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Reducing Lexington's Carbon Footprint
By: Ron Herrington, Director Division of Traffic Engineering Lexington Fayette Urban County Government Lexington, Kentucky
Introduction
In May 2008 the Brookings Institution, one of the most credible and knowledgeable research organizations in the world, released a first-of-its-kind report on the "carbon footprints" of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The report is considered a "partial footprint" because it focused on transportation and residential energy use. It did not take into account industrial emissions from manufacturing and other businesses. Regions such as the Southeast, which rely more heavily on coal and natural gas and where energy costs are relatively low, generally had larger carbon footprints. The report further noted the cities that emphasize energy efficiency, offer access to renewable energy sources and better address the challenges of urban sprawl had lower calculated carbon emissions based on vehicle and home energy consumption. Transportation, the fastest growing sector, was responsible for one-third of the nation's carbon footprint.
In that report Lexington, Kentucky was determined to have the largest carbon footprint of the metropolitan areas studied. The report calculated that the average Lexington area resident emitted 2.5 times more carbon dioxide from transportation and housing than the average resident in Honolulu — the city with the smallest carbon footprint in America.
One definition of a carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation, etc. The term, carbon footprint, owes its origin to the idea that a footprint is left behind as a result of the individual's activities. It usually indicates the amount of emissions generated through the actions of people, not only in the total amount of energy used, but also how the energy was produced (e.g. fossil fuels or renewable resources). Normally, a carbon footprint is expressed as a CO2 equivalent, usually in kilograms or metric tons. The Brookings Institution expressed the footprint in metric tons per capita for the target year 2005.
A carbon footprint is made up of the sum of two parts, the primary footprint and the secondary footprint. 1. The primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels including domestic energy consumption and transportation (e.g. car and plane). We have direct control of these. 2. The secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole lifecycle of products we use - those associated with their manufacture and eventual breakdown. To put it very simply - the more we buy the more emissions will be caused on our behalf.
Report Overview
This paper provides an overview of the report findings, footprint causes and probable solutions; reviews some of the more significant efforts by Lexington to shrink its footprint, and lists the Brookings Institution recommendations for the nation.
Even though Lexington is the 91st largest populated metropolitan area, it was ranked worst on the list in greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change. The Lexington metropolitan area consists of the six Kentucky counties of Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Jessamine, Scott and Woodford. Lexington is located in Fayette County. According to the report, the average Lexington metro resident was responsible for putting 3.46 metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere in 2005. The average footprint for all metropolitan areas was 2.24 tons.
The nation's carbon footprint has a distinct geography not well understood or often discussed. Cities east of the Mississippi River, and generally south of the Mason-Dixon Line, are much more likely to use electricity generated from coal making for cheap energy costs. The lower costs often entice manufacturing, resulting in an economic benefit to the local area, but sometimes creating problems for the environment. Approximately 93% of Kentucky's electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants.
The report quantified transportation and residential carbon emissions for the metropolitan areas, finding that metro area residents have smaller carbon footprints than the average American. Using an alternate energy source like hydropower helps areas like Seattle keep their carbon footprint small, as do moderate temperatures and high fossil fuel prices.
The report analyzed several scientific factors and listed Lexington's residential development patterns, lightly used mass transportation systems, and the use of cheap coal for energy as the main reasons for excessive greenhouse gas emission. Simply stated, the more spread out a community is like Lexington the more land and resources each resident uses to live, travel and function.
The report quantifies the amount and most significant sources of carbon emitted from highway transportation and residential energy consumption. There is wide
variation among metro areas for carbon footprints, due in part to an area's development patterns, rail transit, freight traffic, carbon content of electricity sources, cost of electricity and weather.
Lexington's Carbon Profile
The overall Lexington area per capita footprint actually decreased 0.71 percent between 2000 and 2005. The average per capita footprint for the other metro areas studied, and of the nation, increased 1.1 percent and 2.2 percent respectively during this time. The transportation portion of Lexington's per capita footprint decreased by a much greater amount of 6.0 percent between 2000 and 2005, compared to an increase of 2.4 percent in the 100 largest metro areas. The residential portion of Lexington's per capita footprint increased 5.3 percent, compared to a slight decrease of 0.7 percent in the 100 largest metro areas.
