Professional Documents
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For the past decade Seattle has been growing—fast. Between 2010
and 2020 its population swelled by almost a quarter. Growth is
generally good for cities, but it is often accompanied by a dreaded
problem: traffic. Yet Seattle managed to avert this crisis, cutting traffic
in its downtown by 10 percent and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
in the process. How did Seattle do it? By turning to an uncommon
solution: the humble bus.
Buses are among the most overlooked solutions for decarbonizing the
U.S. Transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gas
emissions, making up slightly less than 30 percent, according to the
Environmental Protection Agency. In the summer of 2022 more than 5
percent of new auto sales in the U.S. were for all-electric vehicles
(EVs), signaling that electric-car ownership had shifted from being a fad
of early adopters to a transportation staple. Three of the four car
commercials that aired during this year's Super Bowl were for EVs. In
January, President Joe Biden tweeted, “On my watch, the great
American road trip is going to be fully electrified,” alongside a
photograph of himself behind the wheel of an electric Hummer.
The president has supported EVs as part of the nation's climate plan,
pledging to reduce emissions by 50 to 52 percent by 2030. This
commitment is in line with the aims of the Paris Agreement. But Steven
Higashide, director of the Clean Transportation program at the Union of
Concerned Scientists, cautions that “electrifying personal vehicles is
necessary but not sufficient” for achieving the nation's goals on climate
change reduction.
A growing body of research bolsters his point. A 2018 report by the
California Air Resources Board found that the state could not meet its
2030 climate goals through vehicle electrification alone. At the time,
California aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent of
the state's 1990 levels by 2030. But according to the report, even if
there were 10 times as many EVs on the road, people would still need
to reduce their driving by 25 percent for California to reach its target.
The culprit is something known as vehicle fleet turnover—that is, how
long it takes to shift the mix of vehicles that are on the road. Even if
every new vehicle sold from now on were electric and directly replaced
a gas-powered car, it would still be at least 15 years before virtually
every car on the road was electric. But sales of new gas cars are still
higher than those of EVs, which is why even the more ambitious
estimates say roughly a third of cars will still be gas in 2050.
Even if the U.S. could somehow avoid the fleet-turnover problem,
swapping gas cars one-for-one with EVs would create new energy
needs requiring half of the country's electricity-generating capacity,
according to a 2020 analysis in the journal Nature Climate Change.
This demand would limit the nation's ability to power other things such
as air-conditioning that are necessary for health and safety in a
warming world. To meet the country's climate goals, Higashide says
we'll have to drive less frequently and for shorter distances—and
redesign cities and neighborhoods with good mass transit options.
Buses can fill a lot of those needs. It's better if they're powered by
electric batteries, but even gas buses reduce emissions with enough
riders. On average, cars emit almost one pound of carbon dioxide per
passenger mile. Buses, which generally run at about 25 percent
capacity, emit 0.64 pound of CO2 per passenger mile, according to
data from the Department of Defense. If they ran full, buses would emit
0.18 pound of CO2 per passenger mile, making them comparable to
rail but at a much lower cost. “I think the bus is often overlooked as a
climate solution,” Higashide says, “because it is overlooked as a
solution, period.”
5. Emit – to send out something such as light, heat, sound, gas, etc.
The metal container began to emit a clicking sound.
15.Municipality – a town, city or district with its own local government; the
group of officials who govern it.
The municipality provides services such as electricity, water and rubbish
collection.
16.Unveil – to show or introduce a new plan, product, etc. to the public for
the first time.
They will be unveiling their new models at the Motor Show.