The Environmental Impacts of Transportation

The environment is the world around us, which provides for our life support requirements (a life or death question), and for all additional commodities we might fancy (raw materials, landscapes, landfills). Humans are living beings and we need to connect with the environment for mass, momentum, energy, and information transfer. Our activity transforms the Earth surface, expropriating nature to build settlements, railways, communications, and water reservoirs. Therefore, by the end of the 20^th century a scientific consensus has been reached on the negative impact of human activities at global scale, as the oncoming biosphere change, with far reaching threats. Knowing that the Earth will go around no matter how severely we may change our environment: we want to stay for long.

Transport is the only sector in which greenhouse gas emissions have consistently risen since 1990, and current transport patterns are clearly environmentally unsustainable. As well as contributing to climate change, the growth in congestion on our roads, accidents, air pollution, and noise pollution of transport all lead to substantial costs that are borne by people, business, and society. The share of fossil fuel used in the transport sector varies widely from region to region and city to city. Transport poses a dilemma in that it is necessary for economic and social development, yet it is associated with environmental degradation, especially with regard to atmospheric pollution.

The transport sector accounts for about 25 % of total commercial energy consumed worldwide, and consume approximately one-half of total oil produced. Different modes of transport pollute the environment differently. Rail only accounts for 0.6% for diesel emissions and for less than 2% including emissions for electricity production. For passenger transport, going by rail is on average 4 times more efficient than taking the automobile and more than 3 times better than taking the plane. CO₂ emissions from rail are almost 8 times less than lorries and 4 times less than inland waterways.

The analysis of air pollution by different transport services in Russia shows that diesel locomotives operations at the rail yard have been determined to be a significant source of emissions of diesel particulate matter and other pollutants. New combustion technologies, efficient transmission systems and exhaust after-treatment will ensure that rail diesel traction will remain more environmentally friendly in the future than road and inland waterways. Electrification of remaining lines is also one of the many approaches that may be taken. Thus, rail transport presents challenges as society tries to ensure a more environmentally sustainable future.

Exercise 3. Explain the following statements. Work in pairs.

1. Human society affects the environment both positively and negatively.

2. Current transport patterns are clearly environmentally unsustainable.

3. Rail transport presents challenges as society tries to ensure a more environmentally sustainable future.

Exercise 4. Choose the correct word.

1) ……………. is the world around us, which provides for our life support requirements.

a) The surroundings

b) The environment

c) The living conditions

d) The economy

2) The growth in ……………. of transport lead to substantial costs that are borne by people, business, and society.

a) air and noise pollution

b) life support requirements

c) raw materials

d) diesel locomotives

3) In the transport sector greenhouse gas emissions have consistently risen, and current transport patterns are clearly environmentally …………….

a) sustainable

b) green

c) unsustainable

d) yellow

4) The share of ……………. used in the transport sector varies widely from region to region and city to city.

a) air pollution

b) greenhouse effect

c) railway engineers

d) fossil fuel

5) Different modes of transport pollute the environment …………….

a) differently

b) the same

c) from time to time

d) occasionally

6) The analysis of air pollution by different transport services in Russia shows that diesel locomotives operations at the rail yard have been determined to be a significant source of emissions of ……………..

a) air pollution

b) diesel particulate matter

c) environmentally sustainable future

d) transmission systems

7) New combustion technologies will ensure that rail diesel traction will remain more ……………..

a) negative

b) dangerous

c) comfortable

d) environmentally friendly

8) Rail transport presents challenges as society tries to ensure a more environmentally …………….. future.

a) comfortable

b) sustainable

c) green

d) positive

Exercise 5. Find synonyms to the following English words.

1) humans	6) dilemma
2) impact	7) pollutant
3) global scale	8) CO2 emissions
4) greenhouse gas	9) atmospheric pollution
5) environmentally sustainable	10) mode of transport

Exercise 6. Find English equivalents to the following Russian phrases in the text.

1) изменять структуру земной поверхности	6) выделение отработавших газов дизеля
2) в глобальном масштабе	7) щебеночные и шпалопропиточные заводы
3) парниковые газы	8) анализ загрязнения атмосферы
4) экологически рациональный	9) речной путь
5) энергия, потребляемая в мире	10) экологически рациональное будущее

Exercise 7. Translate the following passage into Russian. Use a dictionary. Then compare your translation with a partner to improve.

