The Environmentally Sustainable Transport

The Environmentally Sustainable Transport Sustainable transport or green transport refers to any means of transport with low impact on the environment, and includes non-motorized transport, like walking and cycling, transit oriented development, green vehicles, car sharing, and building or protecting urban transport systems that are fuel-efficient, space-saving and promote healthy lifestyles. Sustainable transport systems make a positive contribution to the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the communities they serve. Transport systems exist to provide social and economic connections, and people quickly take up the opportunities offered by increased mobility. The advantages of increased mobility need to be weighed against the environmental, social and economic costs that transport systems pose. Transport systems have significant impacts on the environment, accounting between 20% and 25% of world energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from transport are increasing at a faster rate than any other energy using sector. Road transport is also a major contributor to local air pollution and smog. The social costs of transport include road crashes, air pollution, physical inactivity, time taken away from the family while commuting and vulnerability to fuel price increases. Many of these negative impacts fall disproportionately on those social groups who are also least likely to own and drive cars. Traffic congestion imposes economic costs by wasting peoples time and by slowing the delivery of goods and services. Traditional transport planning aims to improve mobility, especially for vehicles, and may fail to adequately consider wider impacts. But the real purpose of transport is access to work, education, goods and services, friends and family and there are proven techniques to improve access while simultaneously reducing environmental and social impacts, and managing traffic congestion. Communities which are successfully improving the sustainability of their transport networks are doing so as part of a wider program of creating more vibrant, livable, sustainable cities. Definition: The term sustainable transport came into use as a logical follow-on from sustainable development, and is used to describe modes of transport, and systems of transport planning, which are consistent with wider concerns of sustainability. There are many definitions of the sustainable transport, and of the related terms sustainable transportation and sustainable mobility. One such definition, from the European Union Council of Ministers of Transport, defines a sustainable transportation system as one that: Allows the basic access and development needs of individuals, companies and society to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and promotes equity within and between successive generations. Is Affordable, operates fairly and efficiently, offers a choice of transport mode, and supports a competitive economy, as well as balanced regional development. Limits emissions and waste within the planets ability to absorb them, uses renewable resources at or below their rates of generation, and uses non-renewable resources at or below the rates of development of renewable substitutes, while minimizing the impact on the use of land and the generation of noise. Sustainability extends beyond just the operating efficiency and emissions. A Life-cycle assessment involves production and post-use considerations. A cradle-to-cradle design is more important than a focus on a single factor such as energy efficiency. History: Most of the tools and concepts of sustainable transport were developed before the phrase was coined. Walking, the first mode of transport is also the most sustainable. Public transport dates back at least as far as the invention of the public bus by Blasà © Pascal in 1662. The first passenger tram began operation in 1807 and the first passenger rail service in 1825. Pedal bicycles date from the 1860s. These were the only personal transport choices available to most people in Western countries prior to World War II, and remain the only options for most people in the developing world. Freight was moved by human power, animal power or rail. The post-war years brought increased wealth and a demand for much greater mobility for people and goods. The number of road vehicles in Britain increased fivefold between 1950 and 1979, with similar trends in other Western nations. Most affluent countries and cities invested heavily in bigger and better-designed roads and motorways, which were considered essential to underpin growth and prosperity. Transport planning became a branch of civil engineering and sought to design sufficient road capacity to provide for the projected level of traffic growth at acceptable levels of traffic congestion a technique called predict and provide. Public investment in transit, walking and cycling declined dramatically in the United States, Great Britain and Australasia, although this did not occur to the same extent in Canada or mainland Europe. Concerns about the sustainability of this approach became widespread during the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 energy crisis. The high cost and limited availability of fuel led to a resurgence of interest in alternatives to single occupancy vehicle travel. Transport innovations dating from this period include high-occupancy vehicle lanes, citywide carpool systems and transportation demand management. Singapore implemented congestion pricing in the late 1970s, and Curitiba began implementing its Bus Rapid Transit system in the early 1980s. Relatively low and stable oil prices during the 1980s and 1990s led to significant increases in vehicle travel from 1980-2000, both directly because people chose to travel by car more often and for greater distances, and indirectly because cities developed tracts of suburban housing, distant from shops and from workplaces, now referred to as urban sprawl. Trends