Winter Storm Mara Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Austin Resource Recovery has picked up enough storm debris to fill Q2 Stadium four times. The Texas A&M Forest Service says 10.5 million trees were damaged in the Austin area by the storm. At just 400 pounds biomass lost per tree, at 50 percent water and 50 percent dry weight carbon, this is 525,000 tons CO2 as carbon, equalling 2 million tons as CO2, or 17 percent of Austin’s annual emissions. This is equal to all of the transportation electrification emissions reductions goals of the Austin Climate Equity Plan by 2030, at just 400 pounds per tree.
Jim Spencer, now semi-retired KXAN Chief Meteorologist of 32 years says this event may be unprecedented, certainly in his 32 years as Chief Meteorologist for KXAN. He also notes that we are getting one of these extreme weather events a season now.
For further reading:
Austin Resource Recovery – Storm Debris Removal
City of Austin Now Has an Ice Storm Debris Zone Lookup Map (KXAN)
KXAN’s Jim Spencer Reflects on Historic Ice Storm
Texas A&M Forest Service – “City of Austin Ice Storm Damage Assessment”
Austin Climate Equity Plan – Austin’s Annual Emissions
Final Round of Winter Storm Mara Cleanup Begins in Austin (KVUE) |
