Public workshops will be held in Las Vegas and Reno later this month concerning an statewide inventory of greenhouse gas emissions being conducted by the Desert Research Institute (DRI) under the auspices of the Nevada State Energy Office (NEO). The study, funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the state, is part of a larger national effort coordinated by EPA to help states identify and quantify greenhouse gas emission sources.
Workshops are scheduled to be held in Las Vegas at DRI's Southern Nevada Science Center, 755 E. Flamingo Road, at 6:30 p.m. on February 24, and in Reno at the Washoe County Administrative Complex, 1001 E. Ninth Street at 6 p.m. on February 26. The public is invited to attend these workshops, which will include presentations and periods for questions, discussion and public comment. Workshops will also be held at toward the end of the project to present emission inventory results.
The immediate objectives of the Nevada GHG emissions inventory are to identify and quantify GHG sources in Nevada, to assemble a database consisting of statewide annual GHG emissions for those sources at 1990 and 1995 levels (for consistency with other state inventories and to provide baseline data for future projections and evaluation of possible mitigation measures), and to further public understanding of climate change issues.
Greenhouse gases (GHG) are gases in the atmosphere that trap the Earth's re-radiated eat, similar to a horticultural greenhouse which uses glass to trap the sun's energy as heat, hence the term "greenhouse effect." The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon, without which life as we know it on earth could not exist. However, with the coming of the industrial age, emissions of man-caused GHGs have increased many fold, and it is now generally accepted that the Earth is being warmed by human activities, in particular greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels.
Data necessary for the inventory will include such things as the amount of fossil fuels (gasoline, coal, diesel, etc.) burned in the state by different sectors (commercial, industrial, residential, transportation, utilities), the extent of agricultural and waste management activities that produce GHGs such as methane and carbon dioxide, and the amount of oil and natural gas produced, refined and consumed within the state.
Carbon dioxide is the primary human-caused GHG, although it is also naturally occurring and necessary for vegetation. Other GHGs include methane and nitrous oxide. Although these are all naturally occurring, their recent rapid atmospheric buildup appears to be the result of human activities. Other anthropogenic GHGs include chlorofluorocarbons, hydroflurocarbons, and sulfur hexaflouride.
The Nevada project will be additionally supported by an advisory committee representing state and local officials, utility representatives, public interest groups, and other interested parties. This advisory committee will provide insight and guidance to the project, as well as review and comments on all results. Subsequent phases of the national program are designed to develop and implement programs and policies for GHG mitigation. The Nevada State Energy Office (NEO) and DRI are the primary investigators for the Nevada GHG emissions inventory, with the active support and involvement of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and the Nevada Department of Transportation.
For further information, contact Richard Egami at DRI at (702) 677-3168 in Reno, or Jim Brandmueller at the NEO (702) 687-7674 in Carson City.