Jayne Scuncio

Cal Poly’s CO2 Car-print

As a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Cal Poly State University is an activist in the national cause to eliminate the wasteful lifestyle ruining the environment. Although San Luis Obispo is a small town, the number of drivers on campus multiplies each year. Unfortunately, most of the student population is oblivious to the harmful consequences associated with driving to campus. Our school should not be contributing as much as it does to the national and California totals of the transportation sector carbon dioxide emissions.

The United States is frequently scolded for its large contribution to global warming through carbon emissions. The number of drivers on the road is accumulating and so is the number of miles driven. Currently, “passenger cars, pickup trucks, and SUV’s account for 20 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions” (Gardner). “The U.S. transportation sector emits more CO2 than all but three other countries’ emissions from all sources combined” (“Clean Vehicles”). In 2006 the total CO2 released by petroleum usage in the United States was 195,240,000 metric tons (Energy Information Administration). The CO2 emitted in the past year, would equal the weight of about 2,656,326 Boeing 747 airplanes (“747 Fun Facts”).

Although California is leading the country in laws to save the environment, it produces an enormous amount of carbon dioxide. Its emissions by petroleum products in 2004 were 26,150,000 metric tons. The only state with more CO2 emissions by fuel was Texas with 29,660,000 metric tons (Table 1). To limit its CO2 emissions, California passed Assembly Bill 32 in 2006. Also called the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the bill provides laws to convert California’s CO2 emissions to the level emitted in 1990 (“Assembly Bill No. 32”). The 2006 emissions were 407.5 million metric tons higher than in 1990. The increase represents a 46.4 percent growth in carbon dioxide emissions in the past sixteen years (EIA). The Bill will, “require the monitoring and annual reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from greenhouse gas emission sources beginning with the sources or categories of sources that contribute the most to statewide emissions” (Assembly Bill No. 32). In 2002 the number of light truck—SUV and minivan—registrations in California was 8,840,100, the highest of any other state (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census). With evidence that California has a large percentage of CO2 emissions coming from vehicles, Assembly Bill 32 will attempt to control that source of greenhouse gas.

Cal Poly is attempting to follow the positive example of California in limiting CO2 on campus through city transportation. To keep bus transportation for students free, the university provides SLO Transit every year with $322,000, which comes from parking revenue, not student fees. “Cal Poly students, staff and faculty make up approximately 68% of SLO Transit's ridership. The Cal Poly ridership totals for 2006/2007 were 544,130,” says Susan Rains, head of University Police Department’s Parking and Commuter Services (Rains). The San Luis Obispo transit system has added more hours to support the seven routes that stop on campus (“City of San Luis Obispo”). With no cost to ride and the extension of times and routes, the population that rides the busses has increased as well. “I take the bus to and from school to save gas every day”, says Business sophomore Emily Cunningham (Cunningham). Thankfully for the environment, the popularity of the bus system continues to increase at Cal Poly, “I expect the numbers to be over 560,000 for 2007/2008,” predicts Rains. Yet, that is the total in the entire year of passengers. Therefore the daily average would be about 1,534 bus riders a day, as opposed to the huge number of single car drivers.

Many students also attempt to decrease their CO2 footprint by biking and walking to school. Every day students walk to school not only for exercise but also to keep the air clean of harmful chemicals. On her way to school, Cal Poly student Laura Cimarelli enthusiastically stated, “I live close by and walking is my source of exercise. It is also my attempt of ‘saving the environment’” (Cimarelli). The abundance of bike racks located throughout campus encourages this environmentally friendly method of transportation. “We have over 2200 bike racks on campus. It's hard to say how many bike riders we have but we have added racks consistently over the past 3 years because of increasing demand,” explains Rains. Switching from car to bike and foot is a healthy and cost-effective way to travel that many students have chosen.

Unfortunately, the small percentage of students who use the public transportation system and ride bicycles do not make up for the overpopulation of cars on campus. There are four main zones of parking on campus: California Avenue, Grand Avenue, Highland Drive, and resident parking lots scattered through out. According to a lot survey completed on November 29, 2007 by the University Police Department there are 6,639 marked parking spots on the Cal Poly campus (“Lot Survey”). Although there are 6,639 parking spots on campus, there are more people with parking passes than the lots can hold. In the last school year from Fall 2006 to Spring 2007, there were a total of 4,495 annual and 11,823 quarterly parking passes purchased. That totals 16,327 cars driven by students and teachers who park on campus (University Police Department). And most students do not carpool. “According to recently released data from the Census Bureau, 87.7 percent of Americans drive to work and 77 percent drive alone” (Korkki).

