Climate Change Impacts on Transportation- Overview......The U.S. transportation system is essential to moving people and goods. It includes.....Infrastructure, such as airports, train stations, roads, bridges, pipelines, and bike trails.......Vehicles, including cars, buses, trucks, trains, ships, and aircraft........People, including equipment operators, designers, builders, and transportation officials. Although the nation’s transportation system is built to withstand weather, climate change may affect this system over time. The impacts will vary by region. However, impacts in one region can readily affect another. For example, bridge damage in one place can cause road congestion in another. Changing water levels in one area may affect shipping nationwide. Top Climate Impacts on Transportation- Climate change may affect transportation at local, regional, and national scales. Three key impacts are.......1. Impacts on System Safety and Function- In many regions, sea level rise, changes in precipitation, extreme weather, and heat pose risks to the transportation system. These hazards may affect system performance, safety, and reliability. In coastal regions, rising sea levels and more extreme storms can lead to more storm surge and flooding, which can damage roads, bridges, railways, ports, and coastal airports.7 Increased local flooding can affect roadways and tunnels, weaken roadway materials, and cause traffic congestion. 2. System Costs and the Economy- Climate change can have both positive and negative impacts on transportation system costs. 3. Reduced Access to Social Services and Necessities- Climate-related impacts on the transportation system affects both urban and rural areas. For example, in urban areas, heavy rains can flood tunnels and underground rail stops, affecting residents’ ability to access critical services and necessities......read much more       https://www.epa.gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-impacts-transportation  

The Hidden Danger of BIG Trucks Pickup trucks are getting larger and becoming a hazard to pedestrians and drivers of smaller vehicles  The hood of a Gladiator is 45.5 inches high, CR's measurements show. Marketed by Jeep as a vehicle that can "conquer" the road, it's part of a cultural phenomenon of enduring consumer demand for bigger everyday trucks, some of which don't come with important safety features as standard equipment. Research has found that modern pickups—which can have tall hoods, large blind spots, and stiff body-on-frame designs, and which can often exceed 4,000 pounds—are particularly deadly in crashes with pedestrians and smaller, lighter vehicles.......and there's more......https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/the-hidden-dangers-of-big-trucks/     

The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) and RMI have released a new Guidance Report, Hydrogen Trucks: Long Haul’s Future?

The report focuses on using hydrogen-based powertrains for heavy-duty Class 8 long-haul freight routes pulling van trailers. These powertrains include a range of fuel cell battery electric types and internal combustion engines (ICE) based on the diesel cycle. This report is based on two previous NACFE reports — Viable Class 7/8 Electric, Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Tractors and Making Sense of Heavy-Duty Hydrogen Fuel Cell Tractors — which compared a range of alternative fuel heavy-duty truck technologies including hydrogen. The report looks at what NACFE got right in its original reports, as well as what it got wrong. The report also provides insight on what has changed since NACFE first reported on hydrogen in 2020. It explores changes in the molecular fuel industry as well as providing information on various agreements and regulations that are spurring the development of hydrogen as a fuel source in heavy-duty trucking. “Think of hydrogen as a ‘gaseous battery.’ The key factor in going hydrogen fuel cell is a fleet’s need for availability of the vehicle for multi-shift, multi-route, operations,” said Mike Russell, P.E., senior project lead – zero emissions powertrain, PACCAR Inc. The report also presents information on technology and infrastructure changes including the emergence of hydrogen internal combustion engines and explores the basics of hydrogen internal combustion engines. There is also a section on the state of hydrogen today which looks at the cost realities of hydrogen for trucking applications. The report found that hydrogen may be the harbinger of a new green industrial revolution, or just the progression from one fossil fuel-based energy carrier to another with greater emphasis on reducing emissions. Either way, hydrogen will be a factor in future long-distance freight hauling in combination with battery electric vehicles for shorter range operations. “As we move to the zero-emissions freight future, in the long run, there are only two choices of power – battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell,” said Rick Mihelic, report author and director of emerging technologies, NACFE. The study team determined that hydrogen is a complex topic and hydrogen for use in freight transportation is just in its infancy. The report contains four conclusions: Hydrogen and battery electric are not an “either/or” but an “and” for the zero-emission freight future. Hydrogen fuel cell tractors are the only zero-emission solution for many duty cycles for heavy-duty tractors. Alternative fuels like RNG, renewable diesel, and hydrogen used in internal combustion engines will be required to support the transition in the next two decades to help make progress toward zero-emission goals, while in parallel ramping up the hydrogen and battery electric infrastructure and manufacturing base.Industry agreement is needed on whether hydrogen long-haul fuel cell tractors and the transport of the hydrogen fuel itself, will be based on gaseous or liquid hydrogen. Read the report here.            https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2023/04/21/what-the-new-high-seas-treaty-means-for-ocean-conservation?utm_campaign=2023-06-01+European+Oceans&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Pew&subscriberkey=00Q0e00001fMzQ8EAK

