Updating a Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Community Lead
The challenge
An outdated greenhouse gas inventory
Following an initial county-wide greenhouse gas inventory completed in 2008 using 2005 data, the team was challenged to create an updated greenhouse gas inventory for the City of Durango. The objective was to create an inventory using current best-practice methodologies that could be used to establish priorities for emissions reduction and be relatively easily repeated in future years to benchmark progress.
The Results
A community-wide GHG inventory and strengthened relationships
In addition to fostering lasting relationships with local scientists and Fort Lewis College, this project enabled the City of Durango to complete a community-wide GHG inventory without the expense of hiring external consultants.
Through this project, the team delivered the following outputs:
- City of Durango Community GHG Inventory in ClearPath
- Public-facing report providing a summary and methodology of the inventory. The report also provides examples of existing or potential strategies to reduce emissions in each sector. The report is currently in draft form. Once finalized it will be shared with Durango City Council and the public as well as used to inform the development of goals and strategies for emissions reduction.
Project Team
Imogen Ainsworth
Community Lead
Imogen Ainsworth is Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Durango, Colorado. Since joining the City of Durango in November 2016, Imogen has worked on a variety of initiatives, including recycling and sustainability outreach, solar PV feasibility, Durango's STAR certification and organizational resource use efficiency. She holds an undergraduate Master's degree in Environmental Geography from the University of Bristol, UK and a Master's in Geography and Natural Resource Management from the University of New Mexico. While studying at the University of New Mexico, Imogen met her now-husband and relocated permanently to the US in 2016 after gaining experience working on municipal and non-profit renewable energy programs in her native UK.
Joanna Gordon Casey
Scientific Lead
Joanna Gordon Casey, a Fort Lewis graduate, recently returned to Durango after earning a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She has expertise in measurements of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols and is interested in engaging problems related to air quality, human and environmental health, energy resources and associated emissions, atmospheric dynamics and transport, atmosphere-ecosystem exchange, the global carbon cycle, and climate feedbacks.
Laurie Williams
Scientific Lead
Laurie Williams is a professor in the Department of Physics & Engineering at Fort Lewis College. She joined the college in 2004. Previously, she was a post-doctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the supercritical fluids experimentation facility. Laurie began her career as a pipeline engineer for Western Gas Supply Company and as an environmental consultant prior to pursuing her Ph.D. and transitioning into academia. She is a faculty adviser and co-director of the Fort Lewis College student organization Village Aid Project and has helped lead many projects to design and construct water systems, sanitation systems and other projects in developing countries such as Myanmar, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Laos and Thailand.
Laurie Williams is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Colorado.