Abstract
Addressing climate change is a major challenge, but many people struggle to understand how their energy use translates into CO2 emissions. Part of the issue is the use of varied energy units—Calories for food, gallons for gasoline, and kilowatt-hours for electricity—making comparisons difficult.
This talk introduces a simple framework using daily energy units (1 D) and carbon emissions (1 C) for normalization. By defining 1 D as the energy from daily food intake (2000 kcal) and 1 C as the carbon emissions from consuming that food, all energy uses can be converted to comparable D and C values. This allows us to better assess CO2 emissions from various sources, like gasoline or home energy, and identify impactful reductions.
Integrating this approach into business practices, planning, and education can empower professionals and students to tackle climate change more effectively.
Biography
Professor Bruce Logan, Director of the Institute of Energy and the Environment (IEE) and Evan Pugh University Professor at Penn State, focuses on renewable energy, water infrastructure sustainability, hydrogen production, and climate education. He has authored several books and over 550 publications (>120,000 citations, h-index=168) and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and a fellow of AAAS and other organizations.