed over the 50 yearperiod from 1950-2000. It can be undone (many of our grandparents remember a time when this type of culture did not predominate, but it may take another 50 years for us to change. In the meantime, we should explore using landfill gas for power
  • Does UNH use hand dryers instead of paper towels in restrooms in campus buildings?

Yes. Electric hand dryers in restrooms are campus standard for new construction and renovation. Even taking the energy used into consideration they are usually more economical than paper towels and more sanitary. Unfortunately, to retrofit restrooms whose buildings are not undergoing renovation is an expensive undertaking and cannot be accomplished all at one time. However, UNH is working to escalate retrofits from paper towels to hand dryers where feasible.

  • How are energy choices and public health related?

Energy choices and both ecological and public health outcomes are intimately linked. Much of the fossil fuels we burn today for generating electricity, heating our buildings, and fueling our transportation emit particulates that impact pulmonary health (e.g., asthma and other breathing difficulties for children, the elderly, etc.), precursors to ground-level ozone and smog (like nitrous oxides that can lead to heart attacks and other respiratory problems along with harming plants, vistas, buildings, etc.), and greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change.
Climate change is occurring now and will have very large health impacts: from increased frequencies of droughts and heatwaves (which can harm vulnerable population like the elderly or those without air conditioning) to water pollution to the increased spread of disease-carrying organisms like mosquitoes. The spread and prevalence of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), West Nile Virus, Lyme Disease, and the like could be influenced by the changes in average temperatures and precipitation patterns caused by climate change. As Rosemary Caron, PhD and MPH, Director of the UNH Masters of Public Health Program, explained in our September/October 2006 newsletter, "There are numerous determinants of health, and it is important to understand how these can interact in order to preserve a high quality environment for our health. Using Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus as examples, we have witnessed how ecological conditions and changes in climate and land use can affect the presence of disease agents, the range and distribution of disease carriers, and the timing and intensity of disease outbreaks. Climate, ecology, and health are inextricably linked in influencing the public's health via the emergence, re-emergence, and redistribution of infectious disease."
As we state in our 2005-2005 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Update: "Fossil fuel combustion impacts on health-related costs include the following: increased mortality and occurrence of a variety of respiratory ailments; increased hospital admissions; increased cardiovascular symptoms and illnesses; and a possible decrease in resistance to disease, viruses, and bacterial infections. A 2004 report published by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services estimated that in 2007 over $1 billion in healthcare-related costs will result from the transport of small particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution and ozone pollution into New Hampshire. The report also identified several impacts on business costs, including increased employee work days lost, increased employee minor restricted activity days, higher insurance costs due to higher claims, lost ability to attract new businesses and jobs due to poor air quality, lost tourism, and higher costs for fuels."
Climate change will also impact agriculture and thus availability of nutritious local foods. Finally, how we extract and transport fossil fuels can have devastating consequences, including oil spills and devastation to mountains and hillsides from coal mining.
Related links
INHALE
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. (May 2004). Air Pollution Transport and How It Affects New Hampshire (R-ARD 04-1). Concord, NH
EPA Climate Change - Health and Environmental Effects
AirNow - Your Health

  • I'm in the market for a new vehicle and want to get something that is as fuel efficient and clean as possible. Where can I look for guidance on this?

Good thinking! One site that is useful for "apples to apples" comparisons of vehicles for both fuel economy and emissions is the EPA Greenvehicle Guide; you can sort by make, model, etc. You should also crosscheck against the new standard miles per gallon (MPG) ratings that will be used as of January 1, 2008. Not sure if you should go diesel or hybrid? Check out this section of the Fueleconomy.gov website. You may also want to research estimated annual fuel cost savings information, the status of federal tax credit on a particular hybrid vehicle you are considering (the availability of these rebates declines as each manufacturer hits volume targets), and if there is an alternative fuel version of a vehicle you need to replace.