in freight logistics, including a movement from rail and coastal shipping to road freight and a requirement for just in time deliveries, meant that freight traffic grew faster than general vehicle traffic. At the same time, the academic foundations of the predict and provide approach to transport were being questioned, notably by Peter Newman in a set of comparative studies of cities and their transport systems dating from the mid-1980s. The British Governments White Paper on Transport marked a change in direction for transport planning in the UK. In the introduction to the White Paper, Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that We recognize that we cannot simply build our way out of the problems we face. It would be environmentally irresponsible and would not work. A companion document to the White Paper called Smarter Choices researched the potential to scale up the small and scattered sustainable transport initiatives then occurring across Britain, and concluded that the comprehensive application of these techniques could reduce peak period car travel in urban areas by over 20%. A similar study by the United States Federal Highway Administration, was also released in 2004 and also concluded that a more proactive approach to transportation demand was an important component of overall national transport strategy. Environmentally sustainable transport: Transport systems are major emitters of greenhouse gases, responsible for 23% of world energy-related GHG emissions in 2004, with about three quarters coming from road vehicles. Currently 95% of transport energy comes from petroleum. Energy is consumed in the manufacture as well as the use of vehicles, and is embodied in transport infrastructure including roads, bridges and railways. New York City has an astonishing 5,900 buses with over 2.69 million riders every weekday (NYC Statistics). Lansing on the other has 90 percent of their people riding in personal vehicles. One bus of people is six times more efficient than a car with one person in it. (Weiner, Edward). Taking public transit saves an average household over $6,000 on automobile expenses per year (Victoria Transport Planning Institute). The Michigan Avenue Corridor can adopt this bus use idea very easily, and by doing so they also help lower the unemployment rate. U.S. fleet of light trucks and vehicles account for a little more than one-fifth of the total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions (National Research Council). By placing more bus stops along the Corridor and by offering a wide variety of riding plans, we can change the rising health problems that come from use of trucks, cars and vans. Traffic crashes continue to be one of the largest causes of deaths and disabilities for people aged 1-44 years (Comm ittee on Toxicological and Performance Aspects of Oxygenated Motor Vehicle Fuels, National Research Council). Public transportations are 170 times safer than riding in a vehicle (Driver Safety). Its reported in New York for every 10,000 commuters who leave their cars at home and commute on an existing public transportation service for one year, end up saving around 2.7 million gallons of gasoline (American Public Transportation Association). The continued use of buses as transportation in New York City has proven to help out in every standing aspect. If Lansing could establish a more rigid bus attitude and help to develop more situations where people could ride a bus instead of drive their own car, the changes would be enormous. The Michigan Avenue Corridor is the perfect place to apply this plan and help to cut back on the individual use of vehicles. When trying to fix urban transportation problems there are many possible solutions, but the biggest of which is Improving public tran sportation (Asmaa Ait Boubkr, Gaboune Brahim, and Avel-Li Blasco Esteve). New York City is giving us the numbers and the example, its now necessary to implement these views into the Michigan Avenue Corridor. The environmental impacts of transport can be reduced by improving the walking and cycling environment in cities, and by enhancing the role of public transport, especially electric rail. Green vehicles are intended to have less environmental impact than equivalent standard vehicles, although when the environmental impact of a vehicle is assessed over the whole of its life cycle this may not be the case. Electric vehicle technology has the potential to reduce transport CO2 emissions, depending on the embodied energy of the vehicle and the source of the electricity. Hybrid vehicles, which use an internal combustion engine combined with an electric engine to achieve better fuel efficiency than a regular combustion engine, are already common. Natural gas is also used as a transport fuel. Biofuels are a less common, and less promising, technology; Brazil met 17% of its transport fuel needs from bioethanol in 2007, but the OECD has warned that the success of biofuels in Brazil is due to specific local circumstances; internationally, biofuels are forecast to have little or no impact on greenhouse emissions, at significantly higher cost than energy efficiency measures. In practice there is a sliding scale of green transport depending on the sustainability of the option. Green vehicles are more fuel-efficient, but only in comparison with standard vehicles, and they still contribute to traffic congestion and road crashes. Well-patronized public transport networks based on traditional diesel buses use less fuel per passenger than private vehicles, and are generally safer and use less road space than private vehicles. Green public transport vehicles including electric trains, trams and electric buses combine the advantages of green vehicles with those of sustainable transport choices. Other transport choices with very low environmental impact are cycling and other human-powered vehicles, and animal powered transport. The most common green transport choice, with the least environmental impact is walking.

