1. 18 IN COMMON WINTER 2016 19
41%
30%
17%10%
1%
1%
Commerical
Industrial
Residential
Transportation
Waste
Water and
Wastewater
HELPING THE CITY OF MADISON CUT CARBON EMISSIONS
ESTIMATING THE COST OF WISCONSIN’S CLEAN DRINKING WATER
IN COMMON: AS A YOUNG,
20-SOMETHING STUDENT OF THE
ENVIRONMENT, WHAT ENERGY ISSUES
DO YOU THINK NEED SOLVING?
SANDERFOOT: I would say transportation and
the emissions associated with that sector
are going to be a huge problem in the 21st
century, and we, as a society, need to dedicate
resources to reducing these emissions and
investing in alternative transportation.
It’s important for our generation to not
lose faith in our ability to find solutions to
our energy crisis or the problems associated
with climate change. We must continue to
drive forward and be inspired by human
ingenuity.
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS SOLUTIONS TO
SOME OF THESE PROBLEMS?
I don’t think we yet know what all the pos-
sible solutions are. I think we need to, as a
The term “embodied energy” refers to the
energy needed to pump groundwater or
surface water to the water treatment plant,
and to operate the equipment that removes
contaminants and makes water suitable for
human consumption.
The students arbitrarily set embod-
ied energy to zero at the water source. In
Madison, the source is an underground aqui-
fer; in Green Bay and Milwaukee, it’s surface
water from Lake Michigan.
In Madison, where the aquifer’s groundwa-
ter has already been filtered by many layers
of rock, sand and other natural materials,
more energy is spent on operating pumps
than on water treatment.
“You just need to add a little chlorine and
Madison’s water is pretty much fit to drink,”
Behm says.
For the Lake Michigan utilities, it’s the
other way around: surface water requires less
energy to pump up, but more energy to clean
up. How much more depends on the nature
of the utility’s water treatment process.
Working with engineering physics
Professor Paul Wilson, the students devel-
oped statistical methods for classifying
utilities as low- versus high-electricity use,
based on the power needs of their respective
water treatment and pumping equipment.
The students’ analysis will help utility
managers make more informed decisions
about infrastructure investments for reduc-
ing water loss – the difference between the
amount of water pumped to the treatment
plant versus the amount of water actually
delivered to customers’ homes.
society, invest in research in environmental
science, renewable resources, transportation
technology and so many other fields that
could yield an entirely new option.
WHAT ADVANCEMENTS WOULD YOU LIKE
TO SEE IN ENERGY?
One, I think we can invest in more efficient
and sustainable modes of public transporta-
tion — for example, trains. Allowing more
people access to transportation is also impor-
tant from a social justice perspective.
Second, I’d like to see a more holistic
understanding on the part of citizens as to
what their personal energy consumption
is and how they can take action in their
day-to-day lives to reduce their carbon foot-
print. For example, I recently decided I was
no longer going to eat meat because of the
emissions associated with its production and
transportation.
While we need to approach energy sus-
tainability strategically from a scientific and
technological perspective, on an individual
level there are a lot of things we can do.
IS THERE AN INTERESTING ENERGY
LESSON YOU’VE GLEANED FROM A
RECENT CLASS?
I found my introductory environmental eco-
nomics course with Corbett Grainger to be
extremely useful in thinking about regional
and global issues, especially when it comes to
energy. I had never really considered many of
the financial aspects of environmental move-
ments; for example, what impacts regulations
might have on companies, or how economics
could actually be a tool to benefit both the
private sector and our society and public
health.
That’s an interesting idea to me and some-
thing I think a lot of people disregard — that
finances can be used as a tool to better the
environment.
Like many local governments, the city of
Madison is trying to reduce its emissions of
heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHG) such
as carbon dioxide. To achieve that goal, the
city partnered with UW-Madison in 2010 to
produce its first-ever emissions inventory.
When it was time to update that inventory
with 2014 data, the city again turned to a
team of UW students.
As part of the EAP capstone project in the
spring of 2015, Emily Howell, Alexandra
Karambelas, Xiaomeng Jin and Debaki Ale
analyzed emission trends for specific energy
sectors and proposed policy tools for reduc-
ing Madison’s carbon emissions.