Demand for transport services is expected to grow considerably as economic growth occurs in developing countries, incomes rise, the trend toward urbanization continues and as the process of globalization moves forward with expected increases in world trade. Between now and 2020, demand is forecasted to grow by 3.6 percent per year in developing countries and by 1.5 percent per year in industrialized countries. According to the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the International Union of Railways (UIC), in EU in 2008 more than 90% of total domestic transport emissions are due to road transport.

http://www.un.org/esa/gite/csd/gorham.pdf

Exercise 8. Read the passage, title it and render in English.

Изменение ситуации на транспортном рынке Европы показывает, что железные дороги смогли переломить негативные тенденции современности. Наглядным примером являются результаты референдума, проведенного в Швейцарии. Одобрено выделение капитальных вложений в размере 30 млрд. евро на увеличение пропускной способности железных дорог страны и существенное ускорение транзитных перевозок. Это позволит переключить большую часть трансальпийских перевозок на экологически чистый железнодорожный транспорт, а также дать европейской экономике удобный маршрут международных сообщений. Подобные инициативы будут иметь место в других странах Европы, испытывающих перегрузку путей сообщения и интенсивное загрязнение окружающей среды.

При разработке бюджетной и инвестиционной политики также важно понимание стоимости разных видов транспорта с учетом таких факторов, как безопасность, экология, нагрузка на территорию. Тогда будут очевидны все преимущества железнодорожного транспорта.

Железные дороги мира, № 4, 2009.

Listening and speaking

Exercise 1. Before you watch a video about how to make London more sustainable with Siemens try to predict the answers to these questions.

1. How does traffic influence the quality of life in London?

2. What does Siemens do to improve the situation?

Exercise 2. Watch the video. Clap your hands when listen the following words.

environment, environmental, traffic, train, emission

Exercise 3. Watch again. In the following script differentiate logical parts and put punctuation marks.

Trafficaloneproduces10milliontonsofCO₂ayearinLondonaccountingfor20%ofalltheCarboneDioxideimmediatelyintheBritishcapitalLondoncityplannersarepartneringwithSiemenstorisetothechallengeofmanagingmassivevolumesoftrafficandenhancingmobilitywhileminimizingenvironmentalimpactSiemens’answeriscompletemobilityandintegratedtransportationconceptthatprovideshighlyefficientmobilitysolutionsbyelevatingandintelligentrecombiningthespecificadvantagesofrailbuscarandairtravel.

Exercise 4. Check what you remember. Put the statements below in the correct order.

1. Statistics confirms the success of Siemens’ complete mobility concept. Just a few months after the conjunction charge was launched, traffic in the city center had been reduced by 20 %.

2. Traffic alone produces 10 million tons of CO₂ a year in London.

3. In the first step to implement incomplete mobility, London collaborates with Siemens to offer commuters and attractive alternative to driving.

4. London is also a transportation center: five airports, serving 210 million passengers each year, an underground network with lines extending of more that than 400 km, some 8,000 public buses, and thousands and thousands of cars and tracks.

5. Traffic is now flowing faster with average commuting time having been cut by 1/6.

6. A fleet of 1,200 new comfortable commuter trains from the UK-Roman family head their way for a network linking regional transportation and the mass transit system.

Exercise 5. Look at the visuals that Larry West, a professional writer and editor who has written many articles about environmental issues, uses to support his ideas. Can you name them? What other visuals do you know?

A. The Rising Environmental Cost of Driving Alone (U.S.)

Carbon dioxide emissions of transportation	30%
Carbon dioxide savings/public transportation	1.5 million tons
Gasoline savings/public transportation	1.4 billion gallons
Trips are made by car	88 %

B.

C.

Exercise 6. Listen to the interview with Larry West. Find typical phrases to describe visuals. Reproduce the dialogue with a partner.

