Introduction
The transport system plays an instrumental
role when it comes to the economic development of individuals nations in the
world. The transportation system facilitates movement of services and goods
within the U.S economy. The advancement in transportation systems, especially
modes of transportation and infrastructure have enhanced movement of people and
goods around the world, and in different parts of the U.S. However, despite the
transport system being crucial when it comes to economic growth and development
of the U.S, it faces a vital challenge related to sustainability. The transport
system is one of the greatest contributors to pollution in the world. According
to Global Green Freight (2014) report, the transportation industry globally
usually contributes around 22% of the carbon monoxide emissions and at the same
time 19% of the black carbon emissions. For example, the vehicles used for
transportation of goods produces emissions that impact on the quality of air
and adversely affect climate. The pollution of the environment by the
transportation sector has negative health implications on the global community
(Szeto, 2016). Unless sustainability issues are addressed within the transport
industry in the U.S, the current trends indicate that it is going to be the
largest contributor of pollution by around 2035.
Therefore, there is urgent need of
the players in the transport sector to come up with a sustainable
transportation system to help reduce the overall levels of pollution in the
future coming from this sector. In today's fast-paced market the transportation
industry is the world leader in pollution, congestion, and waste, so it is the
responsibility of leaders within the industry to make a conscious effort to
create new "Green" alternatives to the existing structure of the
major modes of transportation. The
objective of this report is to discuss the negative impact that transportation
industry has on the environment and make recommendations on some of the green
initiatives that can be employed for purposes of enhancing sustainability in
this sector in the future.
Impact of Transport System on the Environment
There are various ways through which
the transportation industry in the U.S affects the environment. One of the
major impacts of the transportation sector is the air pollution. According to
Global Green Freight (2014), the transport system is one of the leading causes
of air pollution regarding emitting Carbon monoxide as well as black carbon,
which are greater contributors to pollution. The two sets of by-products from
fuels used for vehicles and other transportation mean results in the
destruction of the Ozone layer, which in turns leads to rising in levels of
global warming. The increase in some vehicles in the U.S roads, which consume
high amounts of fuel, is something to worry as they lead to high levels of
emission of dangerous gases to the environment. One of the devastating effects
of air pollution is the rise in the cost healthcare in the treatment of
illnesses that are associated with global warming arising from air pollution,
such as skin cancer, breathing difficulties and others. The pollution of the
air also affects the quality of air that people and other animals within the
earth ecosystem consume. This is an indication that the current practices
within the transport system are leading in contributing to high levels of
dangerous emissions to the environment.
Additionally, urban sprawls have a
negative impact on the environment. According to Kashem, Irawan and Wilson (2014) different studies
touching on environment form have document ways in which land use and urban
form contributes to the adverse effect on air quality, lease of carbon monoxide
and air pollutant related emissions. Kashem, Irawan, and Wilson (2014) point
out that there is a relationship between employment density, household density,
street connectivity, as well as tailpipe emissions. For example, areas with
high levels of households within an urban area have high emissions of the
tailpipe. Therefore, a region with high rates of urban sprawl have high
emissions and at the same time concentration of high levels of carbon monoxide
and air pollution. Additionally, a region's urban form usually affects the
quality of air as it influences the nature of local meteorologies, such as
urban heat island (UHI) as well as what is known as buildings energy efficiency
(Kashem, Irawan, and Wilson, 2014). This indicates that the way an urban area
is formed, regarding the concentration of transport systems, structures, and
others directly contribute to the levels of pollutions. Therefore, when addressing
the issue of pollution, it is vital to consider the urban form as the basis of
coming up with strategies for reducing future levels of pollution arising from
the transportation system in the U.S.
Furthermore, the transportation industry
contributes to the noise pollution. The various modes of transportation produce
a lot of noise, such as vehicles, trains, ships, and airplanes. The noise
pollution has an adverse health effect on people. They cause healing problems
on the affected people. This indicates that there is need of coming up with
technologies and ways of ensuring that noise pollution arising from the
transportation system will be reduced significantly in the future. The
transportation industry, especially in areas of infrastructure is known to
cause ecological degradation. The transport systems such as roads result in the
division of the natural habits of various animals, making their movement from
one area to another impossible. Also, some animals end up being displaced due
to transport infrastructure being built in their natural homes. Thus, it is
quite evident from this section that transportation systems have adverse
effects when it comes to the U.S environment, as the majority of the current
practices in the sector are not sustainable at all.
Green Initiatives to Enhance Sustainability in
the Transport System
There are numerous green strategies that can
be used in addressing various issues within the transport system in the U.S
that contributes in increasing high levels of pollution. The use of these green
initiatives by players within the transport sector in the U.S can play an
instrumental role in making sure that it is sustainable in the future. One of
the initiatives that can be used in reducing pollution levels is the
environmental taxes. According to Røed Larsen (2006), the environmental taxes
helps to create a distribution effect on pollution levels. The taxes generated
from pollution related issues help in catering for costs associated with
pollution, such as healthcare. However, the effectiveness of environmental
taxes is associated with forcing the transport players, such as the
manufacturers of vehicles, trains, and aircraft to come up with alternative
means of modes of transportation that is environmentally friendly. For example,
environmental taxes have forced companies engaged in manufacturing of vehicles
to design and develop electric cars, which are playing a significant role in
reducing environmental pollution in the road transportation system. Therefore,
governments should continue using various environmental taxes targeting the
transportation sector with an objective of forcing companies to embrace green
practices that will help in significantly reducing environmental pollution.
