Effects on Transit and Transport on the Environment
Impact of Shipping
International shipping from freighters alone made up 2.2% of total human emissions in 2012 and that number is rising as time passes. Ironically, this is humanities most environmentally friendly shipping method by weight. That is to say at a 1:1 ratio, both transport trucks and airplanes pollute far more. However, air pollution is not the only negative impact of shipping. Freighters also run the risk of introducing invasive species to foreign habitats, indeed they have been successful in doing so when considering the Asian Carp influx in the great lakes and additionally the introduction of Zebra mussels in the past few decades.
Impact of Air Travel
Though air travel, and air freight for that matter, is one of the modern worlds’ most convenient luxury’s, it is also one of the singularly most impactful when the creation of emissions (specifically CO2) is to be considered. When compared to the creation of emissions by rail, ground, or water in almost every circumstance air outstrips them all. More concerning is that according to the David Suzuki foundation, emissions related to air travel have increased by more than 83% since 1990. In an effort not to simply restate the respective article, the link can be found here: https://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/air-travel-climate-change/.
This article provides a basic understanding of the general effects of air travel in comparison to other forms of transit where emissions are concerned, as well as introducing some other interesting aspects of air travels effect on the environment.
Carpooling and Public Transit
There are all kinds of benefit to using public transit, as well as to carpooling. In fact, these benefits range through environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, and social sustainability.
With respect to the environment, Carpooling and public transit both reduce emissions as they minimize the amount of fuel consumed driving from place to place, more so the fewer number of cars means that traffic is reduced and so the daily commute, in the case of cities or large towns, becomes less hectic and takes a little less time. On that same tangent, burning less fuel means that transportation costs you less, and you have more money to spend in other places, thus promoting Economic sustainability. Social sustainability is promoted more so through carpooling than transit, as it promotes the growth of relationships and allows you to meet new people through sharing a ride.