Analysis and Interpretation of Religion: Upanishads Essay

The concept behind Upanishads is the existence of a universal spirit known as Brahman, and an individual soul known as Atman. Brahman is considered to be the ultimate, in both the transcendent and immanent aspect, as well as the absolute infinite existence, the totality of everything that existed before, now, and the coming future. The Upanishads are very mystical in nature, and it also offers intense philosophical bent, which gave birth to three main schools of self-realization or Vedanta. One interpretation of the Upanishads doesn’t give Brahman a God-figure in a monotheistic sense; instead it is something with no limiting characteristics. This is the one of the three main schools of Vedanta, the philosophy of Shankara known as advaita. Another one, the dvaita, was founded by Madvacharya, which holds the idea saying that Brahman is but a personal god, the same as other Hindu gods like Vishnu and Krishna. The third school, known as vishishtadvaita, was founded by Ramanujacharya, which has similar aspects with the other two schools of Vedanta. Upanishad knowledge means Brahma-knowledge, giving not only spiritual vision, but also a philosophical argument (Universe). Upanishads are responsible for the conception of the major Vedic doctrines, including Self-realization, yoga and meditation, karma and reincarnation, which were previously clouded by the symbolisms of its religious roots. We often see some of the older Upanishads very much related or affixed to a certain specific Veda, through a Brahmana or Aranyaka, though most of the recent ones are not. Upanishads also emphasized on the spiritual meanings of the Vedic texts that they also adhere to, emphasizing it at its own right. Upanishads and the Vedas go hand and hand in shaping both the spiritual and philosophical leanings of the people at that time. The concept of religion that comes out in the Upanishad represents a threat and a challenge to religious group developments in India as well as any kind of religion, based solely on theism. It’s because of the focus that they give on their central figure, the Brahman, which is in some cases, taken as a god, while in some, a much more powerful entity. Upanishad’s Brahman does not really focus on a monotheistic god, instead it is a universal entity, something that can be attained or be aligned with ourselves by properly doing the teachings or following the Vedas. Upanishads propose a similar concept of the soul, which is the Atman. The atman is present in all individuals, and that it still needs to be nourished in order for it to reach a certain desired state, the ultimate, universal Brahman. These two are similar in state, formless, inconceivable, though it is up to the people to realize it through discrimination that can be attained by doing and following the right things that it calls for, as stated on the Vedas. Putting these against the earlier and later religious developments, which undeniable focus on a central God character, distinct from the world we can see that Upanishads stand out because their ultimate end is being one with everything in the world. It is the main concept of the religion that then challenges the existence of the various Gods of the other religions. Still, it teaches people to do what is right, to practice things that would enable them to be at one with the ultimate end, the Brahman, but it offers people a chance to be at one with all that is, was, and ever will be, instead of being with a separate entity. Upanishads gives us an alternate view of the world, a religion with a unique take of what is real, and what is at the end for all of us. Much like other religions, it still focus on motivating to do the right things, in order to achieve one final end, though it may be different because it does not have a concrete god-figure, instead it has a universal entity waiting in the end. Work Cited: Universe, Dharma. â€Å"Upanishads†. 2009. March 5 2009. .

Cat’s Cradle Essay

As â€Å"Papa† Monzano dies, he tells Jonah that Bokonon â€Å"teaches people lies and lies and lies,† and then asks Jonah to â€Å"kill him and teach the people the truth. † Papa says the truth is science. Shows ridiculousness of jumping from one form of comfort, religion, to another, science, without careful consideration. – Irresponsibility of the scientists: Felix Hoenikker says â€Å"Why should I bother with made-up games when there are so many real ones going on? † He never understands that the games he is playing will have a disastrous effect on the human race. After Felix Hoenikker wins noble peace prize, he says he is â€Å"still playing† -> treats science like a game, doesn’t take it srsly. Religion – Jonah says to Mona â€Å"could I have your religion, if I wanted it? † -> religion is so easy to take up – Newt compares religion to the cat’s cradle. See the cat? See the cradle? † Bokono nism is a religion of â€Å"shameless lies. Monzano attempts to create a utopia, but just like in today’s society, he makes promises to his people, and then fails to fulfill them. But he allows the best for himself and his staff, while his people struggle. – Frank Hoenikker gave his ice-nine to â€Å"Papa† Monzano in return for a position in government -;gt; corrupt, irresponsible, only use 4 personal gain w/out thinking of consequences – Horlick Minton’s speech attacked patriotism as an irrational denial of the senselessness of wartime slaughter. Irony -> The Hundred Martyrs were sent to their pointless deaths in the name of â€Å"democracy† by a dictatorship. Love – Jonah says Mona can â€Å"make me far happier than any woman had so far succeeded in doing. † Yet, we find later that Jonah does not really love her once he knows he can have her and that she will not give up her ways for him. – Angela uses her ice-nine to get herself a beautiful husband who treats her poorly and gives the ice-nine to the American government.

