GSI review

Question 1

What are end of life options?

Answer 1

Recycling. Landfilling Composting, Abandoning, Reuse, Repair

Question 2

Who has influence in making the building

Answer 2

Owner, designer, contractor, subcontractors, (a lot of people)

Question 3

Building and environmental problem

Answer 3

Construction processes, design, materials demand, energy demand for functionality

Question 4

Why are buildings not environmentally friendly

Answer 4

Decisions are made based off of

Safety
functionality
Cost

Question 5

General environmental trends

Answer 5

Increase of pollutants in air makes for higher amount of acid rain

Question 6

Positive feedback loops • Definition and examples

Answer 6

Feedback Loop is where event A causes event B to happen more but then event A happens more if B happens more and so on. An example of this feedback loop is air conditioning. Can also happen with multiple steps.

We use AC to keep cool in the heat > AC releases greenhouse gases > greenhouse effect increases > it gets hotter > the use of AC is used to keep cool (even more) >loop

Question 7

GHG sinks

Answer 7

sinks : ocean, trees

Question 8

Utility theories explain it.

Answer 8

Higher risk potentially

 higher payoff (graph)
But you can also lose a lot

Question 9

What is an LCA?

Answer 9

Environmental assessment of a product from birth till end of life

Question 10

Process based vs. EIO LCA

Answer 10

Process based vs. EIO LCA
EIO: based on $
Process based: based on materials (emissions for each process of plastic cup)

Question 11

Stages in risk analysis process

Answer 11

Hazard identification
Risk characterization
Risk management

Question 12

Draw cash flow diagram

Answer 12

Diagram with the big arrows on a line insert and output of value gain and loss

Question 13

Where is uncertainty introduced in LCA?

Answer 13

Methods, Assumptions (e.g., boundaries, interpretations), Data (mass flows, emissions, impacts), Interpretations

Question 14

How can we mitigate uncertainty?

Answer 14

Interpretation – significant figures

Simulation – bound the significant figures

Bayesian parameter adjustments

Hybrid models and alternative approaches
Pedigree Matrix

Question 15

What are the different methods of electric generation? How do they each work?

Answer 15

Basic steam cycle-boiler makes steam, steam turns turbine, shaft turns generator

Gas turbine - compressor shoots air into combustion chamber which turns turbine>shaft>generator

Combined cycle combined cycle. Combustion cycle completed. That excess heat is used to heat up steam and then the steam cycle begins

Question 16

What are the different fuel sources and the pros/cons of each (coal, nat. Gas )?

Answer 16

Coal:
Pro: infrastructure built around it. A lot of jobs have been made and a lot of small
coal Town economies depend heavily on these jobs
Con: incredibly detrimental to the environment. Massive amount of CO2 emissions

Natural gas:
Pro: Contributes to about 20 % of world energy
Con: methane leaks from pipes in ground can potentially reach groundwater

Question 17

Why do emissions factors vary across the country? • CA versus East Coast? • Los Angeles versus San Francisco versus San Diego?

Answer 17

Variety of different types of plants for any given county or city being compared.
This is a major difference between a city like Berkeley on the west coast
And a coal town in Ohio.

Question 18

What are some of the main water pollutants, and why do we care?

Answer 18

• Examples – Pathogens are a concern of human health, nutrients can cause dead zones, thermal pollution causes ecosystem damage, ETC.

Question 19

What is BOD, DO, TDS, etc.?

Answer 19

BOD: biochemical oxygen demand
DO: dissolved oxygen
TDS: total dissolved solids

Question 20

Why do we care about the impacts of transportation?

Answer 20

Primary energy consumption, petroleum consumption, GHG emissions, NOx /CO emissions

Question 21

What are some of the key functional units for transportation analyses?

Answer 21

Vehicle lifetime, Vehicle km traveled, Passenger km traveled

Question 22

Name and describe the options for end of life. And list a pro and a con.

Answer 22

Recycling: pro: save natural resources // con: can be an expensive process

Landfilling: pro: keeps our garbage from piling up as that would be a health concern.
Con: it takes a lot of space.

Composting: pro: potential to reduce waste by a quarter in the US.
Con: can be a health concern if not done the right way.

Question 23

What challenges are associated with each disposal method?

Answer 23

Recycling-not as efficient and can cost more in some intense processes

Landfilling- potential groundwater contamination

composting - can become a health concern if not done correctly

Question 24

What is integral or nonintegral recycling?

Answer 24

integral-steel manufacturing

non integral- paper manufacturing, asphalt concrete