Much of the discussion of climate change has focused on ‘smokestack and tailpipe’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, due to the way standard (a.k.a. ‘production’ or ‘sector-based’) GHG inventories are designed conducted: measuring GHG’s emitted within a geopolitical boundary (e.g., country, state, county, city). Therefore climate protection solutions and policies have focused on energy and transportation (i.e., ‘smokestacks and tailpipes’). However, an alternative ‘consumption’ (a.k.a. ‘systems-based’) GHG inventory approach reveals that over 40% of global GHG emissions come from production, consumption, and disposition of food and manufactured products. In this class, you will learn about the different types of GHG inventories, and how and why Zero Waste Climate Protection (ZWCP) is a significant yet overlooked solution. For a good ZWCP primer, see the great video here and visit the CRRA Recycler’s Global Warming Council web site

Speaker: Mark Gagliardi. Mark is with the City of Oakland, CA Public Works Agency’s Environmental Services Division, and has an academic background in quantitative analysis, finance, and resource economics. Mark’s primary project work is developing and implementing Oakland’s Zero Waste Sustainability Initiative (www.zerowasteoakland.com). Mark chairs the Executive Committee of the Recyclers Global Warming Council (http://www.crra.com/rgwc/) of the California Resources Recovery Assn. (http://www.crra.com/) since 2009.