beachdog's Journal: What unit for measuring CO2 emissions?

What is a appropriate unit of measure that we should use for describing the global warming effect of a fuel or a product?

How should we label a product or an energy commodity for embodied CO2 (CO2 emitted by the factory that made the product) and CO2 that will be emitted when the product is used?

It seems to me that if we want to bring the global CO2 burden on the atmosphere caused by human activity under control we need a small set of correct and consistent units of measure.

Right now the process of measuring and controlling our individual carbon footprint or contribution to the global atmospheric CO2 load is a disorganized mess.

Consider the "energy star" label that was applied to computers and monitors. It was a sticker with no numeric content.

Example: Automobiles are labeled with miles per gallon. A furnace is labeled in BTU per hour, a refrigerator is labeled in dollars per year.

Common CO2 emitting energy sources are all labeled in traditional ways that don't reveal the actual CO2 gas that will be released when the fuel is used: kilowatt hours for electricity, therms for gas, gallons for gasoline.

The first candidate I suggest is grams of CO2 gas emitted.

There are some chemical complications that may lead to a little more sophisticated measure, "equivalent grams of CO2". I understand, methane gas in the atmosphere has more warming effect than the same methane perfectly burned to CO2.

So the summary question for you is: What is the unit and method of labeling products and fuels that would enable you to consistently make incremental changes in your life and the way your business works to reduce your Carbon footprint?