Considering highway transportation, the average Lexington resident emitted 1.74 tons of carbon, giving the area the rank of 81 of 100. The average 100-metro resident emitted 1.31 tons and the average American emitted 1.44 tons from highway transportation. Breaking this down further, the average Lexington resident emitted 1.101 tons from autos, placing the area at a rank of 52 on the list. The emission from trucks (0.639 tons) gave it a much higher rank of 96, compared to 1.004 tons from autos and 0.305 tons from trucks from the average 100-metro resident.
When residential energy use was calculated, the average Lexington resident emitted 1.715 tons of carbon for a ranking of 99. The average 100-metro resident emitted 0.925 tons and the average American emitted 1.16 tons of carbon. The average Lexington area resident emitted 1.477 tons from electricity for a ranking of 99 and 0.238 tons from residential fuels ranking it 48. This compares to 0.611 tons from electricity and 0.314 tons from fuels from the average 100-metro resident.
Footprint Causes
The carbon content of the electricity source, cost of electricity, and weather figure prominently into the size of the Lexington footprint. According to the Brookings Institution report some of the factors that led to its size include: Traffic - the sprawl of the metropolitan area leads to longer commutes, there is relatively little use of public transportation and no passenger rail service. Single-family homes use considerably more energy than those that share a common wall like in more densely populated cities. Truck traffic - with the intersection of Interstates 64 and 75 in the Lexington area there is heavy truck traffic. Use of high carbon fuels - Lexington's hot summers and cold winters mean residents use air conditioners or furnaces almost year-round. Almost all of that energy comes from the burning of coal. Cheap energy - some of the nation's least costly electricity places less emphasis on conservation affecting building standards in homes.
Changes afoot
In its analysis, the Brookings Institution determined that metropolitan areas with compact, high-density development and rail transit have smaller per capita carbon footprints than low-density, automobile-oriented cities. As such, New York and Los Angeles consume less energy and emit fewer greenhouse gases per capita, than some other cities including Lexington.
So what is the answer? According to the Brookings Institution, Lexington and the Bluegrass Region should promote more transportation choices and compact development options in its land use model. In addition, it suggests that local government enact housing policies and make location-efficient development decisions to reduce the carbon footprint leading to cleaner air. Innovative planning, urban revitalization, rural preservation and regional sustainability are very important in reducing the carbon footprint.
Lexington has made, and is making, changes leading to progress in a number of areas aimed at reducing its carbon footprint. Some of the more significant changes are in the two areas of focus in the Brookings Institution report -transportation and residential development.
Transportation -
Both transportation planning and traffic operations must work very closely to be effective. The Lexington profile confirmed that the largest decrease was in the per capita transportation footprint (- 6.0 percent) between 2000 and 2005. It was the only decrease in either transportation or the residential energy consumption. Both the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (LAMPO) and Division of Traffic Engineering coordinate activities to move people and goods safely and efficiently. Among the most important of the operations efforts undertaken were: City-wide traffic signal retiming of all 370 traffic signals, special event and incident planning, the change out of 10,088 traffic signal lens to Light Emitting Diodes (LED's), increase in transit ridership, use of biodiesel fuel and the addition of hybrid vehicles to the city fleet.
In 2002 Traffic Engineering began a city-wide traffic signal retiming effort. It was completed in 2007. Results include a significant increase in efficiency and savings in fuel used and reduced motorist delay. Another result was the development of a city-wide Synchro model used by traffic engineers to keep signal timing plans up-to-date across the community.
Advanced planning and coordination between engineers, police, fire, event sponsors and mall representatives establishes event specific signal timing strategies. These strategies include pre-event, post-event and day-of-event activities for conventions, concerts, university, high school basketball and football games, arena football, minor league baseball, holiday mall shopping, VIP visits, parades, thoroughbred racing, auctions, and equestrian events. The engineers implement, monitor and adjust traffic signal timing to assist traffic flows during
many of these special events. Several of the events occur on weekends, holidays or late evenings. The Traffic Management Center often functions as a "Second Command Post" with a police officer working side-by-side with traffic signal engineers. Pre-planned signal timing is also used when interstate traffic is detoured onto city arterials. To address unplanned/incident type events, all police recruits and sergeants receive training in the Traffic Management Center to help them better understand the capabilities of the technologies that traffic engineers have access to that can provide assistance to them when they are working an incident. Police manpower, overtime costs and motorist delay have been significantly reduced for special events and incidents through these efforts.
