I am looking for information on GHG emission's for lawnmowers and other gardening activities. Any references?
Thanks
Micheline Lvesque M.Sc.
agronome Solutions
Alternatives Environnement
Tel: 514-453-2500
Fax: 514-453-3032
C.P. 289 Ste-Anne de Bellevue H9X3R9
GHG Emission for Lawn Equipment
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Here are a couple references I used in response to a question about leaf blowers:
From Transport Canada: http://www.tc.gc.ca/programs/environment/most/whatyoucando.htm
"Remember that lawn mowers, leaf blowers, snow blowers and other small engines can produce even more harmful emissions than a car! Buy low emissions models or switch to electric versions whenever possible." A gasoline-powered leaf blower generates as many tailpipe emissions in one hour as an automobile does in over 580 kilometres - according to Environment Canada engineers. Approximately 20 per cent of smog-causing emissions originate from off-road engines." From the US Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/greenacres/ "Native landscaping practices can help improve air quality on a local regional and global level. Locally, smog (ground level ozone) and air toxics can be drastically reduced by the virtual elimination of the need for lawn maintenance equipment (lawn mowers, weed edgers, leaf blowers, etc.) which is fueled by gasoline, electricity or batteries. All of these fuel types are associated with the emissions of the following air pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and air toxics such as benzene. Gasoline lawn and garden equipment, on average, produces 5% of ozone-forming VOCs in areas with smog problems. This equipment also emits toxics and particulates. Regionally, the NOx and SO2 released from lawn maintenance equipment react with water in the atmosphere to form acid rain. Globally, native landscaping practices help to combat global warming in two ways. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major greenhouse gas and by reducing the use of lawn maintenance equipment, the associated CO2emissions are also reduced. Native plants help to reduce the amount of CO2in the atmosphere by taking in CO2and storing the carbon in the body of the plants, roots and soil. Native plants work much better than traditional mowed grass as a carbon sink due to their extensive root systems and increased ability to retain and store water."
Linda Lovett
Sustainability Supervisor
City of Corvallis
541-754-1736
http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us
I don't know how deeply you want to get into your analysis, but to a first-order approximation you can think of the GHG emissions from lawn equipment as being simply the CO2 created by burning gasoline. Gasoline produces 19.6 pounds of CO2 per gallon burned. (Yes, I know that lawn equipment burns a gas/oil mix, but the mixture is mostly gasoline.) If you compare the amount of gasoline used in a family's lawn equipment to the amount they used in cars and other gas-powered equipment, you will probably find that lawn equipment accounts for less than 1% of the GHG emissions of a suburban family. That would be the case if they used 1,000 gallons/year in their car and 10 gallons/year in their lawn equipment. Nevertheless, switching to an electric lawnmower can made a modest impact on a family's carbon footprint. IMHO, the biggest reason to get rid of gasoline powered mowers is their noisiness and their production of air pollutants other than CO2.
Best Regards,
Bruce Karney
[email protected]
+1 650 450-0332 (mobile)
+1 650 964-3567 (home office)
+1 650 903-0954 (fax)
833 Bush St., Mountain View,
CA 94041 USA
Hi Micheline,
If the gardening equipment or lawnmowers are powered by a petrol engine, you can estimate the Carbon dioxide emissions by noting how many litres of fuel are used in a given time (e.g. 1 hour) and multiplying this by 2.8 kg of CO2 per litre to obtain the total GHG emission (i.e. if the mower uses 1 L/hr of petrol its GHG emission will be 2.8 kgCO2. If the equipment is electric you will need to read the power rating from the serial plate (e.g. 250W)and multiply this by the number of hours for which the unit is used to determine the electrical energy input. A 250W unit operating for 1 hour will use 0.25 kWhr. You will then need to contact your electricity supplier to find out how much GHG is emitted per kWhr of electricity used and multiply this by the number of kWhr used to get the total GHG emission in kgCO2.
Cheers
John
John Osborne
Renewables, Sustainability Victoria
T: 03 8626 8783
F: 03 9663 1007
Level 28, Urban Workshop
Lonsdale Street, Melbourne 3000
www.sustainability.vic.gov.au