To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, individuals can use cleaner modes of transportation to get around, from public transit to biking and walking. Modern transportation relies heavily on petroleum , and passenger cars and light-duty trucks i. Burning one gallon of gasoline creates about 20 pounds of CO2—which means the average vehicle creates roughly 6 to 9 tons of CO2 each year. It turns out that we can do a lot to reduce the impacts of driving, starting with the type of car we drive.
When buying your next car, pick the least-polluting, most efficient vehicle that meets your needs. Just switching from a vehicle that gets mpg to a vehicle that gets mpg car reduces your greenhouse gas emissions by 1. Electric vehicles EVs offer a low-carbon alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles. Both the private and the public sectors are working to reduce barriers and expand EV sales worldwide. EV adoption varies by country, region, and city, but innovative public policies are encouraging people to purchase the vehicles.
In Portland, Oregon, an extensive public charging network may have helped spur all-electric vehicles sales to three times the average U. An EV can reduce your carbon footprint and save you money over the lifetime of the vehicle. Some EV questions to consider:. Curious to know which EV fits your lifestyle? Optimal driving techniques can also help you cut emissions and save money in a gasoline-powered car. Hard acceleration and braking can waste fuel and lower your mileage by 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent around town, according to the Department of Energy DOE.
DOE studies show that for every 5 miles per hour you drive over 60 miles per hour, fuel economy is lowered by 7 percent, so go easy on the brakes and gas pedal. You can also lower impacts by reducing time spent idling, and using overdrive and cruise control.
And because a properly-maintained vehicle can improve your gas mileage and fuel economy by 4 percent, remember to have your vehicle tuned up, tires inflated, and oil and air filter cleaned out regularly. For more tips on driving efficiently visit the Fuel Economy website.
Moreover, this mode can lead to substantial environmental benefits. If your commute is miles round trip, the switch to public transportation could lower your carbon footprint by 4, pounds annually. American households that produce the least amount of carbon emissions are located near a bus or rail line. Parties simply make general non-binding commitments. This has several implications. First, when specific sources are concerned, like road transportation, users only take account of the direct costs of modal ownership like a car vehicle, fuel, insurance, etc.
Ownership is often the only entry and utilization cost for several transportation modes. Society generally assumes the role of providing and maintaining infrastructure and other indirect costs like damage to structures and infrastructure, losses in productivity, cleanup, health services, and damage to ecosystems. Second, the geographic separation between sources and recipients is often acute. Acid rains and climate change are prominent examples.
On a local level, a community may be affected by noise levels well over its contribution notably near major highways , while another e. There is a tendency towards a shift from direct to indirect consequences for environmental externalities , as of total costs involved.
For instance, the absolute levels of air pollutant emissions have considerably dropped in developed economies. The problem of source reduction by vehicles was addressed because it was a straightforward cause of air pollutant emissions.
This has tended to displace problems elsewhere and developed new types of externalities. Thus, the relative share of air pollution impacts is lessening, but not the number of vehicles, investment in infrastructure, or noise levels, which have their own externalities. Reductions in the relative importance of one type of externality redirect the focus on other types that were less addressed, but probably as important in the overall impacts of transport over the environment.
Transfers and additions of costs are prevalent attributes of environmental externalities. Trying to lessen economic costs will either lessen or worsen social and environmental costs, depending on the externality. In the context of limited resources, the distribution of economic, social, and environmental costs takes an important role as to what type of damage is acceptable and in what proportions. It is clear from past strategies that several economic costs have been minimized, notably for producers and users, while social and environmental consequences were disregarded.
This practice no longer applicable since the society is less willing to bear the costs and consequences of externalities for various reasons public awareness, quality of life considerations, high health costs, etc. Air pollution is the most important source of environmental externalities for transportation , mainly because the atmosphere enables a fast and widespread diffusion of pollutants. Although the nature of air pollutants is clearly identified, the scale and scope of how they influence the biosphere are subject to controversy.
On the positive side, emissions of the most harmful air pollutants, such as Carbon Monoxide and Volatile Organic Compounds, have declined despite substantial growth in the number of vehicles, which is indicative of the increasing levels of environmental compliance of vehicles. Carbon Dioxide emissions have increased proportionally with the growth of transportation usage.
As all externalities, costs are very difficult to evaluate because several consequences are not understood, the problems could be at another scale or highly correlated with others, and value monetary or other cannot be conclusively attributed.
Two major groups of factors are contributing to air pollution, notably in urban areas. From a general perspective, the costs of air pollution associated with transportation can be grouped within economic , social, and environmental costs.
Externalities related to water pollution are almost all indirect consequences. It is thus difficult to evaluate and to appraise the specific contribution of transportation over various environmental issues, which explains that problems tend to be addressed on a modal basis.
Noise emissions can be represented as point a vehicle , line a highway and surface ambient noise generated by a set of streets sources. Noise pollution is only present as vibrations. For instance, for a road vehicle, vibrations are created through the internal combustion engine, moving parts transmission , and friction on the surface over which a transport mode operates. The impacts of noise are strictly local, as vibrations are quickly attenuated by the distance and the nature of the landscape trees, hills, etc.
A hazardous material is a substance capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce. Considering the large amounts of freight being shipped through transport systems, hazardous materials have become a concern. Several hazardous materials hazmat releases are spectacular events, notably when it involves a supertanker or a train convoy. However, we must consider that maritime transportation only accounts for 0.
