Research on Energy and the Environment
Of growing concern to business and government is the efficient use of resources for energy generation and use. This can be seen in the growing use of measures like "carbon footprints" to benchmark products and organizations. Our research examines the broader impacts of various energy choices such as indirect impacts of alternative automotive fuels, and costs of air pollution from electricity generation.
Our research in energy and the environment is an emerging and developing interest. Energy sources for portable products, currently from batteries, pose issues for consumption and disposal of heavy metals. Another interest is the possible alternatives to automotive fuels, not only the change in pollution during the use phase, but also land requirements and materials consumption from establishing infrastructure for delivering these fuels. Considerable work also occurs concerning electricity generation in conjunction with the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center. Listed below are links to short one-page research summaries in PDF format.
On-going Projects
- Carbon Footprinting - H. Scott Matthews, Chris Weber and Chris Hendrickson
- MUSES: Material Use, Infrastructure Change, and Environmental Impacts for Alternative Fuels and Vehicles - Michael Griffin, Chris Hendrickson, Lester Lave, Jeremy Michalek and H. Scott Matthews
- Comparison of Coal-to-Liquid-Fuel, Conventional Gasoline and Plug-in Hybrids Vehicles - Paulina Jaramillo and Constantine Samaras
- Emissions Embodied in US International Trade - Christopher Weber and H. Scott Matthews
- Global and Distributional Aspects of American Household Carbon Footprint - Christopher Weber and H. Scott Matthews
- The Use of Canadian Oil Sands in the US Petroleum Sector - Aweewan Mangmeechai, Scott Matthews,Chris Hendrickson,and Michael Griffin
- Ethanol as an Alternative Fuel - Lester B. Lave and W. Michael Griffin
- Alternative Transportation Fuels: Distribution Infrastructure for Hydrogen and Ethanol in Iowa - Heather Wakeley, Chris Hendrickson, Michael Griffin, and Scott Matthews
- Comparison of Coal and Natural Gas as Fuels in the Electricity and Transportation Sector - Paulina Jaramillo, Michael Griffin, and Scott Matthews
Previous Research Summaries
