1. What data are included in the tool?
2.
Are all covered entities
subject to the Cap-and-Trade Program included in the tool?
4.
What are the units for
emissions in the tool?
5.
What do the different color
markers represent on the map?
6.
How can I find the top
emitters of a particular pollutant?
7. How can I find the emissions trends for an individual facility?
8.
How can I find the emissions
trends for facilities in a particular industrial sector?
9.
How
to find the emissions trends for facilities in pre-defined geographic regions?
10. How can I find the emissions trends for
facilities in self-defined geographic areas?
11. Can I search facilities on the map by facility name?
12. How can I identify facilities in a particular
geographic area?
13. How can I stop bouncing facility makers?
14. How can I add map layers onto the map?
15. How can I summarize emissions by year,
industrial sector, and predefined geographic region?
16. How can I calculate GHG emissions from multiple
facilities in a self-defined geographic area?
17. How can I export a map into my presentation or
other documents?
18. Can I do geocoding with the tool?
19. How do I make a 2D/3D pie chart?
21. Can the tool show multiple pollutants in a bar
chart or a column chart?
22. Can I download chart data?
23. Can I export a chart into my presentation or
other documents?
24. What are Toxicity-Weighted
Emissions (TWE) and how are they calculated?
1. What
data are included in the tool?
A: The tool includes GHG and criteria pollutant
emissions from large facilities in California that are subject to the GHG Mandatory
Reporting Regulation. The GHGs included are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane
(CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Criteria
pollutants included are volatile organic compounds (VOC), nitrogen oxides
(NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), particulate matter (PM10
and PM2.5), and ammonia (NH3). The tool
does not include GHG emissions from transportation fuels, natural gas suppliers
or electricity importers. Back to top
2. Are all covered entities subject to the
Cap-and-Trade Program included in the tool?
A: Not all entities
covered by the Cap-and-Trade Regulation are presented in the tool. The tool
only includes emissions data for facilities that have a release point
physically located in California. The tool does not include GHG emissions from
entities of transportation fuels, natural gas suppliers or electricity
importers which might also be covered by the Cap-and-Trade Regulation. For more
information please read the Legal Disclaimer on the tool. Back to top
3. Why are the GHG emissions of some facilities in the tool different
from those posted on the GHG reporting website?
A: Prior to 2011, reported
emissions only included GHG emissions directly emitted from the facility. Since
2011, the new reporting regulation requires total GHG emissions that include
not only emitter’s GHG emissions, but also GHG emissions from fuel suppliers.
In order for emission numbers to be consistent and comparable throughout the
years in the tool, fuel suppliers’ GHG emissions were deducted from the total
facility GHG emissions. In the reporting website, on the other hand, the total
emissions for a facility include emissions from all sources. These differences
between the tool and the reporting website are most likely to occur in 2011 and
subsequent years, specifically in refineries and oil and
gas production facilities. Back to top
4. What are the units for GHG emissions in the tool?
A: GHG emissions are reported in metric tons (MT,
or 1000 kilograms) per year. Criteria
pollutants are reported in short tons (2,000 pounds) per year. In order
to compare emissions of different greenhouse gases in a chart or table,
emissions of non-CO2 greenhouses are converted to CO2 equivalent Metric Ton
(CO2eMT) using their respective global warming potentials (GWP). This tool
employs the GWP values from the Second Assessment Report (SAR) of IPCC.
Specifically, GWP_CH4 = 21 and GWP_N2O = 310. Back to top
5. What do the different color markers represent on the map?
A: The markers
represent individual facilities. The
markers are color coded to represent the industrial sector to which the
facility belongs. A legend for the
facility markers is available above the map, under the “Facilities” tab. If you click on a marker legend, all the
facilities of the corresponding industrial sector will bounce on the map. This
helps users identify and locate the facilities of a particular industrial
sector, especially when facilities are clustered together on the map. Back to top
6. How can I find the top GHG emitters?
A: There are two options to
find facilities by emissions level.
Option 1: First, select the target pollutant from the ‘Pollutant’ dropdown list
within the ‘Facility Search Criteria’ in the WEST pane. Next, find the
facilities and emissions list in the EAST pane where emissions are grouped by
facility, which is the default option. Click on the pollutant name header of
the emissions summary table to sort facilities based on emissions in descending
or ascending order. The top emitters will be listed first when facilities are
sorted on a descending emissions level.
