Vehicle Engines: Sustainability & Climate Protection

• The presentation focuses on vehicle engines, sustainability, and climate protection.

Sustainability Defined

• Sustainability in resource usage involves acting in a way to ensure continued fulfillment of needs
• This is achieved by preserving the natural regenerative capacity of involved systems, particularly living things and ecosystems.
• Using only the resources that can regenerate on their own allows future generations to do the same

Climate and Environmental Protection

• Sustainability implies climate and environmental protection, concerning the Earth's system's burden limits.
• Key stress limits of the Earth system, include climate change, biodiversity loss, and cycles of matter
• The planetary boundaries that are exceeded pose a high risk and are subject to rising risk

IPCC

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body assessing climate change science.
• It generates regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks
• The IPCC also offers options for adaptation and mitigation for governments to develop climate policy.

Glacial Melt

• Glaciers are melting

Earth's Energy Balance

• The Earth receives its energy from the sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation (visible/UV).
• Absorbed radiation leads to a temperature increase until equilibrium is reached.
• The Earth sends energy back in the form of infrared radiation, maintaining equilibrium

Equilibrium Temperature

• In a basic model without atmospheric effects, the equilibrium temperature on Earth is approximately -18°C

Atmospheric Composition (Pre-Industrial)

• Composition of the earth's atmosphere in the pre-industrial era included 78% nitrogen (N2)
• There was approximately 21% oxygen (O2), 0.96% argon (Ar)
• Only about <0.03% carbon dioxide (CO2) or 280 ppm

Impact of Greenhouse Gases

• The Earth's equilibrium would be at -18°C, if not for greenhouse gasses

Equilibrium Shift

• The presence of greenhouse gasses means the actual equilibrium temperature is around +14°C.

Analysis of Air Bubbles Trapped in Ice

• Air bubbles trapped in ice that provide data on the composition of Earth's atmosphere, including CO2 levels, at different times.

CO2 and Temperature

• CO2 concentration and temperature have historically been interconnected
• Cycles in relation to the changes in the Earth's orbit, inclination, and axis precession affect radiation and CO2 absorption in the oceans

Anthropogenic Influence

• The temperature anomaly compared to years prior to industrial revolution shows that humans affected the equilibruim

Impact of Emissions

• Burning natural gas (CH4) or other carbon based matter produces CO2 and H2O.
• The different methods of creating anthropogenic influence have different levels of CO2 emission
• Per kWh the average amount emission created by Burning gas is 0.4kg
• Per kWh the average amount emission created by Burning oil is 0.75kg
• Per kWh the average amount emission created by Burning coal is over 1kg

Annual Cycles

• Annual cycles are due to seasonal changes in vegetation

Atmospheric Composition Changes

• The atmosphere's composition has changed since pre-industrial times.
• CO2 has gone from 280 ppm to 415 ppm
• Methane (CH4) has increased from 0.7 ppm to 1.9 ppm
• Laughing gas (N2O) went from 0.27 ppm to 0.33 ppm.

Global Warming Potential

• Different gases have varied global warming potentials:
• CO2 is set as 1
• Methane (CH4) has a a global warming potential of approximately 28 and lasts 11.8 years.
• Nitrous oxide has a global warming potential of 273 and lasts 109 years
• Some fluorinated gases have much higher potential for global change.

Equilibrium and Global Warming

• A shift in the equilibrium temperature, raising it to +15°C.

Consequences

• Small temperature changes can have big effects.

Global Impact of Emissions

• Different emission scenarios have different consequences and impacts to the climate

Personal Footprint

• An average German has a personal CO2 footprint of about 10 tons per year.
• CO2 emissions include mobility, eating habits, living situations, and public services

iLUC Hypothesis

• The iLUC (indirect Land Use Change) hypothesis says that using land to produce alternative fuels removes the original agricultural use of the land.
• This would shift the land usage long term creating the need divert farmland for monocultures
• Creating these farm lands might result in deforestation, where the release in greenhouse emissions will be counted to the production of alternative fuels.