Quantifying the ecological footprint of Middle East Technical University: towards becoming a sustainable campus

Download
index.pdf
2015
Galioğlu, Yeliz
Show full item record
343
views
148
downloads
The Ecological Footprint is an eco-based sustainability indicator that aims to provide insight into the delicate balance between human consumption patterns and the Earth’s regenerative capacity. The primary objective of this thesis is to carry out a preliminary comprehensive quantification of the Ecological Footprint of the Middle East Technical University (Ankara Campus), which is one of the biggest public universities in Turkey. In addition, the study aims to present ‘a static snapshot’ of the impacts caused by METU, especially on the environment, for a target year. This study also sets its goal to investigate possibilities for contributing to campus operations, policy development and educational curricula towards becoming a sustainable campus. The objectives of this thesis are also in line with the 2011-2016 METU Strategic Plan, where one of its strategies is to become a sustainable campus. EF is a quantitative method to understand the current situation and suggest a framework for action within the context of developing sustainability. The calculation of EF provides a basis for determining strategies to become a sustainable campus. Within the scope of the thesis, the main aspects of a sustainable campus, namely energy use, transportation, waste & recycle, food consumption and built-up land was vi investigated comprehensively. These investigations involve a component-based approach that calculates EF for each component separately for the year 2012. The Ecological Footprint of Middle East Technical University is computed to be 46,451 global hectares, of which %70 is food (32649 gha), %19 energy (8843 gha), %8 transportation (3563 gha) and %3 other components (Waste &recycle 1184 gha, Built up 210gha). METU campus area is 4350 hectares and Ecological Footprint calculated as 45824 hectare (EF of food 36477 ha, energy 7019 ha, transportation 1110 ha, waste & recycle 941 ha and built-up 277 ha) which shows 41000 hectare is required to fulfill consumption made in METU campus. When compared with the National EF per capita 2.7 and EF per capita values for a number of universities worldwide (ranging from 0.9 to 2.66), METU can be considered to have a tolerable ecological footprint per capita 1.62 (where EF per capita of food 1.14; energy 0.31; transportation 0.12; waste &recycle 0.04; built-up 0.01). Nevertheless, certain regulations might possibly help reduce current EF values, especially for food, energy, and transportation. This preliminary study is the first comprehensive EF quantification of a university campus in Turkey and is hoped to contribute to METU’s strategy of achieving the status of a sustainable campus.
Universities and colleges, Environmental protection., Carbon dioxide mitigation., Sustainable development., Pollution prevention.
http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12619256/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/24874
Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

Estimation of carbon footprint: a case study for Middle East Technical University
Turanlı, Ayşe Merve; Mehmetoğlu, Mustafa Tanju; Okandan, Ender; Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering (2015)
As the amount of the greenhouse gas emission increases, its effect on climate change becomes accordingly important. This fact is proved by the measurements conducted by NASA in terms of mole fraction of CO2. After 1950’s due to rapid rise in industrial activity of post-industrial revolution period, CO2 amount in the air increased constantly. Atmospheric concentration of CO2 increases at an accelerating rate . In year 2014, the CO2 emission value had reached 398.78 ppm. This increase led the investigators to...
A Critical analysis of social dimension in sustainable development: a case study of Tepekışla dam and hepp in Tokat, Niksar
Köse, Pınar; Kalaycıoğlu, Hediye Sibel; Department of Social Policy (2012)
This study aims to make a critical analysis of the social dimension of sustainable development as implemented within the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. Social dimension can be assessed on the basis of six social indicators, which are social accountability, local self-reliance, basic human needs, degree of participation, equity, and appropriate technology. In this context, a field study is conducted in four villages which will be affected by the Tepekışla Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant (Pr...
An Assessment on the link between sustainability and urban form : the case of Gaziantep
Yılmaz, Şeyda; Kayasü, Serap; Urban Design in City and Regional Planning Department (2014)
Sustainability ensures a better quality of life and more sustainable world environment now and in the future. Our climate is constantly changing due to some human induced factors. These changes have negative effects on the environment and human life. Lasting solutions to this global problem can only be achieved by sustainability. Climate change is acknowledged as a serious environmental problem. In recent years, researchers have found a close link between climate change and cities. On the one hand, it is a ...
Economic growth and environment nexus: environmental Kuznets curve
Özokcu, Selin; Yücel, İsmail; Yılmaz, Ayşen; Department of Earth System Science (2015)
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most important Green House Gases (GHGs) for contributing to global climate change. Human influence on earth through economic development is clearly emitting immense amount of CO2 emissions. Hence, examining the relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth is crucial. In this study, the relationship between income and CO2 emissions in the context of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (hereafter EKC), which posits the existence of an inverted U-shape relationship betw...
Quantifying the effects of climate change on hydrological regime and stream biota in a groundwater-dominated catchment: A modelling approach combining SWAT-MODFLOW with flow-biota empirical models
Liu, Wei; Bailey, Ryan T.; Andersen, Hans Estrup; Jeppesen, Erik; Nielsen, Anders; Peng, Kai; Molina-Navarro, Eugenio; Park, Seonggyu; Thodsen, Hans; Trolle, Dennis (Elsevier BV, 2020-11-01)
Climate change may affect stream ecosystems through flow regime alterations, which can be particularly complex in streams with a significant groundwater contribution. To quantify the impacts of climate change on hydrological regime and subsequently the stream biota, we linked SWAT-MODFLOW (A model coupling the Soil and Water Assessment Tool and the Modular Finite-difference Flow Model) with flow-biota empirical models that included indices for three key biological taxonomic identities (fish, macroinvertebra...
Citation Formats
Y. Galioğlu, “Quantifying the ecological footprint of Middle East Technical University: towards becoming a sustainable campus,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2015.
METU IIS - Integrated Information Service open@metu.edu.tr