Beginning in 1999 the Division of Traffic Engineering and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet worked to retrofit over 10,000 incandescent traffic signal bulbs with Light Emitting Diode's (LED's). The retrofit was completed in 2005, increasing the reliability and visibility for motorists while consuming 90% less electricity. Countdown and audible pedestrian signals also use the LED technology. This effort alone reduced energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to planting 4,000 trees.
The Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization has responsibility for all aspects of highway and transit planning. Fayette County has been designated an air quality attainment area for both ozone and particulate standards since 2004. The Transportation Planning staff, through the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Bluegrass Mobility Office, oversees efforts in carpooling, vanpooling, bicycles and pedestrians to reduce ozone and particulate matter air pollution. In addition, they serve as the local government liaison with LexTran, the city's transit provider. Transit ridership has increased almost 86% in the 2005-2008 timeframe since city voters approved a tax increase in 2004 to enhance service in the community.
The use of biodiesel fuel by the University of Kentucky and the Fayette County Public School System began on a limited basis in 2006. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that is typically made from soybeans. Its use helps to conserve natural resources and reduce particulate emissions. The effort was coordinated by LAMPO staff in cooperation with the Bluegrass Partnership for A Green Community organization. To date over 35,000 gallons of the fuel has been purchased.
Lexington currently has one of the largest fleets of hybrid vehicles in Kentucky (public or private) with a total of 51. Each year these vehicles produce 11,820 fewer pounds of carbon monoxide; 1,870 fewer pounds of hydrocarbons; and 745 fewer pounds of nitrogen oxides as compared to an equal number of conventionally powered vehicles. Lexington city vehicles also purchase gasoline containing 7% to 8.5% ethanol (a renewable fuel) through a commercial vendor.
Development -
Land Use - Innovative Planning
In 1958, Lexington-Fayette County initiated an Urban Service Boundary as a tool to limit development to urban areas served by sanitary sewers. It was the first such boundary in the nation. Comprehensive Plan updates and related growth management activities guide Fayette County's development. The plan mitigates the impact of "urban sprawl" by directing growth to designated areas where essential services can be provided, providing guidance for rural service area land management, promoting preservation of open space, and promoting expansion of greenways and parks. In 2007, the Planning Commission did not approve an expansion of the Urban Service Area despite the fact that vacant land within it is at the lowest level in history. The adopted plan provided for a "Green Infrastructure" element for the first time that is aimed to enhance community sustainability utilizing a unified comprehensive approach to environmental issues. Among other things, the plan element recommends development of comprehensive parks, open space and trails programs. Since 1999 over 165,000 trees have been planted under a program known as "Reforest the Bluegrass."
Infill and Redevelopment
Since the Year 2000 an intensified infill and redevelopment program has been aimed at increasing urban density through a combination of flexible residential regulations, facilitation, incentives, and education. As a result, there is community interest in exploring even greater use of innovative techniques to encourage growth through urban infill and redevelopment as opposed to suburban edge development. The city is taking a hard look at using over 5,000 acres of vacant urban land to accommodate infill growth and/or redevelopment before consuming more farmland. Indeed, the community's momentum behind infill redevelopment is already producing significant downtown projects that amount to over $500 million.
Rural Farmland Conservation
In 2000, a Purchase of Development Rights Program was created with the purpose of conserving rural farmland in order for Fayette County to retain its general agriculture, equine and tourism industries. Lexington's Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) Program was the first Agricultural Conservation Easement program by a local government in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. To date 196 farms have helped the PDR Program reach 45% of its 50,000-acre goal. There are 22,589 acres now permanently protected by conservation easements.
National Recommendations
The nation's carbon footprint is expanding. With a growing population and an expanding economy, Americans are driving more, building more, consuming more energy, and creating a larger carbon footprint. Energy prices, growing
dependence on imported fuels, and accelerating global climate change make the nation's growth patterns unsustainable.
The Brookings Institution identified several ways the nation's metropolitan areas could accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions significantly while enhancing energy security and national competitiveness. Brookings researchers state that as the nation considers future actions it is the metropolitan areas that can have the largest impact. The nation must reduce the energy intensity of the economic system; lower the carbon intensity of its energy consumption, and save energy through compact development. Because such transformations require capital, they are often only cost-effective when capital assets are first being built, or when major upgrades, renovations, or system replacements are occurring. If improved technology is not installed at those points in time, the carbon-intensive status quo can be locked in for decades. All these considerations make focusing on the already built infrastructure, concentrated in the largest metropolitan areas, more urgent. Metropolitan areas are poised to play a leadership role in addressing these energy and environmental challenges, but to achieve the full potential of energy and climate solutions some federal policy changes are needed.