These numbers add up to a negative effect on our environment. The United States Environmental Protection Agency created an equation that measures 19.4 pounds per gallon of CO2 released from one gallon of gasoline (“Average Carbon Dioxide”). When this equation is used to calculate the total CO2 emissions from all the cars on the Cal Poly campus, the estimated amount of CO2 expelled into the air in an entire school year would be 19.4 pounds/gallon x 16,327 parking permits x (the average number of gallons used by a car to get to and from school) 0.11 gallons x (the number of days in the 2006-2007 school year) 147 = 5,121,747.246 pounds of CO2 (Math Equation). For a school that preaches an environmentally friendly message, this is a large addition to the total CO2 released into the atmosphere.

To decrease the number of polluting vehicles on campus, Cal Poly should follow the footsteps of other green transportation campuses. Many universities across the United States have taken bold initiatives to limit student vehicular CO2 emissions. Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia has successfully encouraged sustainable transportation decisions by doubling the cost of on campus parking. “The goal of the increase is to reduce congestion and make the surrounding area more pedestrian friendly. To further encourage students and employees to use more sustainable forms of transportation, the university offers free local shuttle service, car sharing, and free public transit passes for employees, among other transportation demand management strategies” (“AASHE Digest 2006”). Many schools have also begun promoting bicycle riding to and from campus. Texas Christian University is one of those schools. “Under the program, students will be able to rent a bicycle, lock, and helmet at no charge. The program is starting with five bicycles and organizers have submitted proposals to fund the purchase of additional bikes and equipment” (“AASHE Digest 2006”). Both of these programs are beneficial ideas to decrease university CO2 emissions. In the future, it would be phenomenal to see sustainable programs such as those at Emory University and Texas Christian University applied at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.

Works Cited

“747 Fun Facts”. Boeing. <http://www.boeing.com/commercial/747family/pf/

pf_facts.html>

“Assembly Bill No. 32”. California Environmental Protection Agency: Air Resources

Board. September 27, 2006 <http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/asm/ab

_0001-0050/ab_32_bill_20060927_chaptered.pdf>

“AASHE Digest 2006”. Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher

Education. p143. < http://www.aashe.org/resources/pdf/AASHEdigest2006.pdf>

“Average Carbon Dioxide Emissions Resulting from Gasoline and Diesel Fuel”. United

States Environmental Protection Agency. EPA420-F-05-001. February 2005.

< http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/420f05001.pdf>

Cimarelli, Laura. Interview by Jayne Scuncio. 4 March 2008.

“City of San Luis Obispo Transit Map”. < http://www.slocity.org/publicworks/download/

busmap.pdf>

Cunningham, Emily. Interview by Jayne Scuncio. 4 March 2008.

“Clean Vehicles”. Union of Concerned Scientists. 10 August 2005. 26 February 2008.

<http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/vehicles_health/cars-and-trucks-and-

global-warming.html>

“Fall Quarter 2006 Parking Permits Sold”. University Police Department

< http://police.calpoly.edu/parking/permit_stats/064Sales4web.pdf>

“Figure 1. Light Truck Registrations: 2002” U.S. Census Bureau: Vehicle Inventory and

Use Survey. p.10. 2002.

Gardner, Timothy. “States Appeal to U.S. Top Court on CO2 Car Emissions”.

Environmental News Network. 6 March 2006. 26 February 2008. <http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/3799>.

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DOE/EIA-0573(2006) November 28, 2007 <http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/

ggrpt/carbon.html>.

Korkki, Phyllis. “The Choice: Control The Radio or Save the Environment”. New York

Times. 22 July 2007. Academic Search Elite. 26 February 2008.

“Lot Survey”. Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo University Police Department. < http://police.

calpoly.edu/parking/Parking%20stats/07Oct17%20PrkSrv_correction.pdf>

Math Equation:

12 gallons of gas in average car tank

18 miles/gallon is average gas mileage

12x18=216 miles on one tank à 108 trips back and forth

1 gallon = 18 miles

2 miles = 1 trip back and forth

2/18 = 1.1 gallons used per trip back and forth

Rains, Susan. Interview by Jayne Scuncio. 5 March 2008.

“Spring Quarter 2007 Parking Permits Sold”. University Police Department

< http://police.calpoly.edu/parking/permit_stats/072Sales4web.pdf>

“Table 1. 2004 State Emissions By Fuel”. U.S. Census Bureau.

“Winter Quarter 2006 Parking Permits Sold”. University Police Department

< http://police.calpoly.edu/parking/permit_stats/071Sales4web.pdf>

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