Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Goods and Services: An Input-output ApproachEnvironmental life cycle assessment is often thought of as cradle to grave and therefore as the most complete accounting of the environmental costs and benefits of a product or service. However, as anyone who has done an environmental life cycle assessment knows, existing tools have many problems: data is difficult to assemble and life cycle studies take months of effort. A truly comprehensive analysis is prohibitive, so analysts are often forced to simply ignore many facets of life cycle impacts. But the focus on one aspect of a product or service can result in misleading indications if that aspect is benign while other aspects pollute or are otherwise unsustainable. This book summarizes the EIO-LCA method, explains its use in relation to other life cycle assessment models, and provides sample applications and extensions of the model into novel areas. A final chapter explains the free, easy-to-use software tool available on a companion website. (www.eiolca.net) The software tool provides a wealth of data, summarizing the current U.S. economy in 500 sectors with information on energy and materials use, pollution and greenhouse gas discharges, and other attributes like associated occupational deaths and injuries. The joint project of twelve faculty members and over 20 students working together over the past ten years at the Green Design Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, the EIO-LCA has been applied to a wide range of products and services. It will prove useful for research, industry, and in economics, engineering, or interdisciplinary classes in green design. |
Contents
Introduction to the EIOLCA Method | 1 |
Exploring Environmental Impacts and Sustainability | 3 |
Combining the EIOLCA Approach | 21 |
Environmental Valuation for Life Cycle Assessment | 29 |
Uncertainty in Estimating Impacts | 42 |
Using the Economic InputOutput Life Cycle Assessment Model | 49 |
Example Applications | 63 |
A Life Cycle Analysis of a Midsize Passenger Car | 65 |
Construction Materials for Roads and Bridges | 103 |
Environmental Impacts of Services | 109 |
Life Cycle Assessment of Electricity Generation | 118 |
Contents | 127 |
Further Developments in the EIOLCA Method | 147 |
Development of Regional Economic InputOutput Life | 160 |
Enterprise and Materials Flow InputOutput Analysis | 178 |
Some Alternative Model Forms for EIOLCA | 198 |
Comparison of Steel and Plastic Fuel Tank Systems | 76 |
Effects of Using Nanotechnology to Stabilize Platinum | 86 |
Group Metal Particles in Automotive Catalysts | 87 |
ECommerce Book Publishing and Retail Logistics | 94 |
Compliance of an LCA Study Conducted Using | 226 |
References | 239 |
About the Authors | 261 |
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Common terms and phrases
$1 million aggregate air emissions air pollution aluminum analysis associated automobile calculated carbon catalysts Chapter coal coefficients commodity concrete construction consumers consumption Cycle Assessment developed direct disaggregated e-commerce economic input-output EIO-LCA addresses EIO-LCA Method EIO-LCA model electricity environmental burdens environmental effects environmental impacts Equation estimate Example Applications external costs final demand GHG emissions global warming potential greenhouse gas greenhouse gas emissions indirect industry sectors input-output models inputs inventory inverse inverse matrix LCA method LCA model LCA studies lifetime lost workday manufacturing materials metal metric tons mining mt CO2 nanotechnology natural gas Nitrogen oxides particulate petroleum phase pipeline power plant process models production purchases rail regional residential buildings resource retail scenario steel mills sulfur dioxide suppliers supply chain Table terajoules transportation truck type of LCA U.S. economy uncertainty vehicle y/na