Sustainable Bus. (2023, September 14.). Electric bus adoption in public transport urban fleet is 

growing all over the world. Sustainable Bus. Retrieved January 22, 2024,  from

https://www.sustainable-bus.com/electric-bus/electric-bus-public-transport/

“Electric buses in public transport urban fleets are booming all over the world,” exclaims the article, highlighting their pivotal role in combating climate change. The surge is particularly noticeable in Europe, China, and Latin America, where electric bus adoption is rapidly accelerating. European countries like Germany, the UK, and France are leading this transition, with electric bus registrations tripling in 2019. Meanwhile, China has pledged to electrify its public transport systems, with cities like Shenzhen and Beijing taking the lead. Latin American cities such as Santiago and Medellin are also making remarkable strides in adopting electric buses. Overall, this global shift towards sustainable transportation signifies a crucial step in addressing climate change and creating a greener future for all.

When the article talks about the widespread adoption of electric buses worldwide, it is really interesting. It’s impressive to watch countries such as Europe, China, and Latin America take big steps towards integrating electric buses into their public transportation systems to fight climate change. The significant increase in electric bus registrations shows a positive shift towards sustainability, specifically in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving urban air quality. There is a lot of effort demonstrated by these nations in embracing electric buses, and it reflects a global commitment to addressing environmental challenges. This transition towards electric buses not only showcases progress, but also gives hope for a greener future. Overall, the article talks about the importance of collective action and innovation in battling climate change, which makes me hopeful in the future for more sustainable transportation solutions.

Meyer, S. (2023, September 1). Future transportation: These emerging technology trends will transform our roads and skies. The Zebra. Retrieved January 22, 2024, from

https://www.thezebra.com/resources/driving/future-transportation/ 

There are a lot of new options for transportation coming up in the future. The innovations in transportation target “reducing stress, anxiety, cost, and death.” The first one is called Maglev Trains. They are high-speed and use magnetic levitation from electromagnetics. They are run by the engine of a magnetic field with combined electrified coils in the gateway walls and tracks. They are not powered by fossil fuels, so they are better for the environment. Another example is underground roads, an idea by Elon musk. It solves a lot of problems with infrastructure and also causes less traffic from weather concerns. Another idea by Elon musk is the hyperloop which is a transportation tube that could run people or goods in a track. Overall, transportation is evolving, while addressing many problems, such as overcrowding, climate, change, and wealth inequality.

I think this article is very interesting, because it talks about some of the newer methods of transportation that could come in our future. Although not all of these methods are in place yet, they are easy to picture in our future world. I already see lots of different kinds of technology like self-driving cars in San Francisco and the advancements of Teslas. Once more of this technology has developed, transportation will have grown significantly. The world is changing and for the better, because many of these solutions address problems mentioned before like global warming and poverty.

Carey, N. (2024, January 10). Global electric car sales rose 31% in 2023 – Rho Motion. Reuters.

Retrieved January 22, 2024, from

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/global-electric-car-sales-rose-31-0

23-rho-motion-2024-01-11/

According to market research firm Rho Motion, EV sales “rose 31% in 2023, down from 60% growth in 2022.” There are slow progressive growth rates. Globally, there is expected to be an increase in cars. In multiple places for the next coming years, they are expected to slow for 2-3 years, especially in Europe, because companies will continue making them more efficient.  Then the price will drop, since the technology isn’t as new and isn’t developing as quickly. 

This article is very good because then it talks about how globally there is going to be a large progression in EV in general. This will have a very good effect on the environment. As we know, EV vehicles are very good for the environment in general, and it is important that they keep increasing. 

Buckley, C. (2023, October 3). In shipping, a push to slash emissions by harnessing the wind.

The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2024, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/climate/wind-powered-ships-climate.html?searchResultPosition=9

The shipping industry is trying to pull away from using fossil fuels and using the wind instead. The worldwide shipping industry contributes “about 3 percent of the greenhouse gasses” to the Earth’s atmosphere and about 90% are run on fuel. Cargill, a shipping company chartered a boat from China to Brazil. It used two wings that adjusted to fill with wind and folded down when not in use, and decreased fuel usage by 30%. The French company Airseas used a design of a kite, “It is housed in a storage tank on a ship’s bow and deployed by cable and crane to slice nearly 1,000 feet into the sky, where winds blow strong.” It could decrease fuel usage by 40%. A lot of nations are looking to not add additional carbon by 2050. It should be adopted fast, but it might be hard because the shipping industry is conservative. It would severely reduce it, according to the New York Times,“research has found that shipping emissions could be cut by up to 47 percent by 2030 through a combination of wind propulsion, new fuels and reduced speeds.”

The article is very powerful because it brings in a concept about possibly reducing CO2 emissions that we don’t usually think about, shipping. Shipping is a big part of our world and we get a lot of products through it, but it’s not something we are usually involved in. It also props up the economy. I think this article is really cool because shipping and the economy connect countries. If this was implemented it would have a larger scale impact globally. I also like how it is very efficient and can create a huge change on CO2 reductions, it’s not intense.

Barnard, M. (2023, November 13). Global move to cities speeds electric transport adoption.

Forbes. Retrieved January 18, 2024, from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2023/11/13/global-move-to-cities-speeds-electric-transport-adoption/?sh=375f067060fe

The article talks about how they will, over the years as our population has increased we changed through the power of automation and the growth of big cities. “A full 60% of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2030 and most of them will be in larger ones.” The more people living in a big city, the more people electrified public transport would help. For example, China will have, “600,000 electric buses serve hundreds of millions with often 24/7 service cycles.” There are also benefits to bigger cities because they are more walkable and bikeable. All of these are alternative ways to cars, which produce CO2. There are also electric bikes and vehicles. All in all, “electrified transit, electric micro mobility and electrified urban delivery vehicles mean vastly more people and more goods are moving through our increasingly big and dense cities with very little carbon footprint.” 