 AVOID HUGE TRUCKS and SUV'S they're DANGEROUS and NOT SUSTAINABLE............Size Matters — Enormous EVs Reduce The Benefit Of Driving An Electric Car. The electric car revolution is caught up in building large, heavy vehicles, which compromises their advantage over conventional cars. But as a recent article in the New York Times points out, bigger EVs have more embedded carbon emissions than smaller ones, mainly because of the battery manufacturing process. In fact, today’s largest EVs — the Hummer EV, Ford F-150 Lightning, and the other electric pickups coming from traditional American manufacturers — may have more total emissions than the most efficient gasoline-powered vehicles. Whether they are powered by gasoline engines or run on electricity, bigger vehicles require more energy to make and to move, Alissa Kendall, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis tells the New York Times. A battery-electric pickup truck may have half the carbon emissions per mile of its internal combustion powered equivalent, but it still may have higher lifetime emissions than some smaller, lighter, and more efficient passenger cars. Of course, there aren’t that many small to medium size passenger cars available for purchase today, especially in America. Over the past decade, Americans have increasingly shifted away from cars and toward SUVs, pickup trucks, and crossover vehicles. Some industry analysts estimate SUVs, pickup trucks, and vans could make up 78% of new vehicle sales by 2025. Heavier Vehicles May Pose A Safety Hazard.  What Good Is An Electric Car That Is Not Efficient?.......The one true thing about an electric car is it is far more efficient than a car powered by an infernal combustion engine. The Hummer is dismal when it comes to efficiency, however. We often hear about peak oil, but shouldn’t we also be talking about peak car? Building 78% large cars is simply not sustainable for the Earth. We need to electrify everything, but we also need to mine and refine fewer raw materials and ship them shorter distances. Just going electric so we can all drive a 4-ton battery on wheels everywhere we go is not a solution to global heating. It’s a fool’s mission. We have to do better, and pretty damn soon, too. The Takeaway....... We write about the electric car revolution daily, but we understand that there are a finite number of resources in the world and they have to be used wisely if we hope to avoid a climate catastrophe of our own making. That means we are in favor not just of converting every car to electricity, but also having fewer cars on the road using precious resources for personal transportation.We often hear about peak oil, but shouldn’t we also be talking about peak car? Building 78% large cars is simply not sustainable for the Earth. We need to electrify everything, but we also need to mine and refine fewer raw materials and ship them shorter distances. Just going electric so we can all drive a 4-ton battery on wheels everywhere we go is not a solution to global heating. It’s a fool’s mission. We have to do better, and pretty damn soon, too.       https://cleantechnica.com/2023/02/19/size-matters-enormous-evs-reduce-the-benefit-of-driving-an-electric-car/    ......and there's more.......                   The Hidden Danger of BIG Trucks Pickup trucks are getting larger and becoming a hazard to pedestrians and drivers of smaller vehicles  The hood of a Gladiator is 45.5 inches high, CR's measurements show. Marketed by Jeep as a vehicle that can "conquer" the road, it's part of a cultural phenomenon of enduring consumer demand for bigger everyday trucks, some of which don't come with important safety features as standard equipment. Research has found that modern pickups—which can have tall hoods, large blind spots, and stiff body-on-frame designs, and which can often exceed 4,000 pounds—are particularly deadly in crashes with pedestrians and smaller, lighter vehicles.......and there's more......https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/the-hidden-dangers-of-big-trucks/