1. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

2. Overview Purpose Definitions

3. I want sustainable products? Sustainable source of liquid fuels Sustainable CO2 emissions from coal fired power plants Sustainable coal mining Increase crop/food productivity in Africa LCA gives a framework for evaluating different systems

4. Possible Definitions of Sustainable How do you define? – Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) – Equivalent GHGE (NOx worse than CO2) – Water – Soil – Wildlife diversity – Carbon – Health/safety – Costs (not usually part of LCA, but part of LCC)

5. Purpose LCA technique to assess environmental aspects and potentials impacts caused by an organization, event, product, or service: – Energy and materials inputs with an associated environmental release – Potential environmental impacts associated with the inputs and releases – Interpreting the results to make an informed decision

6. Carbon Footprint Total amount of GHGE caused – Often expressed as equivalent GHGE or GHGEeq – Nox has a greater warming potential than CO2 Lots of resources, make sure you can defend them – http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy- resources/calculator.html

7. Water Footprint Crop production in areas with limited water Improvements in steel production Growing algae or corn in areas with limited water

8. Toxicity Organic crop production Transgenic crops New bathroom cleaners