2.12.2015

The Carbon Cost of a Wilderness Trip

12 comments:
 
[Joseph Rand, ERG Graduate Student]

On any given Monday, conversations buzz around ERG’s communal cubicle workspace with stories of weekend skiing, rock climbing, surfing, bicycle rides, trail runs, skijoring, LARPing, lumberjack games... you name it, ERGies probably do it.


View of the Colorado River from the Nankoweap Granaries in the Grand Canyon (Photo: Jonathan Sisley)


A good number of ERGies would attest to having developed a deep environmental conscience from time spent in the wilderness. For many of us, whenever we are not buried in reading, writing, and problem sets, we are finding renewal through various outdoor adventures and activities. Fortunately for us, the Bay Area is situated pretty well whether you’re into mountains, forests, or the ocean. Or if you’re like me, you like to hang out in the Earth’s drainage ditches: rivers.


Taking the leap at Elves’ Chasm (Photo: Jonathan Sisley)


My passion for rivers led me to leave California over winter break and head to the biggest drainage ditch in the country: the Grand Canyon. Although permits to run the river are extremely competitive to win through the National Park Service (NPS) Lottery, the winners occasionally have to back out of their trips, freeing up their coveted permits. In these cases, the NPS issues "follow-up" lotteries, which tend to be less competitive (especially for river trips in the dead of winter around the holidays).

Through this process, a few friends and I were lucky enough to secure a Grand Canyon permit, which launched on December 19, 2014 (leaving barely enough time to finish my final exams!). We would be kayaking 279 miles in 13 days without raft support, meaning we had to cram 13+ days of food and gear into our kayaks. It is a big, committed trip--requiring a great deal of planning and preparation--from what food you’ll bring along to how you’ll go about packing your solid waste. I should have consulted with Emily (from my ERG cohort) for some creative ideas on my fecal sludge management! (See photo below.)


Kayaks loaded at the put-in (note the white PVC tubes - used to pack out human waste!) (Photo: Joseph Rand)


As I made the long drive from Berkeley to Lee’s Ferry--the put-in of the Grand Canyon--I reflected on what may be a slight contradiction in my values when it comes to my own carbon footprint: I willingly drive long distances in order to spend time in the wilderness. Here in Berkeley, I live a fairly efficient urban lifestyle and try to minimize my carbon impact. Admittedly, I do own a car, but it sits parked on the street for weeks at a time while I ride my bike everywhere (my steering wheel literally had cobwebs on it earlier this year). I, like all ERGies, consider it a part of my identity to live as efficiently and sustainably as I can.

Yet, here I am, driving over 2000 miles round-trip just to float down a river for two weeks. Is this carbon impact an acceptable trade-off for the enjoyment and renewal I expected from this adventure?

My close friend Josh--one of 3 other guys running the river with me--provoked these questions further. Just before leaving for the canyon, Josh graduated with an MS from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, where he studied grid integration of renewable energy. While floating down the river, Josh and I began discussing: How long would we have to spend in the Grand Canyon to balance the carbon impact of traveling there, compared to the baseline of our normal urban, energy consuming lifestyles? The assumption, of course, being that once we are in the Canyon, our carbon footprint drops to nearly zero (aside from food and cooking).


The group after hiking Deer Creek Narrows in the Grand Canyon (Photo: Jonathan Sisley)
The group after hiking Deer Creek Narrows in the Grand Canyon (Photo: Jonathan Sisley)

Having taken Energy and Society (ER200) in the fall semester of 2014, I had gained the tools to do a simple back-of-the-envelope equation to attempt to answer this question! So, for the energy-nerds / wilderness lovers among us, here is a simple estimate of the number of days I would have to spend in the Grand Canyon to offset the CO2 emitted to get there in the first place.

A few key assumptions:
  • Food-related carbon emissions are the same in the Canyon as they are at home (let’s ignore the fact that I was eating around 5,000 calories per day in order to paddle 25-35 miles each day and stay warm!).
  • The round-trip journey to and from the Grand Canyon (including shuttling my car to the takeout at Pearce Ferry) was about 2,000 miles.
  • My car averages about 24 miles/gallon (the boat on top adds a lot of drag!).
  • I will use the EPA estimate that burning one gallon of automobile gasoline emits ~8,887 grams of CO2.
  • For my CO2 emissions here in California, I am assuming the average CO2 intensity of California’s electric grid to be 277 grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour.

