Carbon Dioxide Pollution
Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas that is contributing to Global Warming on the planet. This activity will help you realize how much carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere through our normal daily activities. In this exercise, record all your data neatly and show all your calculations.
I. Reduce kilometers traveled.
Burning gasoline in our cars releases CO2. By reducing the amount of driving we do, we can reduce the amount of CO2 we put into the atmosphere.
1. Calculate approximately how many kilometers you travel each year. It might be easier to find the kilometers traveled per week and then multiply by 52.
2. An average car produces about 2.5 kg of carbon dioxide for each liter of gas (which is about 0.7 kg of CO2 per km) used. How many kilograms of CO2 does your car produce each year?
3. List several ways you could reduce the amount of CO2 you produce by driving each year.
4. Considering your lifestyle, how much less would you be willing to drive, using all the methods you mentioned in question 3.
5. Calculate the amount of CO2 you could save by not driving the kilometers you agreed to in question 4. Call this amount AA@.
II. Tune up your car
6. If a car is regularly tuned up and proper tire pressure is maintained, you can save an additional 450 kg of CO2. Call this amount AB@.
III. Reduce, reuse, recycle
Using less packaging and fewer products reduces the carbon dioxide emitted. Since far less energy is needed to wash and rinse a reusable container than is needed to recycle a can or bottle, greater savings result from reusing products. If you can=t reduce or reuse, be sure to recycle.
7. Estimate the number of aluminum cans and glass bottles you could recycle in a year. Recycling 1 aluminum can saves 1.5 kg of carbon dioxide while recycling one glass bottle saves 1.3 kg of carbon dioxide.
# of cans recycled x 1.5 kg = amount of carbon dioxide saved
# of bottles recycled x 1.3 kg = amount of carbon dioxide saved
Add these two together and call this amount AC@.
IV. Insulate
Some heat is always lost through windows, doors, walls, and the roof whenever we heat our homes. If we do some simple insulating, we can reduce the amount of heat lost, thereby saving energy.
8. Wrap your home water heater with insulation will save CO2 depending on how your home is heated.
CO2 savings = 545 kg per year if the heater is electric
CO2 savings = 182 kg per year if the heater is gas or oil
9. Insulate the attic of your home (for an average sized bungalow).
CO2 savings = 915 kg per year if electric heat
CO2 savings = 372 kg per year if oil heat
Calculate the amount of CO2 saved and call this amount AD@. (8 + 9)
V. Replace light bulbs
10. Switching to lighting that uses less energy will decrease the amount of CO2 produced. By replacing regular light bulbs with fluorescent ones is a good way to do this. Estimate the number of light bulbs in your home that you could switch to fluorescent.
# of bulbs changed x 110 = kg of CO2 saved per year
11. Replacing high watt bulbs with lower watt bulbs is another way to save CO2. For every 10 watt reduction you save about 10 kg CO2 per year. If you change from 60W bulbs to 40W bulbs that is two reductions of 10W.
# of bulbs changed (from 10 above) x 2 x 10 kg = kg CO2 saved per year
Calculate the amount of CO2 saved and call this amount AE@. (10 + 11)
VI. Reduce hot water use
Heating water uses quite a bit of energy. There are some easy ways to reduce the amount of hot water that we use. Following the suggestions below will save carbon dioxide.
12. Lower the temperature on the water heater 10oC
CO2 savings = 118 kg per year if electric
CO2 savings = 48 kg per year if gas or oil
13. Wash clothes in cold water rather than hot water.
CO2 savings = 114 kg per year if electric
CO2 savings = 50 kg per year if gas or oil
14. Install a low flow shower head
CO2 savings = 102 kg per person per year if electric
CO2 savings = 45 kg per person per year if gas or oil
Calculate the amount of CO2 saved and call this amount AF@. (12 + 13 + 14)
15. Find the total amount of CO2 that you could save by adopting the measures in this activity. (A + B + C + D + E + F)
16. How much CO2 could be saved if each person in the school (~1050 students + 55 teachers) did the same?
17. How much CO2 could be saved if each person in Saint John and surrounding area (~160,000 people) did the same?
18. How much CO2 could be saved if each person in Canada (~32,000,000 people) did the same?
Other possibilities
19. List some other ways in which you might reduce CO2 production. Remember that anything that uses less electricity will produce less CO2.
Teachers notes:
Heating oil or gasoline = 20 lbs CO2/gallon
Electricity = 1.5 lbs CO2/kWh
Natural gas = 11 pounds CO2/therm