Option 2: Select
the target pollutant from the ‘Pollutant’ dropdown list within the ‘Facility
Search Criteria’ in the WEST pane. If another pollutant is already selected, clear it
from the list by clicking
the ‘x’ next to its name. Next,
in the ‘Emission Level’ section of the ‘Facility Search Criteria’, filter
facilities by sliding the ‘Min’ and ‘Max’ bars to minimum and maximum emission
thresholds. Users can also type the low and high emission thresholds in the
‘Min’ and ‘Max’ textboxes. Only facilities with the emissions above the ‘Min’
value and below ‘Max’ value will be selected. To get top emitting facilities of
the selected pollutant, set the ‘Min’ value high enough to screen out
facilities with low emissions. You can also use
this method to select facilities whose emissions of a particular pollutant fall into a certain range. Back to top
7. How can I find the emissions trends for an
individual facility?
A: users can click a facility
marker on the map and the facility information window will pop up. Click on the
‘GHG Trend’ or ‘Criteria Trend’ tabs, and the emissions trend will be presented
in both graphic and tabular formats. The emissions data for the selected
‘Emission Year’ is highlighted in both in the trend chart and the trend
table. Back to top
8. How can I find the emissions trends for facilities in a particular
industrial sector?
A: Following the steps below,
users can find the emissions trend from facilities of a particular industrial
sector.
Step 1: Switch to the Charts view,
and then select the Bar Chart or Column Chart icon;
Step 2: From the ‘Group by’
dropdown list, select group by ‘Emission Year’;
Step 3: In the ‘Primary Sector’
section of the ‘Facility Search Criteria’ pane, select one or more industrial
sectors of interest from the dropdown list;
Step 4: In the ‘Emission Year’
section of the ‘Facility Search Criteria’ pane, select the years you are
interested in. If no year is selected, all available years will be included in
the trend data.
The result will be a chart showing the
emissions trend for a specific industry. Users can further filter the
facilities by geographic regions to get the emissions trend of specific
industries in their area. Back to top
9. How can I find the emissions trends for facilities in pre-defined
geographic regions?
A: Follow the steps below to
find the emissions trend from any predefined geographic region.
Step 1: Switch to the Charts view,
and select the Bar Chart or Column Chart type;
Step 2: From the ‘Group by’
dropdown list, select group by ‘Emission Year’;
Step 3: In the ‘Geographic Region’ section
of the ‘Facility Search Criteria’ pane, select one or more areas of your
interest from the predefined geographic regions, such as Air Basins, Air
Districts, Counties, Cities, Zip Codes;
Step 4: In the ‘Emission Year’
section of the ‘Facility Search Criteria’ pane, select the years you are
interested. If no year is selected, all available years will be included in the
trend data.
The result will be a chart showing emissions
trend for a predefined geographic region. Users can further filter the
emissions by industrial sectors to get the emissions trend from a specific
industry or industries in their area. Back to top
10. How can I find emissions trends for facilities in self-defined
geographic areas?
A: Following the steps below,
you can find the emissions trend for a self-defined geographic area.
Step 1: Switch to the Maps view;
Step 2: Select the Circle,
Rectangle or Polygon shape from the Drawing toolbar located on the upper-right
corner of the map;
Step 3: Draw a shape on the map
that contains the area of interest. You can drag the shape to a different
location, resize , or edit the shape to include the facilities of interest;
Step 4: Click on the shape, and an
information window will popup. In the ‘GHG Trend’ or ‘Criteria Trend’ tabs, the
emissions trends will be presented in graphic and tabular formats. The tool
summarizes the emissions from all facilities contained in the shape you just
drew. The emissions of the selected ‘Emission Year’ are highlighted in both the
table and the chart. Back to top
11. Can I search facilities on the map by facility name?
A: There are two options to
find facilities by name.
Option 1:
Users can search for facilities using the ‘Facility Name’ field of the
‘Facility Search Criteria’ in the WEST pane. Facilities will be selected if any
part of their names matches to the entered text string. The string match is not
case sensitive, which means searching for ‘smud’ will
return the same set of facilities as searching for ‘SMUD’.
Option 2:
Alternatively, users can find facilities in the EAST pane when emissions are
grouped by facility, which is the default group factor. Users can click on the
‘Facility’ header to sort facilities in alphabetical order, and then to find a
facility in the table. Click on the facility in the table and the marker
representing the facility will bounce on the map, with an open facility
info-window. Back to top
12. How can I identify facilities in a particular geographic area?
A: Users can hover the mouse
over the ‘Group by’ tab above the map, and move the mouse over the ‘Geographic
Region’ subtab, then select a type of geographic area, such as air district,
county, or zip code. For example, if ‘Group by County’ was selected, the
emissions summary table on the EAST pane will show emissions by county, and a
map of California counties will be loaded on the map. Users can now click a
county on the emissions summary table, and all facilities in the selected
county will bounce on the map. Users can identify facilities in air basins, air
districts and zip codes in the same way.
