Due to popular demand, I am going to post my entire sustainable transportation paper here on gimme-five for download.  It’s pretty long, but I feel that it’s a quick read and relatively easy to understand.  The purpose of this paper was to identify problems in the current transportation system in the United States and to offer some policy proposals for solving these problems.

The three problems I identified were:

1. Resource Depletion: transportation heavily relies on oil, a finite resource that is being depleted rapidly.
2. Congestion: congestion wastes time, fuel, and drives people crazy.
3. Environmental Degradation: roads, fuel, and other aspects of the current transportation system are harmful to the environment.

After identifying and explaining the problems, I went on to offer solutions.  Please read the paper and let me know what you think.

Download: Sustainable Transportation

Note: If you’d like to keep track of whenever I post a new article about this paper, check out the sustransitpaper category.

Proposed Transportation Solutions

The world needs to answer a serious question. How can the problems of resource depletion, congestion, and environmental degradation be addressed without sacrificing the benefits of mobility? No doubt, this question is a global one. These three problems exist across the planet.

Nevertheless, it is important for developed nations to lead the way. There have been a number of policies enacted within Europe intended to address these problems, however, in the United States, national action has been lethargic. For global progress to be made, the US must step forward and take leadership on this issue by exploring various sustainable transportation policies.

There have been many proposals for solutions to these transportation problems. Each of these has various costs and benefits, and some are more politically feasible than others. The following is a consideration of the details, benefits, costs, and shortcomings of a number of policies that could be enacted within the United States.

1. Raise the CAFE Standards

Background Information

Note: If you’d like to keep track of whenever I post a new article about this paper, check out the sustransitpaper category.

The Three Major Transportation Problems

The current state of transportation in the US has three major problematic characteristics. For one, it relies on crude oil, a resource that is being rapidly depleted. Secondly, increased per capita driving is causing massive congestion problems in major cities and the suburbs. Finally, transportation is causing serious environmental degradation.

A. Resource Depletion

The world is running out of crude oil, also known as petroleum. Crude oil is one of the most important commodities in the world economy. Today, it is being consumed at a rapid and increasing rate. At the same time, it is in finite supply, and projected to run out within the next 30-65 years.[1] Currently, no feasible alternative fuel has been developed in its place. Therefore, the world has a resource depletion problem.

Note: If you’d like to keep track of whenever I post a new article about this paper, check out the sustransitpaper category.

Canals to Cars: History of the Transportation Problem

To improve the current system of transportation in the United States, it is important to identify how this system came to be and why it is important. During the 18^th and early 19^th centuries, the US had a humble, slow, and expensive transportation system, yet it would evolve rapidly over time.[1] Much of the evolution of transportation was a result of three key factors: the necessity of a fast and affordable means of transportation, increasing per capita income, and the proliferation of the automobile.

Continental transportation was a great burden to the US shipping industry in the 18^th and early 19^th century. It suffered from three serious problems: slow speed, high costs, and irregular service.[2] This had serious commercial ramifications. For instance, shipping perishables was often impossible, and shipping goods over long distances infrequently occurred due to high transportation costs. Furthermore, because the United States economy was focused on international trade, internal transportation improvements, such as building and maintaining roads, were ignored.[3]

I have finished my independent study. I am going to post it bit-by-bit here on gimme-five for everyone to read. Thank you, everyone, for the input you’ve given me over the past few months. I appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy reading my study.

Note: If you’d like to keep track of whenever I post a new article about this paper, check out the sustransitpaper category.

Introduction

The current state of transportation in the United States is both a blessing and a curse. An increasingly mobile society is convenient and leads to economic development. However, the current transportation system also creates significant social costs, such as congestion, accidents, noise, pollution, and resource depletion.[1]

These social costs are severe, and they are not entirely borne by their creators. For example, a car driver bears significant costs when involved in an accident or stuck on a congested freeway. However, the same individual does not pay for the environmental impact of oil extraction when filling up at a gas station, or the increased congestion created by driving to work instead of taking the subway.