It was noted that some of the limitations of existing federal policy are that numerous market and policy distortions inhibit metropolitan areas from more aggressively addressing the nation's climate challenge. Economy-wide problems include under-priced energy, under-funded energy research, missing federal standards, distorted utility regulations, and inadequate information. Policy impediments include a bias against public transit, inadequate federal leadership on freight and land-use planning, failure to encourage energy- and location-efficient housing decisions, and the fragmentation of federal transportation, housing, energy, and environmental policies. The report urges Washington to put a price on carbon; increase investment in energy research and development; establish a national renewable electricity standard; help states reform their electricity regulations; and improve information collection on emissions and energy consumption.
The option to create a climate-friendly metropolitan environment does not necessarily translate into selecting low-carbon alternatives. Numerous flaws prevent the market from operating efficiently in tackling the climate problem—the most important being the lack of a price on carbon. According to the Brookings Institution the federal government must create new programs and policies and expand others to encourage decisions that reduce the nation's carbon footprint, including increasing energy research and development spending, developing a national renewable electricity standard, and providing technical assistance to states and localities.
The Brookings Institution report recommends five federal initiatives to promote energy-efficient transportation and development that are particularly important to metropolitan America.
• Promote more transportation choices to expand transit and compact development options;
• Introduce more energy-efficient freight operations with regional freight planning;
• Require home energy cost disclosure when selling and "on-bill" financing to stimulate and scale up energy-efficient retrofitting of residential housing;
• Use federal housing policy to create incentives for energy- and location-efficient decisions; and
• Issue a metropolitan challenge to develop innovative solutions that integrate land use, transportation, energy, and other related areas.
The Brookings Institution researchers believe that all city officials will take a closer look at the way their cities operate and make needed changes to reduce the carbon footprint their cities and residents are creating and leaving behind. It is their hope that this first nationwide accounting of transportation and residential development provides for comparisons and hopefully will promote a spirit of competition toward excellence and innovation among metropolitan areas.
Researchers further recommend policy change to increase federal and state funding for energy solutions, financial penalties for excessive carbon emissions, greater emphasis on energy research and the development of strategies to encourage investment in public transportation. Other recommended actions are for state and local governments to tighten building codes to produce more efficient homes, strengthen planning and zoning regulations so less forest and farmland is converted into subdivisions and to provide financial incentives to encourage infill development in urban areas. The full report can be found at www.blueprintprosperity.org.
Summary
Reducing the carbon footprint is extremely important to any community regardless of size, geography or weather. Lexington is making a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as is evidenced by those highlighted actions taken in transportation planning and operations and in the development related issues of urban sprawl, infill development/redevelopment and rural area preservation.
In just the last few years Lexington has received a number of transportation and development awards and recognition that improvements are being made to its overall quality of life. Among these are: The Division of Traffic Engineering Traffic Management Center received national recognition for traffic flow management when it was presented with the Crown Communities Award in 2003 by American City and County Magazine and Johnson Controls. It also received the 2005 Kentucky American Public Works Association Technology Project of the Year award. Lexington was recognized by the American Community Survey, 2005-
2007, as having one of the nation's shortest commute times (19.6 minutes) for a city with a population of 200,000 or more. PDR efforts won the 2004 James C. Howland Municipal Enrichment Gold Award from the National League of Cities and CH2M Hill in recognition of contributions made to the enrichment of the urban environment. Lexington is placing much more emphasis on alternative transportation modes like bicycling. In 2007 the League of American Cyclists recognized the city as a "Bike Friendly City". By the end of this calendar year the community goal is to have a total of 30 miles of bike lanes and 36 miles of bike trails. Lexington ranked 18th nationally in the first ever Earth Day Network Urban Environment Report conducted in 2007. According to Popular Science Magazine Lexington was America's 25th greenest city in 2008 and Forbes ranked Lexington the fifth best place for business and careers in the United States in
2008. Lastly, Lexington has entered into a number of partnerships with organizations such as: EPA Energy Star Partnership, EPA Change the World Campaign, EPA Million Monitor Drive, DOE Rebuild America Program, and the International Council for Local Governmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Cities for Climate Protection Program.
Progress is being made in both transportation and residential development. Lexington is stepping up to the challenge of reducing its carbon footprint.