Alternatively, users can load one or more map
layers on the map along with facilities, which will give you an idea of what
facilities are in your area. You can
also filter facilities by location in the Facility Search Criteria pane, so
that only facilities in your geographic area will show on the map. Back to top
13. How can I stop bouncing facility makers?
A: Users can click the ‘Stop’
bouncing button above the map, and all bouncing facility markers should stop
bouncing. Back to top
14. How can I add map layers onto the map?
A: Users can hover the mouse over
the ‘Map Layers’ tab above the map, then select a map layer such as air
district, county, or zip code to add to the map. To remove a loaded map layer
from the map, click again the map layer from the Map Layers dropdown list. To
clear all map layers, click the ‘Clear Map Layers’ at the bottom of the ‘Map
Layers’ dropdown list. Back to top
15. How can I summarize emissions by year, industrial sector, and
predefined geographic region?
A: Users can hover the mouse
over the ‘Group by’ tab above the map, and select a particular option. Clicking
on a group option will result in an updated emissions summary table in the EAST
pane. The emissions summary table is
sortable by clicking any column headers.
The emissions summary table also interacts with the map or chart in the
CENTER pane. In the Maps view, users can click any row in the table and the
corresponding facility markers will bounce on the map. In the Charts view,
click any row in the table will result in the corresponding element on the
chart being highlighted. Back to top
16. How can I calculate GHG emissions from multiple
facilities in a self-defined geographic area?
A: Using the drawing toolbar
located on the upper-right corner of the map, users can draw circles,
rectangles and polygons on the map to cover an area of interest in any shape
and size. Once a shape is drawn, users can drag, resize and modify the shape. Users
can click on the shape, a tabbed information window will popup, which consists
of geometry parameters of the shape, facilities within the shape, and
aggregated emissions from all facilities within the shape in both tabular and
graphical formats. Back to top
17. How can I export a map into my presentation or other documents?
A: Users can click on the ‘Get Image’ button in
the upper-right corner of the map area, and a window will pop-up showing a
static map. By right clicking on the map, users can copy or save the image of the
static map for use in an external document or presentation. Please note that the number of facilities
loaded on a static map is limited to around 85 facilities, and map layers such
as counties and zip codes will not be displayed on the static map. Back to top
18. Can I do geocoding with the tool?
A: Yes. Users can use the tool
for geocoding in two different ways.
The first option is using the search toolbar
located on the upper-left corner of the map. As you type in an address to be
geocoded in the search toolbar, the auto-completion function will find the best
matched addresses for you. Click on the search icon on the right, and a marker
will be placed on the map showing the searched address. Users can click on the
marker to see the latitude and longitude of the address. The same toolbar also
does reverse geocoding (i.e., estimating an address from its geo-coordinates). Type in the latitude and longitude (separated
by a comma) in the search toolbar, and the tool will approximate an address for
the location.
The second option is to use the drawing toolbar
located on the upper-right corner of the map. Select the marker icon on the
toolbar, and then click a location on the map for which you would like to find
its geo-coordinates. A maker will be added on the map, and its latitude and
longitude will be displayed in the information window. You can drag the maker
and move it on the map, and its latitude and longitude will update on the
fly. Back to top
19. How do I make a 2D/3D pie chart?
A: Users can click the ‘Pie
Chart’ icon above the chart area, and the pie chart will toggle between 2D and
3D formats. Back to top
A: Yes. Users can click on a
column header of the emissions summary table on the EAST pane, and the chart
will be sorted based on the column being clicked. Back to top
21. Can the tool show multiple pollutants in a bar chart or a column
chart?
A: Yes. Emissions of multiple
pollutants can be shown on bar charts or column charts. Users can select
multiple pollutants from the ‘Pollutant’ dropdown list in ‘Facility Search
Criteria’ on the WEST pane, and the emissions data will be added on the chart
in the CENTER pane and the table on the EAST pane. Non-CO2 greenhouse gas
emissions are converted as CO2e metric tons for easy comparison.
For pie charts and treemaps,
only the first selected pollutant emissions are shown on the charts. Back to top
22. Can I download chart data?
A: Yes. Users can click the
‘Get Data’ button on the upper-right corner of the chart area, and the data
used for creating the chart will be downloaded as a csv file. Back to top
23. Can I export a chart into my presentation or other documents?
A: Yes. Users can click the ‘Get Image’ button on the upper-right corner of the chart area, and a window will pop-up with an image of the chart. Right click on the image and you will have options to copy & paste or save the image. Back to top
24. What are Toxicity-Weighted
Emissions (TWE) and how are they calculated?
A: In addition to the emissions reported for each toxic air contaminant, the Pollution Mapping Tool includes estimates of the toxicity-weighted emissions (TWE) for these substances that have OEHHA approved health values. Toxicity-weighted emissions represent a normalized value that can be used to compare the relative toxicity of the pollutants and the potential health impacts from all toxics emitted from a facility. For more information regarding the TWE calculations, please read the Important Notes about the CARB Pollution Mapping Tool – II. Toxic Pollutant Emissions. Back to top