ZEROlab to measure carbon footprints

The first of what may be many carbon footprint measurement facilities will be located at the University of Waterloo. The lab is being funded by Zerofootprint. They're hoping to get other ZEROlabs onto other North American campuses.

"Ultimately, the lab will be a repository for the ongoing carbon measurement and benchmarking of building types, institutions, businesses and cities," said Ron Dembo, founder and chief executive officer of Zerofootprint. "That information, when made available on an open source basis, will allow developers and policy-makers to better understand the benefits of efficient design and development."

Dembo's a grad of University of Waterloo, which is in Ontario, Canada.

Zerofootprint points out that much is know about the carbon footprint of cares and trucks. SUVs only account for 3% of the carobn footprint in North America. However, buildings and cities account for 50%. Yet we know much less about the carbon footprint of urban systems and buildings.