RES 231363 - Laserfiche WebLink

AUGUSTIN BERNAL MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL PROJECT DRAFT INITIAL STUDY 12956 DUDEK 56 April 2022 may document the find and allow work to continue. If the discovery proves potentially significant under CEQA, additional work such as preparation of a paleontological treatment plan and monitoring in the area of the find may be warranted. 3.8 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Potentially Significant Impact Less Than Significant Impact With Mitigation Incorporated Less Than Significant Impact No Impact VIII. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS – Would the project: a) Generate greenhouse gas emissions, either directly or indirectly, that may have a significant impact on the environment? b) Conflict with an applicable plan, policy or regulation adopted for the purpose of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases? Setting Climate change refers to any significant change in measures of climate, such as temperature, precipitation, or wind, lasting for an extended period (decades or longer). Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are often called GHGs. The greenhouse effect traps heat in the troposphere through a threefold process: (1) short-wave radiation emitted by the Sun is absorbed by the Earth; (2) the Earth emits a portion of this energy in the form of long-wave radiation; and (3) GHGs in the upper atmosphere absorb this long-wave radiation and emit this long-wave radiation into space and back toward the Earth. This trapping of the long-wave (thermal) radiation emitted back toward the Earth is the greenhouse effect’s underlying process. Principal GHGs include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide, O3, and water vapor. Some GHGs, such as CO2, CH4, and nitrous oxide, occur naturally and are emitted to the atmosphere through natural processes and human activities. Of these gases, CO2 and CH4 are emitted in the greatest quantities from human activities. Emissions of CO2 are largely byproducts of fossil-fuel combustion, whereas CH4 results mostly from off-gassing associated with agricultural practices and landfills. Manufactured GHGs, which have a much greater heat-absorption potential than CO2 include fluorinated gases, such as hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride, which are associated with certain industrial products and processes (CAT 2006). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) developed the Global Warming Potential (GWP) concept to compare the ability of each GHG to trap heat in the atmosphere relative to another gas. The GWP of a GHG is defined as the ratio of the time-integrated radiative forcing from the instantaneous release of 1 kilogram of a trace substance relative to that of 1 kilogram of a reference gas (IPCC 2014). The reference gas used is CO2; therefore, GWP-weighted emissions are measured in metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MT CO2e).