Integrating sustainability into our roads: learning, engineering and living green

1
Integrating sustainability into our roads
learning, engineering and living green

• Steve Muench

2
Your carbon (CO2) footprint for travel to this
meeting is not trivial.

• Assumptions
• You drove using mostly highways
• Average U.S. vehicle fuel efficiency of 17.1 mph
• CO2 production of 19.564 lbs/gallon of gasoline

3
How does that compare?

4
What is a ton of Carbon?
At STP 27 ft. x 27 ft. x 27 ft.
From energyrace (www.energyrace.com) picture is
from Dave Ames, Cohasset High School in Mass 9th
grade physics.
5
Does it matter? Were pretty sure the answer
is yes.
6
Warming of the climate system is unequivocal
Recent Climate Change Observations (over last 160
years)
Graphics from Climate Change 2007 The Physical
Science Basis. Summary for Policymakers.
Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change. (February 2007)
7
All Factors
and, with very high confidence, we know humans
have contributed to this warming.
Explanations of Climate Change (over last 107
years)
Just Solar and Volcanic
Quote from Climate Change 2007 The Physical
Science Basis. Summary for Policymakers.
Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change. (February 2007) Graphics from
Pachauri and Jallow, Climate Change 2007 The
Physical Science Basis. A 6 Feb 2007 presentation
in Nairobi, Kenya.
8
The Sustainable Engineer(engineers can be a big
difference maker)

• Understands considers
• Engineering
• Economics
• Environment
• Society
• Has tools and skills to evaluate trade-offs
• Sustainability is a fundamental tenet of
  engineering
• Do goodnot do less evil

9
At the UW we are trying to get there in the Civil
and Environmental Engineering department.

• Faculty
• Educate our existing faculty
• New hires with interest in sustainability
• Existing classes
• Construction Engineering (CEE 306)
• Pavement Construction (CEE 597)
• New classes
• 21st Century Civil Environmental Engineering
  (CEE 100)
• Sustainable Civil Engineering (CEE 3XX for 2009)
• Sustainability Principles and Practice (CEE
  599F)
• Sustainable Construction (CM 540)
• Life Cycle Assessment (CEE 599E)

10
We can also do research to help in decision
making.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the construction
of 100 parking spaces using different stormwater
treatment methods for a case in Marysville, WA
Note 1 TJ is the amount of energy consumed by 25
typical U.S. households in one year.
Source Ramberg, J. Life Cycle Assessment of Hot
Mix Asphalt and Porous Pavement Parking Lots.
Class project for ME 599, Professor Joyce
Cooper.
11
(No Transcript)
12
Transportation uses lots of energy and produces
lots of emissions.
13
And we spend a lot of money and resources on
transportation infrastructure.
Federal Government 16 State and Local
Government 84
Data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Transportation Statistics Annual Report, December
2006
14
Roads use a lot of materials every year.
For Pavement Alone
14
15
Building roads consumes energy
Amount of Energy Required to Build 1 Lane-Mile of
Pavement

• Notes
• 90 from manufacturing
• Numbers change a lot depending on assumption

9-inch Concrete Pavement (Continuously Reinforced)
3.7 TJ
94
3
3
12-inch Asphalt Pavement (Hot Mix Asphalt)
3.0 TJ
91
7
2
4.0 TJ
Data from Zapata and Gambatese, Energy
Consumption of Asphalt and Reinforced Concrete
Pavement Materials and Construction, J. of Inf.
Sys., vol. 11, issue 1, p. 9-20.
16
and energy costs serious money.
From Wall Street Journal, 3 Jan 2008, p.A1.
17
But its not just about the money. There are
environmental consequences too.
picture from David Timm, Auburn University
18
There are also social consequences.
I-395 through Overtown, FL

• Overtown. Miami, FL.
• Peak population 40,000
• Current population 8,000

Picture from Windows Live Search Maps
19
Sustainability

• Goal
• Sustain economic prosperity and a high quality of
  life for all while protecting the natural systems
  of the planet.
• Key Components
• Economic
• Environmental
• Social

20
Support for sustainability everywhere.
21
SR 20 through North Cascades National Park, WA
Octavia Blvd., San Francisco, CA
22
Making Sense of SustainabilityGreen Roads
Rating Standard
What is it? A rating system designed to
distinguish high-performance sustainable new or
redesigned/rehabilitated roads. What does it
do? It awards credits for approved sustainable
choices and can be used to certify projects based
on total point value. How does it
help? Provides a straightforward means of
understanding and quantifying sustainability in
roadway design and construction.
23
LEED(Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design)
A nationally accepted benchmark for the design,
construction, and operation of high performance
green buildings. LEED gives building owners and
operators the tools they need to have an
immediate and measurable impact on their
buildings performance. -U.S. Green Building
Council

