EGGG167
Fall 2006
Sustainability and its
Impacts on Civil &
Environmental Engineering
Sue McNeil
mcneil@ce.udel.edu
X 6578
Dupont Hall 360D
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Sustainable
• ‘Meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability to meet the
needs of future generations.’
– Egalitarian viewpoint of equal outcomes
– Technological progress may negate concern.
• ‘Economic and social change to improve
human well being while reducing the need
for environmental protection.’
– Human centric viewpoint
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Triple Bottom Line for Sustainability
• Economic: effective investments (eng.
econ.), essential finance, job creation
• 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
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Numerous Environmental Issues
• Global climate change
• Spread of toxic materials:
– Conventional air and water pollutants such as
particulates
– Organic materials such as endochrine
disrupters
• Dwindling biodiversity
• Overuse of common resources such as
fisheries.
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Triple Bottom Line Assessment
Analytical Difficulties
• Multi-objective problem – many
dimensions of impact.
• Valuation problems for many items.
• Priorities differ among stakeholders.
• Trade-off and dominance analysis
relevant.
• Role of precautionary principle – do not
risk irreparable harm.
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Infrastructure Concepts
• ‘Tangible capital stock’: buildings, roads,
telecommunications, water systems, etc.
– Long lived investments with spatial extent
• ‘Foundation of an organization’
– Rather broad, including human capital
• ‘Publicly owned capital’
– Consistent with government statistics.
ASCE 2001 & 2005 Infrastructure
Report Card
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aviation: D 01, D+ 05
Bridges: C, C
Dams: D, D
Drinking Water: D, DEnergy Grid: D+, D
Haz. Waste: D+, D
Waterways: D+, DParks: --, C-
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Rail: --, CRoads: D+, D
Schools: D-, D
Security: --, I
Solid Waste: C+, C+
Transit: C-, D+
Wastewater: D, DGPA: D
Economic Sectors of Highest % of
External Air Emissions Costs
Commodity Sector
Total
Direct
Carbon black
Electric services (utilities)
Petroleum / natural gas well drilling
Petroleum / gas exploration
Cement, hydraulic
Lime
Sand and gravel
Coal
Products of petroleum and coal
Primary aluminum
87%
34%
34%
31%
26%
22%
20%
19%
18%
15%
Average over all 500 sectors
4%
82%
31%
31%
29%
19%
16%
16%
15%
12%
6%
1%
Ref.: H. Scott Matthews, PhD Dissertation. 1992 Data.
Some US Construction Impacts
16
14
% US Total
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
GDP
Electricity
GWP
Haz. Waste
TRI Air
Infrastructure Failure: New Orleans
Triple Bottom Line Failure in New
Orleans Levee Failure
• Economic – massive losses of buildings
and economic activity, large rebuilding
costs.
• Environmental – significant clean up
issues.
• Social – accusations of class and racial
prejudice.
Coming Sustainable Infrastructure
Information Technology
•
•
•
•
•
•
Structural health monitoring.
Toll collection and infraction identification.
Operational monitoring and improvement.
Multi-tasking: wireless communications.
Quality and security monitoring.
Etc.
Life Cycle Perspective
• Infrastructure inherently exists for a
significant period of time.
• Focusing upon one life cycle phase can be
misleading – minimizing design or
construction costs can increase life cycle
costs, even when discounted.
Residential Life Cycle Energy
18000
Energy Consumption (GJ)
16000
31
14000
12000
Demolition
10000
8000
Use
14493
Fabrication
6000
34
4000
4725
2000
0
1509
1669
Standard
Efficient
Source: Ochoa, Hendrickson, Matthews and Ries, 2005
Motor Vehicle Energy Use
1200000
Suppliers
1100211
Industry/Vehicle
800000
600000
400000
191432
200000
60676
72151
10533
Fi
xe
d
C
os
ts
/In
su
ra
nc
e
Re
pa
ir
Re
fin
in
g
95418
Pe
tro
le
um
ur
e
an
uf
ac
t
O
pe
ra
t io
n
10800
0
M
Energy Use (MJ)
1000000
Vehicle Life Cycle Stage
41333
Life Cycle Analysis
Extraction to End of Disposal
Need to Account for Indirect Inputs
Life Cycle Analysis Approaches
• Process Based LCA – Build up individual
processes from mineral extractions
through end of life.
• Economic Input-Output Based LCA – Use
the Leontief Model of an economy.
• Combined or Hybrid LCA – use both
process models and economic inputoutput models.
Some Tools (Continued)
• Triple bottom line assessments (multiobjective optimization)
• Life Cycle Analysis
• Consider wide range of design alternatives
(not a tactic limited to sustainable
infrastructure, of course…)
– New technology (datalogger, new materials)
– Alternative approaches (different modes)
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?
Alternative Shipment Methods
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•
•
•
•
•
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
Wyoming to Texas Coal Transport
US Freight Traffic is Increasing
1,600,000
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
Truck
Railroad
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
Year
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
0
1990
Freight (million ton-miles)
1,800,000
Roadway Capacity is Stable
9,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
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80
19
85
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
d1
99
8
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
US Lane-Miles
7,000,000
Year
Rail Mileage is Declining
180,000
160,000
Miles of Railroad Owned
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
1980
1990
1994
1995
1996
Year
1997
1998
1999
2000
Leading to Heavier Use
160
120
100
Truck (ton-mi)
Railroad (ton-mi)
80
Roadway lane-miles
Track rail-miles
60
40
20
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
0
1990
Relative Change (1990=100)
140
Transporting Energy from WY to
Texas: All New Infrastructure
Annual Cost ($millions
450
Annual Cost ($million)
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Capital
Coal by Rail
O&M
Coal by Wire
Fuel
Externalities
Coal to Gas by Pipeline
Total
Coal to Gas by Wire
Emissions from Transporting Energy
40000
35000
Emissions (MT)
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
SO2
Coal by Rail
CO
Coal by Wire
NO2
VOC
Coal to Gas by Pipeline
PM10
GWP
(Thousands
of MT)
Coal to Gas by Wire
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.
Some Other Familiar Tools
(Continued)
• Appropriate boundary setting.
• Risk and uncertainty analysis.
• Life cycle cost analysis.
What can be done to promote
sustainable infrastructure?
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•
•
•
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Policy
Education
Research
Local Action
Personal Action
Some Policy Examples
• Fuel economy requirements and
incentives – reduce infrastructure needs.
• Higher density development
encouragement
• Brownfields re-development
encouragement.
• Toxics emissions reporting and regulation.
• Full cost pricing.
• Green buildings, e.g. LEED certification
Some Research Examples
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•
•
•
•
Re-use and recycling of goods.
Alternative fuels and power generation.
Energy efficient buildings.
Carbon sequestration.
New Technology (bio-materials,
information technology, etc.)
Switchgrass (Cellulosic) Ethanol
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.
Self Evaluations
• www.myfootprint.org
• www.travelmatters.org
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