I think this article is very interesting because it talks about the importance of not only changing transportation, but how changing the population density of people would make it easier to adapt to transportation. I knew that big cities could be helpful for this kind of thing, but I didn’t ever really come to think about the huge scale it could impact with climate change. I think that it is a very important option to consider. I have always wanted to move to a big city, but it makes it more appealing because it is so helpful. I also really like this article because it talks about this idea globally. 

Levitz, E. (2023, May 15). America’s trains and buses are speeding toward a Cliff. Intelligencer.

Retrieved August 27, 2023 https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/05/americas-mass-transit-systems-are-speeding-toward-a-cliff.html 

In the recent past, mass transit systems have gone down, especially since COVID-19. In the United States, “ridership sits at about 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels.” Since the pandemic, there are many people that have started working from home and it has affected the transit system overall. Since then the government has put billions of dollars into the public transit system nationwide, but it is still short falling. There will need to be changes like less trains that run, fewer intervals, and cuts overall. It is also very important because it affects climate change  because there are less carbon emissions created by public transport than more personal vehicles. For example, diesel buses with enough passengers are better than cars because buses let out less carbon emissions per mile. 

This article is connected to environmental science because transportation heavily affects climate change. This article has taught me a lot about the current decline of the use of public transportation, specifically buses and trains. This makes me very sad because I think that public transportation is a great resource and it is a much better alternative for the environment. It makes me want to be more aware and use public transportation more when I can and encourage others to use it. 

Block, D. (2023, February 20). Free public transportation accelerates in some US cities. VOA.

Retrieved August 23 2023, from https://www.voanews.com/a/free-public-transportation-accelerates-in-some-us-cities/6966994.html

This source talks about how in the US there should be more free public transport. It also talks about how recently, Washington was the first city to make public transport free. Following, there are other big cities focusing on making public transport free. The article talks about how there are benefits such as it is better for the environment, more people get to use it, and it is more productive than cars. It also talks about how mass transportation is, “a public good,” and therefore, there should be no bus tolls. Overall, the transportation system should be free and the perspective of it should be changed so more people use it. 

This article is related to environmental science, because of how big of an impact public transportation has on the environment. I think that if the perception on how public transit is viewed changes that would be a lot better. It seems like a lot of people don’t use it because it has been looked at as not as nice and people have to pay for it. In reality, the bus is a public amenity so people should not have to pay for it. I think that knowing how much the environment is impacted by cars this would be a good alternative and I think making the bus free helps encourage people to use it.

Pierre-Louis, K. (2023, May 1). Better bus systems could slow climate change. Scientific

American. Retrieved August 23 2023, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/better-bus-systems-could-slow-climate-change/

As cities are growing, so is the amount of traffic, which only adds an increase in greenhouse emissions. But one of the most overlooked solutions for this is the bus to decarbonize the US. Biden has pledged “to reduce emissions by 50 to 52 percent by 2030,” but as of right now they won’t be able to reach that goal solely by electrifying cars, but it would help to decrease the amount of drivers overall. But people don’t use buses because they are more unreliable because of traffic, sometimes they are full, and some people just don’t have access to mass transit at all. The transit system in the US is also poor because it is looked at as a government relief for disadvantaged people. Overall, it would be buses to become a more used masstransit. 

The bus system is heavily overlooked, and, not only is it better for people overall, it is a great solution for the environment. This article explained to me a lot of different aspects of buses: the environmental impact, people’s view of a transport system, and how it would help people socially. It makes me wonder how they can be more heavily implemented in our society, and what would be the best, and most effective way to make more people ride them.

Sengupta, S. (2023, June 13). Americans and their cars. The New York Times. Retrieved August

23 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/13/climate/car-emissions.html

The United States is highly ranked as the 6th highest producer for greenhouse gasses. The use of transportation, “accounts for the United States’ largest single share of emissions (38 percent of carbon dioxide emissions and 29 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions). ” One cause of that is specifically cars. Cars have become one of the main forms of transportation and became a big part of geography, with highways and cities. Cars have become a central part of our lives. Many United States citizens don’t have the option to take public transportation and walk. There are progressively more people trying to drive less, trying to insert more bike lanes, and fewer parking spots to discourage driving. But it shifts to the main focus where we spend our public money.

This article is related to environmental science because it focuses on greenhouse emissions, and talks about the problem with cars, a main source of our transportation. I thought this article was good, but it covered a lot of basic information that I knew about already. I did learn a lot about the history and how much cars actually shaped cities and suburbs geographically.

Lakhani, N. (2023, January 24). Revealed: How us transition to electric cars threatens

environmental havoc. The Guardian. Retrieved August 23 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/24/us-electric-vehicles-lithium-consequences-research

While the United States is transferring to electric cars away from gas cars to help the environment, it is actually backfiring. The estimated number of electric cars in 2050 would need triple the amount of lithium that is currently being produced for the global market all together. The bigger problems that could be created come from the need to mine lithium, which could create even more “environmental and social inequalities.” Either way by 2050, the US will achieve zero emissions but is an easier option instead of electrifying everything, changing the dynamic of cities and transportation to make it better socially and environmentally.

The contents in this article are very important to environmental science, because transportation is a method that has a huge effect on the environment. Specifically in this article, they talk about one of the commonly known solutions to coming to zero emissions, electric cars. But to my surprise, they actually revealed the harms when it comes down to lithium, and offered the solution of public transportation. I thought this was very interesting because I did not know about the problem of mining. I also really like how the idea of more public transportation would help people socially as well as the environment.