So how much CO2 did am I responsible for emitting based on this 2,000 mile drive?


Using a (very) crude energy audit based on a typical day here in Berkeley, I calculated my average daily CO2 emissions to be roughly 3.75 kg per day:

Energy audit
Energy audit

So how many days would I have to spend in the Grand Canyon in order to offset the CO2 emissions from driving there (compared to a baseline of a typical "Berkeley Day")?


Of course this is based on a lot of assumptions and rounding, but at least this number gives me a general ballpark idea. I was hoping for a smaller number--so hopefully whoever graded the ER200 problem sets can find an error in my calculations ;)

While I would LOVE to spend 198 days in the Grand Canyon, the maximum permit length is ~35 days. Next time I’ll just have to bring a few more ERGies along with me to the Canyon! Check out some more pictures and a short video from the trip below!

Camp at Lower Blacktail Canyon (Photo: Jonathan Sisley)


Hiking Deer Creek Narrows (Photo: Jonathan Sisley)


Scouting Lava Falls - Mile 179 in the Grand Canyon (Photo: Joseph Rand)


Joe scouting the crux move at Lava Falls, mile 179 in the Grand Canyon (Photo: Jonathan Sisley)

Dropping into Lava Falls - 30 seconds of chaos! (Photo: Joseph Rand)







Note: The views expressed here belong solely to the author of each entry and are not representative of the position of the Energy and Resources Group, UC Berkeley.

12 comments:

  1. This is awesome Joe!! Despite the CO2 emissions - I am glad you took the time to enjoy this wonder of nature.

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    1. Thanks Kripa! I agree - despite the carbon cost there is a lot of value in these trips - and hopefully they make us more committed to the path.

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  2. Wow--this looks like a kayaking adventure of a lifetime! If you take four other ERGies next time, you'll be able to *nearly* break even. Also, this makes me wonder how many days one has to spend in the field to offset transportation emissions if one's field site is in...Zimbabwe? (see http://furthestcity.com/city.php?ID=SAN_FRANCISCO_CA_UNITED_STATES_OF_AMERICA)

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    1. Haha yikes that is a long trip... And of course air travel is typically more carbon intensive per km travelled. But the work you are doing is worth it!

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  3. Now you can write post calculating how long you have to wait, and what sacrifices you'll make to earn/justify the next trip! So glad to have seen this!

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    1. Great idea! Maybe I could set up a personal "carbon offset fund" that I "deposit" credits into every time I ride my bike instead of drive, etc... Then when I do take a trip I can "withdraw" from the carbon bank!

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  4. Thanks y'all for the comments and feedback! An interesting extension I've been thinking about would be to calculate the same for Josh - who flew from Detroit, MI to Las Vegas, NV for the trip. However, the electricity portfolio in MI is much more coal dependent than here in CA, so his "baseline" carbon footprint would presumably be higher. Would be neat to compare driving vs. flying against the different electricity generation portfolios...

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  5. holy awesome -- ahhh screw the carbon....just lay off the hot water and refrigerator for a while.

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  6. Enjoyed reading your article. And that video...wow!

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  7. Dude you should have just taken the train...~320kg for round trip travel, and you can pay Amtrak an extry $3.17 to go on and take care of your carbon footprint for you (carbonfund.org/partners/item/amtrak). Easy peasy.

    Tremendous video man - I've watched my share of kayaking vids, and that is far and away the most gripping. Awesome trip, you've got me thrilled and terrified to do it myself. I probably won't take the train either.

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    1. Train is a good idea - do they let you take boats on Amtrak? Probably not... A lot of airlines are letting you buy carbon offsets now, and some companies sell annual carbon offsets for your car too.
      Glad you liked the video! You're going to have a blast in the canyon - Get at me for packing lists / tips on good hikes, etc. if you want!

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  8. Whoa! That looks like it was a blast :D
    Thanks for sharing all of the pretty pictures!
    -Josiah

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