• LEED certification standards
• New Commercial Construction and Major Renovation
  Projects
• Multiple Buildings and On-Campus Building
  Projects
• Existing Building Operations and Maintenance
• Commercial Interiors Projects
• Core and Shell Development Projects
• Homes
• Neighborhood Development
• Schools

24
200
LEED for new construction buildings
Distributionby geography
100-199
as of 07/06
50-99
20-49
1-19
25
Green Roads is a rating system designed to
distinguish high-performance sustainable new or
redesigned/rehabilitated roads. It awards
credits for approved sustainable
choices/practices and can be used to certify
projects based on point value.
26
Green Roads Categories
27
Materials Resources (MR)
28
We have done well recycling hot mix asphalt and
portland cement concrete as part of road
construction.
Asphalt and Concrete Recycled 1999 to 2004
HMA/PCC recycling 51 of diverted waste
Graph from the Washington State Department of
Ecology
29
But we can do better.
Origins of the 3.2 billion tons/yr of aggregate
used in the U.S.
30
We can reduce the amount to landfills, and
increase the amount to high-value surfacings.
Destination of Recovered HMA
Destination of Recovered PCC
Data from the USGS
31
Example MR Credit
Recycled Content 4 Credits
One credit Use recycled content to a minimum of
20 in the HMA/PCC and 40 of the total material
in the structure if base course is included in
the project. Two credits Use recycled content
to a minimum of 30 in the HMA/PCC and 50 of the
total material in the structure if base course is
included in the project. Three credits Use
recycled content to a minimum of 40 in the
HMA/PCC and 60 of the total material in the
structure if base course is included in the
project. Four credits Use recycled content to
a minimum of 50 in the HMA/PCC and 70 of the
total material in the structure if base course is
included in the project.
32
Energy Environmental (EE)
33
Urban areas are hotter than they otherwise would
be becuase built surfaces absorb and radiate
solar energy.

• U.S. cities 2-8F warmer than surrounding areas
• Pavement area in U.S. Cities 30-40

Nighttime satellite thermal image of Atlanta
showing retained heat (orange yellow)
34
Pavements do not have to absorb as much heat as
they do.
AlbedoGeneral term for the ratio of
reflected/scattered power to incident power. In
general, a measure of surface reflectivity.
Typical Albedo Numbers
150 F sunny day Albedo 0.1 ? 7 F
35
Example EE Credit
Cool Pavements 1 Credit
Use a light colored (high albedo) pavement with a
minimum albedo of 0.3 and/or use a porous
pavement.
36
Some Measured Pavement Albedos
(Pomerantz 2001)
37
Construction Activities (CA)
38
Diesel exhaust harms health more than any other
air pollutant in Washington State.
-Washington State Department of Ecology
Sources of Diesel PM2.5 in Washington State (2002)
Source Washington State Department of Ecology,
2006
39
Example CA Credit
Reduce Diesel Emissions 1
Credit
50 of the non-road diesel engine fleet used in
construction should have installed emission
reduction exhaust retrofits and add-on fuel
efficiency technologies complying with the EPA
Tier 4 emission standard.
Credit limit is based on the Diesel Particulate
Emission Reduction Strategy for Washington State
as set forth by the Washington State Department
of Ecology and as described in Washington
regulations.
40
This generally means retrofit or replacement.
Number of Heavy-Duty Non-Road Diesel Engines that
are Potentially Suitable for Exhaust Retrofits
(MY 1996 or newer, 175 hp)
11,366 engines in construction and mining
Number of Heavy-Duty Non-Road Diesel Engines that
are Potentially Suitable for Replacement (MY
1995 or older)
3,387 engines in construction and mining
Graphs from the Diesel Particulate Emission
Reduction Strategy for Washington State,
Washington DOE, December 2006.
41
Certification Levels
19-25 credits
26-31 credits
32-37 credits
38 credits
42
(No Transcript)
43
Why bother with a rating standard?

• More sustainable roads
• Specific benefits
• Defines basic roadway sustainability attributes
• Greater participation in roadway sustainability
• Better evaluation of tradeoffs and decisions
• Provide means for sustainability assessment
• Allows innovation because it is end-result
  oriented
• Confer marketable recognition on projects

44
We need to be on the map.
SR 28 Rock Island
Source ENR (24 Sep 2007)The Mainstreaming of
Green Building (Tulacz, G.J.)
45
Where do we go from here?

• Fully develop each item
• Calibrate rating system
• Industry/agency participation

See at www.greenroads.us
46
Sustainability is the next great game in
transportation. The game becomes serious when you
keep score. Green Roads keeps score.