Negative Effects of Collusion in Business and Politics

Collusion is an agreement between two or more entities to limit open competition or gain an unfair advantage in the market by means of deceiving, misleading, or defrauding. These types of agreements are — not surprisingly — illegal and therefore are also typically very secretive and exclusive. Such agreements can include anything from setting prices to limiting production or opportunities to kickbacks and misrepresentation of the party’s relationship to one another. Of course, when collusion is discovered, all acts affected by the collusive activities are considered void or having no legal effect, in the eyes of the law. In fact, the law ultimately treats any agreements, obligations, or transactions as though they had never existed. Collusion in the Study of Economics In the study of economics and market competition, collusion is defined as taking place when rival companies who otherwise would not work together agree to cooperate for their mutual benefit. For instance, the companies may agree to refrain from participating in an activity that they normally would in order to reduce competition and gain higher profits. Given the few powerful players within a market structure like an oligopoly (a market or industry that is dominated by a small number of sellers), collusive activities are often commonplace. The relationship between oligopolies and collusion can work in the other direction as well; forms of collusion can ultimately lead to the establishment of an oligopoly. Within this structure, collusive activities can make a significant impact on the market as a whole starting with the reduction of competition and then the likely possibility of higher prices to be paid by the consumer. In this context, acts of collusion resulting in price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation could place businesses in jeopardy of being prosecuted for violations of the federal Clayton Antitrust Act. Enacted in 1914, the Clayton Antitrust Act is intended to prevent monopolies and protect consumers from unfair business practices. Collusion and Game Theory According to game theory, it is the independence of suppliers in competition with one another that keeps the price of goods to their minimum, which ultimately encourages overall efficiency of the industry leaders in order to remain competitive. When this system is in effect, no one supplier has the power to set the price. But when there are few suppliers and less competition, as in an oligopoly, each seller is likely to be acutely aware of the actions of the competition. This generally leads to a system in which decisions of one firm can greatly influence and be influenced by the actions of other industry players. When collusion is involved, these influences are typically in the form of clandestine agreements that cost the market the low prices and efficiency otherwise encouraged by competitive independence.​ Collusion and  Politics In the days following the tumultuous 2016 presidential election, allegations arose that representatives of the Donald Trump campaign committee had colluded with agents of the Russian government to influence the outcome of the election in favor of their candidate. An independent investigation conducted by former FBI Director Robert Mueller found evidence that President Trump’s National Security Adviser Michael Flynn may have met with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. to discuss the election. In his testimony to the FBI, however, Flynn denied having done so. On February 13, 2017, Flynn resigned as national security director after admitting he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other top White House officials about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. On December 1, 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to charges of lying to the FBI about his election-related communications with Russia. According to court documents released at the time, two unnamed officials of the Trump presidential transition team had urged Flynn to contact the Russians. It is expected that as part of his plea agreement, Flynn promised to reveal the identity of the White House officials involved to the FBI in return for a reduced sentence. Since the allegations surfaced, President Trump has denied having discussed the election with Russian agents or having directed anyone else to do so. While collusion itself is not a federal crime — except in the case of antitrust laws — the alleged â€Å"cooperation† between the Trump campaign and a foreign government may have violated other criminal prohibitions, which could be interpreted by Congress as impeachable â€Å"High Crimes and Misdemeanors.† Other Forms of Collusion While collusion is most often associated with secretive agreements behind closed doors, it can also occur in slightly different circumstances and situations. For instance, cartels are a unique case of explicit collusion. The explicit and formal nature of the organization is what differentiates it from the traditional sense of the term collusion. There is sometimes a distinction made between private and public cartels, the latter referring to a cartel in which a government is involved and whose sovereignty likely shields it from legal action. The former, however, are subject to such legal liability under the antitrust laws that have become commonplace around the world. Another form of collusion, known as tacit collusion, actually refers to collusive activities that are not overt.  Tacit collusion requires two firms to agree to play by a certain (and often illegal) strategy without explicitly saying so. Historical Example of Collusion One particularly memorable example of collusion occurred in the late 1980s when Major League Baseball teams were found to be in a collusive agreement to not sign free agents from other teams. It was during this period of time when star players like Kirk Gibson,  Phil Niekro, and Tommy John – all free agents that season – did not receive competitive offers from other teams. The collusive agreements made between team owners effectively erased competition for players which ultimately severely limited the player’s bargaining power and choice.