Other transportation modes are thus important sources of hazmat release in the environment, even if they mostly involve small quantities. Minimal information is available on the nature and consequences of hazmats released during transportation, except for safety regulations.
The effects of hazmat release are always punctual but intense. The nature of the effect is related to the type of accident and the hazmat involved. It can range from a small-scale accident where limited quantities of hazmat are spilled, to notable accidents requiring prompt intervention and evacuation of local residents. Thus, transportation has a wide array of environmental externalities , some of which can be reasonably assessed while others are mostly speculative, but often taken as facts by environmentalist groups.
Externalities are also occurring at different geographical scales , and some may even overlap over several scales. The bottom line is that better transport practices, such as fuel-efficient vehicles, that reduce environmental externalities are likely to have positive economic, social, and environmental consequences. While the public sector is incited the address the environmental impacts of transportation through policies and regulations, the private sector deals with compliance and tries to innovate.
This iterative process is complex, but the environmental aspects of transportation have been addressed more comprehensively. It remains to be seen about which strategy is the most beneficial as in all environmental matters much subjectivity and often ideology prevails. Skip to content Author: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue Transportation systems, from infrastructures to vehicle operations, have environmental impacts ranging from noise, the emission of pollutants to climate change.
The Issue of Transport and the Environment The issue of transportation and the environment is paradoxical since transportation conveys substantial socioeconomic benefits, but at the same time, transportation is impacting environmental systems.
These impacts fall within three categories: Direct impacts. The immediate consequence of transport activities on the environment where the cause and effect relationship are generally clear and well understood. For instance, noise and carbon monoxide emissions are known to have direct harmful effects. Indirect impacts. The secondary or tertiary effects of transport activities on environmental systems. They are often of a higher consequence than direct impacts, but the involved relationships are often misunderstood and more challenging to establish.
For instance, particulates, which are mostly the outcome of incomplete combustion in an internal combustion engine, are indirectly linked with respiratory and cardiovascular problems since they contribute, among other factors, to such conditions. Cumulative impacts. The additive, multiplicative or synergetic consequences of transport activities. They consider the varied effects of direct and indirect impacts on an ecosystem, which are often unpredictable. Climate change, with complex causes and consequences, is the cumulative impact of several natural and anthropogenic factors, in which transportation plays a role.
The share of transportation in global CO2 emissions is increasing. The Transport — Environment Link The relationships between transport and the environment are multidimensional. The relationships between transport and the environment are also complicated by two observations: Level of contribution.
Transport activities contribute among other anthropogenic and natural causes, directly, indirectly, and cumulatively to environmental problems. In some cases, they may be a dominant factor, while in others, their role is marginal and challenging to establish. Scale of impact. Environmental Dimensions Transportation activities support increasing mobility demands for passengers and freight, notably in urban areas.
Air quality Highway vehicles, marine engines, locomotives, and aircraft are the sources of pollution in the form of gas and particulate matter emissions. Noise Noise represents the general effect of irregular and chaotic sounds on people as well as animal life. Water quality Transport activities have an impact on hydrological conditions and water quality. Soil quality The environmental impact of transportation on soil quality particularly concerns soil erosion and soil contamination.
Biodiversity Transportation also influences biodiversity. Land take Transportation facilities have an impact on the urban landscape. Environmental Externalities Externalities are an economic concept that refers to the activities of a group that has consequences , positive or negative, intended or unintended, on other groups.
The challenge resides over three issues: Relationships. The nature and extent of the relationships between transport and the environment must be considered. This is particularly complex as most environmental relationships tend to be indirect and cumulative.
Relationships must be quantified, and their value to environmental externalities should be appraised. This is highly challenging as only general figures subject to debate can be assessed. Therefore, the quantification of economic, social, and environmental costs subject to much contention.
Inaccurate assessments can lead to the exaggeration or underestimation of environmental externalities and improper policies and regulations. The level and extent of corrective actions that can be taken to alleviate environmental externalities linked to transportation, usually in a manner where those contributing bear the responsibility of their activities.
Given the two above points, attempts at regulation, particularly if they involve a comprehensive framework multinational and multisector , have not reached a significant consensus. Alternatively, a consensus may be reached about the nature of an environmental externality, but not about its mitigation.
Assessing Environmental Externalities Air pollution is the most important source of environmental externalities for transportation , mainly because the atmosphere enables a fast and widespread diffusion of pollutants.
Each year, EPA evaluates the greenhouse gas emissions performance of the fleet to determine which vehicles in each class emit less harmful greenhouse gases.
The law requires federal agencies to purchase these high performing vehicles. Over time this will result in a greener federal fleet.
SmartWay helps the freight transportation sector improve supply chain efficiency, reducing greenhouse gases and saving fuel costs for companies who participate. Since the mids EPA has required automakers to display a label on new cars and light trucks with information on vehicles' fuel economy and fuel costs.
Labels on today's cars also include ratings on greenhouse gas and smog-forming pollutants. For information on emission reduction strategies, national policies and regulations, incentive-based and voluntary programs, funding sources, calculators, transportation conformity, and other types of assistance to help states and local areas achieve their air quality and transportation objectives.
While transportation continues to contribute a large percentage of U. Low-carbon fuels, new and improved vehicle technologies, strategies to reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled, and operating vehicles more efficiently are all approaches to reducing greenhouse gases from transportation.
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