Baseline Ecological Footprint of Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico

Technical Report · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1090211· OSTI ID:1090211

Coplen, Amy K. ^[1]; Mizner, Jack Harry ^[1]; Ubechel, Norion M. ^[1]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

The Ecological Footprint Model is a mechanism for measuring the environmental effects of operations at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico (SNL/NM). This analysis quantifies environmental impact associated with energy use, transportation, waste, land use, and water consumption at SNL/NM for fiscal year 2005 (FY05). Since SNL/NM’s total ecological footprint (96,434 gha) is greater than the waste absorption capacity of its landholdings (338 gha), it created an ecological deficit of 96,096 gha. This deficit is equal to 886,470lha, or about 3,423 square miles of Pinyon-Juniper woodlands and desert grassland. 89% of the ecological footprint can be attributed to energy use, indicating that in order to mitigate environmental impact, efforts should be focused on energy efficiency, energy reduction, and the incorporation of additional renewable energy alternatives at SNL/NM.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1090211
• Report Number(s): SAND--2008-7838; 457306
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English