Environmental costs of shipping

摘要

Truck, train, or airplane—which one has the smallest environmental footprint when it comes to shipping? A new assessment published in ES&T (pp 7138-7144) examines the emissions released over the life cycles of several forms of freight transportation for long-distance deliveries in the U.S. Although rail transportation has the lowest emissions overall, all forms of transportation have phases in which emissions are much worse than in others. The researchers conclude that policy actions designed to reduce emissions from one phase of the life cycle can have unintended negative consequences, and they recommend policies that consider each phase carefully.