The Footprint

where will your feet take you?

by Gael Entrikin

We’re in trouble. Slowly we are realizing that our personal and corporate behaviors are radically changing the earth that supports us. Serious questions are being raised about what the future holds in terms of Global Climate Change if we are unable to drastically reduce our “greenhouse gas emissions.” (Burning fossil fuel releases carbon dioxide (CO2,) a greenhouse gas. Based on global warming potential, carbon dioxide accounts for over 80 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.[http://climate.volpe.dot.gov/about.html] In 2000, transportation sources accounted for 27% of U.S. greenhouse gases emissions. [Quoted from EPA sources by David Greene in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions From U.S. Transportation]) Greenhouse gas emission is currently our most visible transportation issue, unfortunately it’s not the only one. Throughout our national affair with speed and mobility we may have paused to gripe about the cost of a tank of gas, but rarely have we questioned the complete costs we incur commuting, shipping food hundreds of miles, taking ourselves (usually 1.3 persons at a time) where we want, when we want and paving over miles of watershed and agricultural land for streets, highways and parking lots.

A thorough accounting of transportation costs goes beyond the costs we know, such as, fuel, land, infrastructure building and maintenance. They include the consequences of continued sprawl, diminishing air quality and water supply, health problems (asthma, cardiovascular disease, injuries/deaths in accidents,) and, yes, the potential effects of global warming. These are called externalized costs because they are not included in the way we price fossil fuels, but still effect life on earth, and pocketbooks.

Once we have studied enough to know the the factors involved in determining whether we can afford “business” as usual, we need to acknowledge at least two other existing aspects of our predicament:

1. Regarding Climate Change, it is serious, progressive, and there is no available technological fix. In the past we have looked to technology to save us from the problems our earlier technologies caused. There’s nothing external to ourselves that is shown to remove or replace sufficient CO2 to allow us to continue to move ourselves and our goods around as we do now. This problem will not be resolved until we decide to work together to do so. We must make personal and community decisions to eliminate as much fossil fuel use in transportation as possible. And, we must move to efficient, sustainable transportation systems that rely on clean, renewable sources of energy. We have a choice, but whether we have the will and ability to change some of our assumptions and behaviors remains to be seen.
2. We know how to accomplish some of the things that need to be done, but we are not using that knowledge. To start with an easy example, we know higher vehicle speeds are less efficient. What is stopping us from lowering our speed limits? That’s a corporate decision to be made through our elected officials. Why are so few of us making decisions to drive at 55 mph? That’s a personal decision. We need to be involved in both.

We also know, for example:

• It is more fuel efficient to move ourselves and our freight by rail than by road. Possible? Other countries make it work.
• The knowledge is available to make cars and small trucks that are more fuel efficient, reducing CO2 and other pollutants,.
• In many places public transit, car pool programs, and other sustainable transport options have abundant support and infrastructure, as do non motorized options such as walking and cycling. (In Rochester some employers offer incentives for employees to participate in them.)
• A (Carbon) Tax would cut consumption and raise funds for clean, efficient alternative transportation.
• There are many places that offer more information, see:

HOUSEHOLD VEHICLES ENERGY USE: LATEST DATA & TRENDS D O E / E I A - 0 4 6 4 ( 2 0 0 5 ) N O V 2 0 0 5
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/rtecs/nhts_survey/2001/tablefiles/es0464(2005).pdf
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions From U.S. Transportation David L. Greene OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY Andreas Schafer MIT, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, 2003
http://www.ethanolrfa.org/objects/documents/75/pewclimate.pdf
Report Overviews Key Transportation Related Global Warming Solutions
http://www.transportationchoices.org/GlobalWarmingSolutions.asp
Comparison of Passenger Vehicle Fuel Economy and GHG Emission Standards Around the World
http://www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-in-depth/all_reports/fuel_economy/index.cfm

So what is stopping us from taking action now to do what we can? Right now we could:
Personally and corporately use less fossil fuel through fewer motorized trips, and legislatively mandate higher vehicle efficiency. (Tips for Saving Fossil Fuel Related to Transportation, a personal list, is available at: olmcert@charter.net)

Identify and use cleaner, (and create closer,) energy sources. We must use the same full cost accounting discussed above. (For example, this author believes we can not afford corn ethanol given the water depletion and degradation, and soil loss consequences.)

Work on local, state and federal levels for efficient transit/ transportation systems, and use them.

That’s the predicament, we are not doing those things we know how to do to diminish known externalized costs of transportation. Only an actively involved, educated citizenry can ensure that our decision making accurately reflects our priorities for our future, and the earth’s.

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Gael Entrikin Rochester, MN and a member of OlmCERTs and Global Action. Gael has been active in the Rochester area for many years educating the public on various energy issues through educational workshops and other activities.