Carbon Output Research on WREC

Emily Medigovich
Vida Vasquez
Cesar Marquez
Funded Research Proposal to California State University, Chico
WREC Center
Title: Carbon Produced by the WREC Center at California State
University, Chico

Proposed Research Topic

Carbon Output Research on WREC

Reports on the state of how much carbon is released from the

Wrec center at California State University, Chico is immense. The building
itself is fairly new with the size of 110,000 SF and the cost of building it being
$43 million (Wildcat Recreation Center). Carbon itself is associated with
climate change, carbon dioxide, and other gaseous carbon compounds (Feb
3, 2011 The Guardian). As people here on Earth progressively use a wide
range of technological advances, such as new phones and new television
sets all play a role with carbon. To better understand how conflicts, develop
with the amount of carbon being released from buildings, research is needed
on economic factors that mediate how much money is being spent for the
facility. Our groups purpose is to do an intense study of the recreation center
at Chico State and take an in depth look at the water and electricity bills,
how many people use the center, and the area around the building.
Research Objectives
The overall objective is to understand how carbon plays a role in the
economic situation for the recreation center. Our objectives are:
1.
To carefully create a scope for the recreation center and see the
amount of carbon being transferred out of the building. This will involve
looking over at how much money is being spent for paying the water and
electricity bills
2.
To find a solution to make the WREC at California State University,
Chico more efficient than its carbon output. Looking at the materials it took
to build the WREC we could find other sustainable alternatives that would
have made WREC more sustainable.
3. To determine the community around the building, as in how people are
commuting to and from the WREC.

Purpose background
Carbon is a chemical element, a nonmetal that has two main forms (diamond
and graphite) and that also occurs in impure form in charcoal, soot, and coal.
It can also be defined as carbon dioxide or other gaseous carbon compounds
that is released into the atmosphere, associated with climate change, carbon
dioxide is good for the environment to a certain extent. For example, there is
now too much carbon for the environment that it causes the greenhouse
effect which traps heat in the atmosphere causing the planet to be warmer
than it naturally should be, this increase causes global warming/climate
change. In the past 150 years, such activities have pumped carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere to raise its levels higher than they have been for
hundreds and thousands of years. The natural amount of carbon dioxide
released by humans is utilized in the carbon cycle but when we burn a
surplus of fossil fuels, like carbon, it is released into the air and deforestation

Carbon Output Research on WREC

reduces the amount of carbon being taken from the air so carbon builds up in
the atmosphere. It is mainly known as a major source of charcoal and burns
heavily compared to other flammable substances. Naturalist Giuseppe
Averani and medic Cipriano Targioni of Florence discovered that diamonds
are destructible by heat, and only warmth can break it down. In 1694
experimentalists shone heavy sunlight onto a small diamond through
a largely concentrated magnifying glass and after a lengthy waiting period,
the diamond vanished. Other scientists later performed the same experiment
in 1771, and the same results occurred. However, research in 1796 proves
that the English chemist Smithson Tennant concluded that diamond is
simply a different kind of carbon that is burned, becomes a form of CO2.
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/6/carbon
Scope
We are going to measure an average amount of carbon output per week for
the WREC center. This average will be able to be used to predict a monthly
usage. Our week average will include the electricity, transportation to and
from, and maintance that produces carbon.
Research
The Wrec center has previously been awarded and noticed for its very
sustainable ways. Since the building is very new, the WREC is already very
efficient.On CSU Chico associated students in 2010, they said, California
State Chico Wildcat Recreation Center(WREC) has received a LEED gold
rating from the Green Building Certification Institute for the facility's
sustainable and environmentally conscious features. The Wrec is already
very efficient on the ways it operates in order to reduce carbon footprint. In
order to record the carbon output will be analyzing used and unused
machinery in the WREC. Through Chicos sustainable approach focuses on
five key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy
efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. We will
have an estimate on how much carbon is going to waste. We hope to find or
discover other factors that may lead to an increase in carbon output in terms
of how students interact with carbon footprint before and after visiting the
WREC .
Method
We will be studying the WREC centers carbon output over a period of week
by observing the number of people using per day. We will look at the lighting
and energy by looking at electricity bills. We will use a survey to obtain the
transportation used to get to the WREC center and calculate the carbon
produced based transportation. We will also take into account the building
surroundings such as the amount of trees.
Timelime

Carbon Output Research on WREC

Emily, Madi, and Vida created the proposal due on Monday September 26th.
Background on the WREC center will be researched by Ashley and Cesar.
Madi,Emily, and Vida will be contacting Curtis within a week to receive bills,
info and numbers on the WREC by within a week
Emily will create a survey for transportation
Madi will be in charge of making sure we have the pictures we need.
Cesar will be in charge of completing pie charts with data
Everyone will help conduct the surveys

Reference Page
October 21, 2015 Carbon Pollution: The Good, the bad, the ugly, and the
denial. skepticalscience.com/carbon
Associated Students 2016. Wildcat Recreation Center. csuchico.edu