Freight on a Low-Carbon Diet: Accessibility, Freightsheds, and Commodities

Environmental Science & Technology
Michael N Taptich, Arpad Horvath

Abstract

The freight infrastructure network (e.g., roads, railways, waterways, etc.) is the backbone of nearly all trade partnerships in the United States and abroad. The manner in which the individual portions of its constituent parts are interrelated or arranged plays an important role for determining the environmental footprint of goods moved within the network. Herein, we compare the spatial distribution of potential consumer-producer exchanges (i.e., accessibility) under varying greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets or preferences for minimal transportation-related GHG emissions. We conduct case studies using two freight modes (truck and intermodal rail) for two representative commodities: meat/seafood and paper articles. Results across all counties in the United States indicate that the geographic area in which trade is possible, given a GHG budget, varies by transportation mode, location, and commodity. Our results suggest that intermodal terminal availability is an important determinant of low-GHG accessibility. Since only a fraction of road-to-rail terminals accommodate meat/seafood (4.9%) and paper (0.7%), the United States could increase its expected GHG savings associated with truck-to-rail mode-switching policies by 70% (+20 kg CO2,...Continue Reading

References

Feb 3, 2007·Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association·James J WinebrakePatrick E Meyer
Nov 13, 2007·Environmental Science & Technology·Cristiano Facanha, Arpad Horvath
Jun 13, 2008·Environmental Science & Technology·Christopher L Weber, H Scott Matthews
Mar 22, 2011·Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association·Patrick E MeyerJames J Winebrake
Apr 18, 2012·Environmental Science & Technology·Bret StrogenThomas E McKone
Oct 17, 2014·Environmental Science & Technology·Michael N Taptich, Arpad Horvath
May 6, 2015·Environmental Science & Technology·Fan TongInês M L Azevedo

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Citations

Aug 10, 2019·Environmental Science & Technology·Nemi VoraVikas Khanna

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