uncook THE PLANET
carbon offset for air travel greenhouse emissions
uncook THE PLANET |
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uncook carbon offset projects |
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ABOUT |
WHO HAS UNCOOKED |
AVIATION EMISSIONS |
UNCOOK PROJECTS |
UNCOOK |
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Uncook supports greenhouse reduction projects. In particular, we purchase and retire carbon credits created through energy efficiency initiatives. One such initiative is the replacement of energy hungry incandescent light globes with energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps. So how does the replacement of light globes with CFL lamps decrease greenhouse emissions? The story starts in a coal mine. |
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Light globes use electricity which is normally produced by buring coal. Coal is referred to as a fossil fuel because it made of the fossilised remains of ancient forests that have been buried for millions of years. Coal is a source of cheap energy and it provides over 80% of global electricity supplies worldwide. Good quality coal is almost pure carbon. To extract the energy from coal, it is necessary to burn it. In the picture, coal is torn from an open cut mine to be sent to a power station. |
The coal is burnt in a coal fired power station. This produces heat which is used to boil water and create steam. The steam is used to drive a steam turbine. The turbine is connected to an electrical generator that produces electricity. This electricity is measured in units called Megawatt hours (MWh) When the coal is burnt, greenhouse gases measured as CO2e, are produced. About 1 ton CO2e is produced per MWh of electricity produced. The more coal is burnt, the more greenhouse gases are produced. |
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The electricity is then moved around the country through transmission lines. Transmission lines allow the power station to be many hundreds of kilometers from the place where the electricity is consumed. Most people have never seen the power station that produces the electricity they use. Eventually, the electricty reaches the home and is used to power all manner of electric devices including televisions, water heaters and incandescent light globes. |
'Light globes' should really be called 'heat globes' because they produce much more heat than light. In fact, only about 10% of the electricity put into the light globe is converted to light - the rest is heat. (only 10%!) Consider all of the greenhouse emissions produced by the power station to make the light globe hot. If we can have a light that is not so hot, this would save energy and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. |
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This is where the Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) comes in. CFLs run cooler, using much less energy that light globes. If we replace an light globe with the appropriate CFL, the light output remains the same, but the energy consumption drops. In fact, a CFL uses only one fifth as much energy for the same amount of light. For example, a light globe that uses 100 watts of energy can be replaced by a CFL that uses only 20 watts. This also means one fifth of the amount of greenhouse emissions. |
If we do our sums and calculate that each 100 Watt light globe replace with a 20 Watt CFL saves 80 Watts of electricity, we can calculate that over the life of the CFL lamp - say 6,000 hours operation time - a total of 0.48 MWh of electricity is saved. This is equivalent to about 0.48 tons CO2e (see calculation right). Compare this 0.48 tons CO2e to the greenhouse emissions produced by your air trip. How many light globes will need to be replaced to offset the equivalent amount of greenhouse emissions? To ensure top quality carbon offset, Uncook buys carbon credits created through energy efficiency projects administered by the respected Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme - the longest running carbon trading system. |
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Uncook is an initiative of |
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Contact: Guy Lane - SEA O2 - mob: 0410 450 351 - guylane@seao2.com - PO Box 1203 Townsville 4810, QLD, Australia |
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