Public Transportation's Role in Responding to Climate Change


Book Description

The Fed. Transit Admin. (FTA) collects and analyzes data from across the country on public transportation (PT) fuel use, vehicles deployed, rides taken, etc. These data provides valuable insight into the impacts of auto, truck, SUV, and PT travel on the production of greenhouse gas emissions. There are significant greenhouse gas emission savings by using PT. This paper presents an analysis of the data and frames it in a broader context. It concludes with a description of FTA actions that address climate change. PT can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by: Providing a low emissions alternative to driving; Facilitating compact land use, reducing the need to travel long distances; and Minimizing the carbon footprint of transit oper.




Advancing the Science of Climate Change


Book Description

Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for-and in many cases is already affecting-a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change, part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America's Climate Choices. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never closed, the book shows that hypotheses about climate change are supported by multiple lines of evidence and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. As decision makers respond to these risks, the nation's scientific enterprise can contribute through research that improves understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and also is useful to decision makers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The book identifies decisions being made in 12 sectors, ranging from agriculture to transportation, to identify decisions being made in response to climate change. Advancing the Science of Climate Change calls for a single federal entity or program to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. Seven cross-cutting research themes are identified to support this scientific enterprise. In addition, leaders of federal climate research should redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system, improve climate models and other analytical tools, invest in human capital, and improve linkages between research and decisions by forming partnerships with action-oriented programs.




Transport and Climate Change


Book Description

This topical volume covers the intersection between transport and climate change, with papers from the 'Transport & Climate Change' session of the RGS-IBG conference in London, September 2010. It considers the role of transport modes at varying spatial dimensions and a range of perspectives on the relationship between transport and climate change.




Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change


Book Description

This latest Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC will again form the standard reference for all those concerned with climate change and its consequences.




Better Public Transit Systems


Book Description

Better Public Transit Systems is a complete primer for performance and investment analysis of public transportation. Whether you’re planning a major new public transit project, an extension or expansion of an existing system, or evaluating the needs of your current system, this book provides the tools you need to define your goals and objectives and conceive and analyse design alternatives. This completely revised Second Edition includes new material for students and online discussion questions, whilst remaining an essential reference book.




Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change


Book Description

This latest Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will again form the standard reference for all those concerned with climate change and its consequences, including students, researchers and policy makers in environmental science, meteorology, climatology, biology, ecology, atmospheric chemistry and environmental policy.




Energy Savings Strategies for Transit Agencies


Book Description

"TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 106: Energy Savings Strategies for Transit Agencies describes energy reduction strategies being used in the United States and Canada that address vehicle technologies; vehicle operations, maintenance, and service design; non-revenue vehicles; stations and stops; building; indirect energy use; and renewable power generation."--Publication page.




Sustainable Smart Cities and Smart Villages Research


Book Description

Over the last years, sophisticated policy making propositions for sustainable rural and urban development have been recorded. The smart village and smart city concepts promote a human-centric vision for a new era of technology-driven social innovation. This Special Issue offers a useful overview of the most recent developments in the frequently overlapping fields of smart city and smart village research. A variety of topics including well-being, happiness, security, open democracy, open government, smart education, smart innovation, and migration have been addressed in this Special Issue. They define the direction for future research in both domains. The organization of the relevant debate is aligned around three pillars: Section A: Sustainable Smart City and Smart Village Research: Foundations • Clustering Smart City Services: Perceptions, Expectations, and Responses • Smart City Development and Residents’ Well-Being • Analysis of Social Networking Service Data for Smart Urban Planning Section B: Sustainable Smart City and Smart Village Research: Case Studies on Rethinking Security, Safety, Well-being, and Happiness • Exploring a Stakeholder-Based Urban Densification and Greening Agenda for Rotterdam Inner City—Accelerating the Transition to a Liveable Low Carbon City • The Impact of the Comprehensive Rural Village Development Program on Rural Sustainability in Korea • Analyzing the Level of Accessibility of Public Urban Green Spaces to Different Socially Vulnerable Groups of People • Consumers’ Preference and Factors Influencing Offal Consumption in the Amathole District Eastern Cape, South Africa • Sustainable Tourism: A Hidden Theory of the Cinematic Image? A Theoretical and Visual Analysis of the Way of St. James • Future Development of Taiwan’s Smart Cities from an Information Security Perspective • Towards a Smart and Sustainable City with the Involvement of Public Participation—The Case of Wroclaw Section C: Sustainable Smart City and Smart Village Research: Technical Issues • Detection and Localization of Water Leaks in Water Nets Supported by an ICT System with Artificial Intelligence Methods as a Way Forward for Smart Cities • A Study of the Public Landscape Order of Xinye Village • Spatio-Temporal Changes and Dependencies of Land Prices: A Case Study of the City of Olomouc • Geographical Assessment of Low-Carbon Transportation Modes: A Case Study from a Commuter University • Performance Analysis of a Polling-Based Access Control Combined with the Sleeping Schema in V2I VANETs for Smart Cities.







Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Transportation


Book Description

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS) have released the pre-publication version of TRB Special Report 290, The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Transportation, which explores the consequences of climate change for U.S. transportation infrastructure and operations. The report provides an overview of the scientific consensus on the current and future climate changes of particular relevance to U.S. transportation, including the limits of present scientific understanding as to their precise timing, magnitude, and geographic location; identifies potential impacts on U.S. transportation and adaptation options; and offers recommendations for both research and actions that can be taken to prepare for climate change. The book also summarizes previous work on strategies for reducing transportation-related emissions of carbon dioxide--the primary greenhouse gas--that contribute to climate change. Five commissioned papers used by the committee to help develop the report, a summary of the report, and a National Academies press release associated with the report are available online. DELS, like TRB, is a division of the National Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council.