Mike Leibfried At the Bench: Ecological Analysis June 12, 2010 GIS Interpretation of Best Placement of CCS Facilities

in New York State Greenhouse gas emissions are known to have increased considerably since the industrial revolution in the 1700s, with carbon dioxide increasing 36% alone (Greenhouse 2010). In true numbers this means that the average influx of carbon in the atmosphere has gone from 280 ppm (parts per million) to 382 ppm in 2006 (Greenhouse 2010). In the words of the US Environmental Protection Agency, increasing concentrations in the atmosphere will tend to have a warming effect Greenhouse 2010). The consequences of this warming effect could include surface temperature of up to 2-6 Celsius over the next century that could lead to a sea level rise of 0.51.5 meters (Schneider 1989). This could cause new wetlands to form where dry land appears now, which could convert up to 33% of the worlds land area into open water (Coastal Zones See IPCC 2007 for details). The executive summery of the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 1990-2008 lists a review of the highest sources of emissions of greenhouse gas (Executive Summary 2008). In the United States, the highest producer of anthropogenic carbon emissions comes from Fossil Fuel combustion, specifically for Electricity

Generation (Executive Summary 2008). In 2008, Electricity Generation accounted for 5,572.8 million metric tons, which was higher than the next producer (transportation) by over 3,200 million metric tons (Executive Summary 2008). Therefore, it can be inferred that this is the area that US policy should focus on. In Europe, this problem has been tackled in several ways. France has gone to primarily nuclear power, with 78% of electricity generation coming from nuclear power plants (Environment 2006). Germany has spent 4.5 billion on the refurbishment of old fossil fuel burning power plants to run much cleaner (Germany 2003). While these options must be looked at for the US, CCS plants (Carbon Capture and Sequestration) also offer an incredible opportunity to help lower net emissions from fossil fuel burning power plants (Keith, 2009). In fact, according to Keith, the 150 largest coal power plants emit approximately 10% of the total global CO2, with the next 1000 largest after than accounting for approximately 30%. (Keith 2009). Additionally, CO2 emissions from power plants are approximately 300 times larger than in ambient air, at about 12% of airflow (Keith, 2009). While the point of these CCS plants is that they can be placed anywhere to capture carbon from the ambient air, one can deduce that they will be most effective in a closer proximity to power plants where carbon levels are still elevated. Thus, in this paper I intend to look at the best potential locations

for CCS sites. In order to look at the best placement of these CCS facilities, other variables than proximity to power plants must be taken into account. These variables will include, but are not limited to, proximity to sequestration sites, for New York in particular the Appalachian Basin (Williams et al. ,2007), proximity to civilization, landcover, elevation, and power sources. I will do this by adding map layers with points and buffers of power plants to layer of land cover. I will also join a layer with New York towns and cities with a significant population that is yet to be determined. Lastly, I will add a polygon layer with the most fertile areas for sequestration. "Coastal Zones and Sea Level Rise | Climate Change - Health and Environmental Effects | U.S. EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 10 June 2010. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/coastal/index.html#r ef>. "Environment: France and the Fight against Global Warming." France in the United Kingdom. French Embassy, 11 Mar. 2006. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Environment-Franceand-the-fight.html>. "Germany Expanded Environmental Section." Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government. EIA, Sept. 2003. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/germe.html>.

"Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Climate Change | U.S. EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 10 June 2010. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/index.html>. Keith D (2009) Direct Capture of CO2 from the Air. University of Calgary, 2009 Schneider SH (1989) The Greenhouse Effect: Science and Policy. Science 243: 771-781 Williams E et al. (2007) Carbon Capture, Pipeline and Storage: A viable Option for North Carolina Utilities? Duke University, 2007 2010 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 1990-2008 Executive Summary. Environmental Protection Agency, Apr. 2010. Web. 10 June 2010. <http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/downloads10/US-GHGInventory-2010_ExecutiveSummary.pdf>.