Eleanor Hennessy

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Postdoc at Arizona State University

Wildfires and post-fire debris flows (PFDFs) threaten California infrastructure and are evolving with climate change. There is significant focus on the threat of utility-caused wildfires because electric power equipment has triggered wildfires leading to major damage. California’s ambitious climate targets rely on electrification of transport and i...

Long-haul freight shipment in the United States relies on diesel trucks and constitutes ∼3% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and a significant share of local air pollution. Here, we compare the climate and air pollution-related health damages from electric versus diesel long-haul truck fleets. We use truck commodity flows to estimate tailpipe emiss...

California contributes 0.75% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has a target of reaching economy-wide net zero emissions by 2045, requiring all sectors to rapidly reduce emissions. Nearly 8% of California’s GHG emissions are from the heavy-duty transportation sector. In this work, we simulate decarbonization strategies for the heavy-duty...

Rapid decarbonization of the transportation system is needed to address global climate change, and electrification of the transportation sector will likely be an important strategy to achieve decarbonization goals. While electrification is an effective approach to reducing carbon emissions, it may result in environmental justice consequences that n...

Fuel cell electric vehicles utilizing hydrogen are one option for reducing emissions in the transportation sector. Future hydrogen demand for the mobility markets will be partially dependent on the evolution of state and national policies and incentives. Hydrogen from natural gas plus carbon capture and sequestration (SMR-CCS) is one pathway for ma...

Passenger vehicles are an essential form of transportation and contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and criteria air pollution. The health and climate effects associated with their use disproportionately impact low-income communities and people of color. A shift from conventional vehicles to zero-emission vehicles is essential to me...

The electric grid is evolving rapidly in response to climate change. As renewables are incorporated, more interconnection of the grid is expected. Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from fossil-fuel generation causes adverse health impacts, including thousands of premature deaths each year in the United States. It is well understood that P...

Towns and cities worldwide emit significant pollution and are also increasingly affected by pollution's health and climate impacts. Local decision makers can alleviate these impacts by transitioning the energy they control to 100% clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency. This study develops roadmaps to transition 53 towns and cities in the Un...

We develop roadmaps to transform the all-purpose energy infrastructures (electricity, transportation, heating/cooling, industry, agriculture/forestry/fishing) of 139 countries to ones powered by wind, water, and sunlight (WWS). The roadmaps envision 80% conversion by 2030 and 100% by 2050. WWS not only replaces business-as-usual (BAU) power, but al...