“We identified transportation as a problem
sector that accounts for 41 percent of GHG
emissions,” Howell says.“This carbon foot-
print can be reduced by increasing the use of
public transportation to commute to work.
But to be successful, that strategy has to be
tailored to Madison’s unique geography.”
That unique geography is the isthmus, a
narrow strip of land wedged between Lakes
Mendota and Monona and the site of two
of Madison’s largest employers, the state
government and UW-Madison. Since only so
many roads can fit on a narrow piece of land,
traffic congestion during daily rush hours
causes significant emission spikes.
To reduce those spikes, the students pro-
posed transit-oriented city development:
creating more living spaces around an
isthmus-centered bus rapid transit (BRT)
system.
By using dedicated lanes, off-board fare
collection, few stops and frequent operations,
BRT would be a much faster commuting
system than Madison’s current bus service.
Residential development around BRT would
encourage a greater proportion of the popula-
tion to use it.
“Dane County is predicted to experi-
ence 70 percent of Wisconsin’s population
growth between now and 2050,” Howell
says. “Therefore, transit-oriented develop-
ment would go a long way toward the 80
percent reduction in GHG emissions, from
the 2010 baseline, that the sustainability
committee would like to achieve.”
As a second strategy, the students
researched policies that other U.S. cities
comparable to Madison are pursuing to
boost their renewable energy portfolio. Since
Madison does not own its electric utility, the
students focused on a nearby city in the same
situation: Minneapolis.
The group found that Minneapolis recently
signed a first-of-its-kind renewable energy
agreement with its privately owned electric
utility. Increased communication between
Madison’s sustainability committee and
partners in Minneapolis may lead to similar
progress inWisconsin’s capital city.
“Drive forward and be inspired”
A STUDENT’S PRAGMATIC, OPTIMISTIC ASSESSMENT OF TODAY’S ENERGY CHALLENGES
BY RACHAEL LALLENSACK
Olivia Sanderfoot has her head in the
clouds. Thinking about birds, that is. As
an indicator species for environmental
health, birds are a valuable ally in inspir-
ing sustainable human behavior, she
believes.
“I think people can connect with birds…
they bring people joy,” she says. “So in a
way, it might be easier to get people on
board about reducing emissions or miti-
gating climate change if they see that the
birds they love so much are affected by
anthropogenic activity.”
While an undergraduate at UW-Madison
completing degrees in biology and
Spanish with a certificate in environmen-
tal studies, the 2015 graduate earned a
Conservation Scholars award from the
Madison Audubon Society for her efforts
to engage students and the community in
bird-related conservation.
Today she continues to study the ani-
mals as a master’s student in Environment
and Resources, advised by Nelson Institute
Professor Tracey Holloway. Holloway’s
work at the intersection of air quality,
energy and climate inspired Sanderfoot
to examine how birds are impacted by
atmospheric pollutants.
Sanderfoot also serves as the outreach
assistant for EAP, helping to connect stu-
dents and alumni and publicize their work.
The graduate certificate program helps
students from any background think about
energy in an interdisciplinary way, which
Sanderfoot believes has broadened her
outlook on important energy issues.
“The alumni that I get to work with are
doing phenomenal things; it’s very cool
to see what they’ve done since leaving
UW,” she says. “And exposure to the EAP
classes and capstone projects has given
me a lot to think about as I process news
about our energy sector and other issues
in today’s society.”
Here, Sanderfoot shares some of those
reflections.
We don’t think about it when we turn on the
faucet for a cold drink of water, but it takes
quite a bit of energy to fill that glass. How
much energy is a question that graduate stu-
dents Andrew Behm, Andy Lick and Annie
Lord spent the spring of 2015 pursuing.
The student team worked with the Public
Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin to
complete their capstone project. In turn,
PSC, an independent agency responsible for
regulating Wisconsin’s utilities, including
580 water utilities, gained insight into how
to save water, energy and money.
“PSC wanted to use water treatment data
submitted by each utility to estimate the
energy embodied in drinking water,” Behm
says.“This would allow them to better under-
stand how water utilities use electricity, and
what opportunities exist to conserve it.”
$
18 IN COMMON
WINTER 2016 19
2014 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
IN MADISON