Also, integrating sustainability issues when
it comes to transportation planning can play an instrumental role enhancing
green practices in the transport industry. According to López and Monzón (2010),
the use of multi-criteria Model in the assessment of transport infrastructure
planning can help in coming up with sustainable infrastructure in the future.
The model provides performance indicators that can be used as the basis for
determining whether the transportation infrastructure being built by a
government is environmentally friendly or not. Some of the performance
indicators include social cohesion, habitat fragmentation, global warming, efficiency
and others (López and Monzón, 2010). The use of these indicators when using the
model in the planning process can ensure that transport infrastructures
developed in the future are green nature, by ensuring that they are designed in
a way that they help in reducing the levels of pollution arising due to poor
design of the transportation infrastructure, such as railway line. Hence, there
is a need for the global community to embrace the multi-criteria approach to
planning in the area of infrastructure development so that they can ensure that
it is designed in a manner that helps in reducing levels of pollution making
the transport system a contributor to sustainable development in the future.
Additionally, sustainable practices
that need to embrace in the transportation industry with the aim of reducing
pollution levels is reducing energy and carbon footprint when it comes to
highway operations. According to Szeto (2016), the Highway EneRgy Assessment
(HERA) technique can be used in helping to reduce energy and carbon footprint
within the U.S highways. HERA is a methodology that utilizes a consumption
model, which help in accounting for what is known as radio gradient. The model
accurately aids in the estimation of the carbon footprint arises from the
vehicles using a certain highway. Therefore, it can be applied in the future by
policy makers in use, for coming up with highway designs that help in reducing
pollutant emissions and energy consumption on the highways (Szeto, 2016). Also,
the freight costs in the airline sector can be reduced by employing the
optional 4-D aircraft trajectories model of design. Reducing the flying costs
is critical in helping to reducing the climate change effect associated with
high flying costs. The model aids in ensuring that high levels of flexibility
exist when it comes to designing paths for flights (Szeto, 2016). The model
should be embraced by airline companies to help reduce the levels of pollution
that they contribute to the environment in the future.
Another critical area of focus when it comes
to addressing sustainability issues in the transport system in the U.S is
embracement of practices and technologies that help in enhancing energy
efficiency and reducing transportation cost. According to UN (2016), high usage
of fuel is one of the leading causes of emission in the world. This indicates
that use of fuel efficiently can play a significant role in reducing the levels
of emission in the world. For example, According to FleetOwner (2008) FedEx, a
logistic company is helping in ensuring that there is an efficient use of fuel
by coming up with transportation strategies that ensure that it uses vehicles
that use less fuel in its logistic operations. The strategy being used by FedEx
can also be effectively used by other transportation companies, whereby; they
embrace technologies that ensure that less fuel is used by vehicles and train
reducing the cost of fuel and emission of pollutants to the environment in the
future. For example, using of alternative sources of energy, which are
efficient in nature, such as solar energy and electric energy instead of fuels
will play a major role in reducing the levels of pollutions associated with the
transportation sector in the U.S.
Furthermore, there is need of the embracement
of green technologies in the transport sector. UN (2016) indicates that use of
the right technologies in the transportation sector, which are environmentally
friendly, regarding reducing emission levels and ensuring that there is an
efficient use of energy can aid in reducing pollution levels in the future. For
example, the use of electric train technology, instead of using diesel or coal
fuel technology in trains is playing a significant role in reducing the air
pollution in countries, such as Japan and U.S, which mainly use the electric
train in their urban transport systems. Therefore, the embracement of
environmental friendly should be encouraged by the government and environmental
activists within the transportation industry in the future. The measure will
play a significant role in ensuring that technologies used by vehicles,
airplanes, ships, and trains do not contribute to emission of a high amount of
pollutants to the environment (UN, 2016).
Finally, increasing funding is
another major strategy that can help in enhancing sustainability practices
within the transportation system. According to UN (2016), adequate funding from
the government should be availed to help finance projects aimed at dealing with
issues, such as congestion that contribute to increasing levels of pollution.
Adequate funding will aid in the implementation of technologies and building of
infrastructures that are environmentally friendly; regarding helping to reduce
energy wastage, and proper management of transportation system so as to deal
with pollution issues. The funding can be used in research and development so
as to come up with measures and technologies that will make the transportation
system in the future green (UN, 2016).
Conclusion
In summary, this report indicates
that transportation industry is one of the major leading sources of carbon
monoxide emissions in the world. For example, Global Green Freight (2014)
indicates that 22% percent of carbon monoxide emissions come from the transportation
sector. This report shows that unless sustainable practices are embraced within
the U.S transportation sector, it will continue being the leading cause of
ecological degradation, air pollution, and noise pollution. Thus, leaders both
in the private and public sectors need to join hands in advocating for the use
of green strategies within the transport system so as to make the sector
sustainable in the future. Some of the
green initiatives that can be used in making transport system sustainable in
the U.S as discussed in the paper include use of fuel efficiently, embracement
of green technologies, incorporation of sustainable issues when dealing with
strategic transportation issues. In conclusion, the green strategies should be
part of the future strategic planning of the transport system so as to address
fully environmental issues associated with the sector.
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