Interviewer:	Many scientists advise us to get out of our cars if we want to help reduce global warming. Could you explain us the situation in the U.S.?
Larry West:	Take a look at this table. Here you can see the rising environmental cost of driving alone in the U.S. The first line shows that transportation accounts for more than 30 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. The next two lines give us figures according to the American Public Transportation Association. As you can see, public transportation saves approximately 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline and about 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. And the last line explains that 88 percent of all trips in the United States are made by car – and many of those cars carry only one person! I'd like you to focus your attention to the fact that only 14 million Americans use public transportation daily. I think the conclusion to be drawn from this table is clear to us.
Interviewer:	And how can public transportation help us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Larry West:	Please look at this chart. It represents some benefits of public transportation. I’d like to point out some interesting details. If one in ten Americans used public transportation daily, U.S. reliance on foreign oil would decrease 40 %. Riding a train is 79 times safer than riding in an automobile. People who use public transportation regularly tend to be 50 % healthier than people who don’t. And finally, families that use public transportation can reduce their household expenses by $6,200 annually.
Interviewer:	That’s interesting. But which mode of transport is most efficient?
Larry West:	Have a look at this slide. This picture gives us some information about public transportation system in the U.S. Train systems are the most efficient in many ways, typically emitting less carbon and using less fuel per passenger than buses, but they are often more expensive to implement. Also, the traditional advantages of trains can be mitigated to a large extent by using hybrids or buses that run on natural gas. Another promising alternative is bus rapid transit, which runs extra-long buses in dedicated lanes. I'm sure the results of my presentation are obvious. If you live in an area with good public transportation, do something good for the planet today. Park your car, and take the subway or the bus.

Exercise 7. Study the typical phrases to describe visuals given below. Divide them into three categories according to a presenter’s actions:

a) a presenter notes which parts of the visuals are important and explains why he/she uses them;

b) a presenter introduces the visuals;

c) a presenter checks understanding of the results.

1	Introduction	Have a look at this chart (British). / Take a look at this diagram (American). I'd like you to look at this drawing. Here we can see ….. The graph represents …. The picture shows/gives information about…
2	Marking out and comments	I'd like us to look at this part of the graph in more detail. I'd like you to focus your attention to the significance of this figure here. I'd like to point out one or two interesting details. As you can see …… I'd also like to draw your attention to …….. If you look at it more closely, you'll notice …….
3	Checking understanding and interpretations	I'm sure the results of this…. are obvious. I think the conclusions to be drawn from this…. are clear to all of us.

Exercise 8. Make a report about environmentally sustainable future of urban transport (information about a report structure with useful phrases you can find in Appendix 1). Don’t forget to use visuals!

Language spot

Comparatives and Superlatives review

Exercise 1. Read the sentences. Chose the correct form of the word in bold. Explain your choice.

1. The transport sector is projected to remain the fastest / most fast growing sector when it comes to CO2 emissions.

2. This sector is the only / one sector in the EU in which greenhouse gas emissions have consistently risen since 1990.

3. Travelling by rail is on average 3-10 times littler / less CO2 intensive compared to road or air transport.

4. For passenger transport, going by rail is on average 4 times efficienter / more efficient than taking the car and more than 3 times better / best than taking the plane.

5. Transport infrastructure occupies more / many than 98 % of the land used for railways with a market share of 6-10%.

6. Rail has the highest / higher capacity when comparing throughput per hour and infrastructure width.

7. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM10) are more / the highest critical for exposure and health problems among regulated emission types.

8. New combustion technologies, efficient transmission systems and exhaust after-treatment will ensure that rail diesel traction will remain more environmentally friendly / environmentally friendlier in the future than road and inland waterways.

Exercise 2. Read the passage below. Find all the adjectives. Do they refer to small or large differences?

Since 1970, transport activity has more than doubled in the European Union: +185 % for the transport of goods and +145 % for the transport of people. Railways’ share of the transport energy consumption is less than 3 %, while its market share is between 6 % (passenger) and 10 % (freight). Comparing heavy or spacious cargo, short or long-haul, rail is the most energy efficient transport mode if used appropriately. Scientists have compared the total primary energy consumption from transporting 100 tons of average goods from Basel, Switzerland to the port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The results show that rail is more energy efficient than inland waterways and over twice as efficient as lorries. Compared with air transport, rail would be around 20 times more energy efficient.

Exercise 3. The bar chart below shows the comparison of capacities in an urban setting. What can you see from the bar chart? Discuss with a partner. The following phrases may help.

As can be seen from the bar chart,…

The capacity from rail is … times higher than a bus.

The bar chart shows that the capacity is much higher for … than …

… has the highest capacity when comparing throughput per hour and infrastructure width.

… is more efficient, and … is over twice as efficient as …

Compared with …, rail would be around … times more efficient.