Showing papers by "Margaret Bell published in 2010"

The carbon footprint of UK Cities: 4M: measurement, modelling, mapping and measurement

Abstract: Introduction The planet is threatened by the emission of human-made greenhouse gasses, and in particular carbon dioxide (CO 2) from the combustion of fossil fuels. In 2009, average annual CO 2 emissions were 4.1 t CO 2 per person worldwide, although in developed countries this was substantially higher at 11.5 t CO 2 per person (IEA, 2009). Atmospheric CO 2 concentration has reached 380 ppm globally, with levels increasing by 1.9 ppm annually between 1995 and 2005 (IPCC, 2007). The world's population currently stands at 6.8 billion and is set to rise to c.8 billion by 2050 (PRB, 2009). In 2008, for the first time, over half of all people lived in cities and by 2030 this is expected to rise to nearly two-thirds (UNFPA, 2007). The high density of people in cities, who use energy for transport, food, and consumer goods and services, make them major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. The need to reduce CO 2 emissions from cities is clear. International negotiations to curb emissions have had mixed outcomes, but notwithstanding, national and sub-national initiatives proliferate. Policies and economic instruments to cut CO 2 emissions need to operate in a manner that preserves, or even enhances, cities' functioning and environment. Transport emissions have to be curbed without impinging on necessary travel, building energy use needs to be controlled without rendering them inoperable , and emission reduction practices need to impact as little as possible on key ecosystem services 1. Importantly, emissions reduction in all of these areas can go hand-in-hand with improvements to lifestyles and well-being: reduced traffic improves air quality and therefore human health, more energy efficient buildings lower fuel costs to occupants , and green spaces can sequester carbon whilst improving the aesthetic environment and human health and well-being. Thus, a low carbon city can be a cleaner, quieter, healthier and more enjoyable city. The 4M project is examining these issues by estimating key components of the carbon footprint (Wiedmann & Minx, 2008) of the city of Leicester in the UK. The project adopts a multi-disciplinary perspective and is being progressed through collaboration between researchers from five UK universities and Leicester City Council. This enables a rounded view of proposed carbon reduction initiatives to be evaluated in the real social and economic context of a functioning and dynamic city. The project has four activities, measuring, modelling, mapping and managing carbon emissions-hence 4M. The project …

Smart infrastructure for carbon foot print analysis of electric vehicles

Abstract: Electric powered vehicles use energy stored in some form of battery for the vehicle propulsion drive and to power auxiliary instruments such as air conditioning, stereo and in car equipments. Many research initiatives are currently underway to evaluate the potential and performance of electric cars and to identify any barriers to their uptake (being, technical, economic or social) as a greener alternative to the internal combustion engine traditionally powered by fossil fuels. This study provides an early insight into research undertaken by Newcastle University to investigate the performance of electric vehicles through on-road testing, user led trials and the analysis of the data collected from the vehicle. Newcastle University is currently involved in creating a smart ITS infrastructure to analyse the electric vehicle performance by monitoring the vehicles in terms of the power consumed, distance traveled, trip profile, auxiliary loads and driving styles to determine how the battery discharges and recharges under different conditions, By measuring the energy usage on any particular journey the equivalent carbon footprint for the journey can be estimated from the prevailing CO2 per KWh assuming the mean electricity generation profile in the UK. This paper will discuss the results from electric vehicle monitoring infrastructure by analysing the energy regeneration and energy usage, thereby calculating the impact to the environment.

Assessment of the Congestion Impacts of Fatal Accidents Using SCOOT Data

Abstract: This study focuses on the assessment of the congestion impacts of fatal accidents. The paper addresses the current paucity of research into accident induced congestion levels outside of Motorway/Freeway environments, and using the SCOOT traffic control system, provides an assessment of these impacts in more heterogeneous urban environments. Levels of induced congestion are found to vary significantly according to the temporal and spatial settings in which they occur, with only accidents that occur in either peak periods or constricted network layouts producing significant induced congestion externalities in monetary terms. The detailed spatial and temporal resolutions required for such forecasts are subsequently discussed, as these raise a number of issues for SCOOT and ITS data more generally, if such analyses are to become more detailed, sophisticated, and ultimately automated, across a range of complex temporal and spatial settings.