People who choose to live their lives in urban environments are accustomed to the pollution and sounds that come from the large amounts of traffic and people who carry out their everyday lives. The large amounts of pollution that are given off into the environment is no secret to scientists and they are continually striving to find ways to counter act the amount of carbon that is put into the air. One of the more notable technologies that frequently gives off harmful amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, is the transportation industry.
Public transportation in big cities gives people a way to travel to their destinations, but also gives off large amounts of pollution while doing so. Buses and taxis are continuously idling, accelerating, and using up a lot of gas that in turn gives of exhaust that is very bad for the environment. All the exhaust and carbon dioxide that is being put into the air is causing cities to experience higher temperatures and a much lower quality of air for the people to breathe.
To combat these concerns scientists and engineers have been searching for ways to try and get the transportation system to find ways to minimize the amounts of exhaust and pollutants into the atmosphere. This article written by, Michael M. Grynbaum, explains how engineers have started to use hybrid buses in New York City to try and limit the amount of pollution that is put off by the older buses. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA, is planning on trying to replace all the old buses in their fleet other the next three years. One of the riders was interviewed in the article and was very pleased with the lack of noise that is often heard when the old buses would stop or accelerate from a stop light. Doreen Frasca noted that the bus is as “Quiet as a tomb,” and most of this reduction of noise is from the hybrid engine which gives of fewer pollutants into the air.
The factor that pleased me the most about this article is that it proves that scientists know what is going on in our atmosphere and are working hard every day to produce new equipment that is aimed to reduce pollution. Many of the people who live in urban environments will notice less noise in the streets and be able to breathe a little better now that these buses have been introduced to MTA’s fleet. Taking action to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide we put into the air is very important and engineers need to keep producing products like the hybrid buses in order to help our current environmental problems.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/nyregion/07bus.html?_r=2&ref=earth
1 comment:
I think this is a very good step in reducing the green house gases in the atmosphere. The first step in reducing out impact to the atmosphere should be with little steps like this one. It may not solve the global warming problem but it is a good step in the right condition. The pollution given off by mass transit systems is enormous. By turning the buses into hybrid automobiles, they will give out less harmful gases like Carbon Dioxide.
In the future I think there should be laws and regulations for mass transit system regarding how much harmful gases they emit. Before you can start passing laws on an individual level, you need to pass them on a large scale. Besides buses and other forms of transit, factories and other industrial sites should be regulated more closely in cities. Make companies more accountable for their actions against the atmosphere. Companies will more likely stop emitting harmful toxins in the air if they get fined.
There really aren’t any benefits from keeping the buses the way they are. Of course it will cost money, which the tax payers will pay. Even with that in mind, I’m sure people will embrace the benefits from hybrid buses. People in cities, like New York City, deal with an immense amount of noise. I’m sure anything that can be don’t to decrease some it will be wanted. Not to mention the benefit of cleaner air
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