Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation pose a big threat to our environment. Burning fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel, release greenhouse gasses and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The buildup of such gasses in the atmosphere causes the earth's atmosphere to warm, resulting in a change in our climate. The EPA states that transportation accounts for 29% of greenhouse gas emissions, making transportation the biggest contributor to the United States’ emissions. Over the last 30 years, such emissions in the transportation sector have increased more than any other sector. This makes pollution from emissions due to transportation a federal issue in the country. We need to analyze behavioral patterns and understand what we can do individually and collectively. The issue of climate change is bigger than ever, and as the years go by things will start to go bad before they get better. Therefore we need to make conscious decisions about transportation and our habits. Policies can play a big role in the improvement of pollution and emissions from greenhouse gases, and on the same hand, we need to think about how such policies can be implemented. The need and demand for transportation mobility will always be high, but we have to apply ideas that can be both: a solution and a complement to the current demand for transportation.
The EPA released an article in which they provide individual choices that can help reduce pollution and greenhouse gases. The article proposes individual car owners to drive less, after all, the less you drive the fewer emissions your car produces. Some alternatives to driving are biking and walking, using bike-share programs, taking public transit, carpooling with coworkers or friends, using ride-sharing devices, and working periodically from home (the pandemic has shown that working from home is an accessible option for many workers). Another solution to the emissions is current trends in the auto industry. The EPA article addresses such trends and talks about how when shopping for a car fuel-efficient vehicles can reduce emissions. These types of cars can help the environment while also saving buyers money in the long run. Such vehicles are electric cars, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and cleaner-burning gasoline vehicles. Lastly, the last key takeaway from the article is to not idle. Unnecessary idle from school buses, trucks, and cars pollute the air, waste fuel, and cause engine wear. “Reducing idling from diesel school buses prevents children from being exposed to diesel exhaust, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and saves money on fuel”(EPA). Creating awareness and promoting such ideas is an extremely difficult task. It requires awareness and education to the broad public. As we come to know, creating an environmental campaign is not a simple assignment. Several different players play a huge role in the decisions made. Individually we start to change our habits and shift towards solutions that can have an impact on our environment. Individual decisions can influence others to do the same.
David L. Green and Steven E. Plotkin in their book “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from US Transportation” they discuss mitigation options, policies that promote emission mitigation, and mitigation potential. A mitigation option is to improve the operating efficiency of transportation systems, as it could reduce transportation emissions. “System efficiency improvements can reduce GHG emissions significantly and generally produce valuable co-benefits such as reduced traffic congestion, improved air quality, and lower costs” (Green and Plotkin). Governments can improve systems by making investments in the infrastructure of highways, transit, and airports. One of the policies for mitigation surrounds the idea of pricing. By increasing “the cost of fossil-based fuels, a carbon price would affect the quantity of vehicle travel, the efficiency of vehicles, and the carbon content of transportation fuels” (Green and Plotkin). Increasing the price of fuel on a federal level can cause a reduction in the number of vehicles on the road. Policies and strategies can play a huge role in reducing carbon and greenhouse emissions, which as stated at the beginning is a big problem on the federal level in the United States. Such strategies can promote changes in the current national conditions. 29% of the total carbon emissions is a huge number, and we have learned transportation is the biggest contributor to emissions. Hopefully moving forward individually and collectively, policies and a change in habits can serve to tackle the overwhelming issue of emission of carbon and greenhouse gases from transportation.
By Manuel Suarez Pallas
Sources:
Greene, D.L. and S. E. Plotkin. 2011. Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emission from U.S. Transportation. Prepared for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. (pp. 1-11)
https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/carbon-pollution-transportation
https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/what-you-can-do-reduce-pollution-vehicles-and
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