Transit and Energy
Table of Contents
Introduction
The energy sector currently produces 73.2% of global GHG emissions. Energy powers every part of society, but we can reduce demand by being more intentional about what we produce, what the long term consequences will be, and find alternatives to further reduce our demand. Transition to eco-friendly alternatives to some of our biggest problems with require a certain amount of emissions to build, which makes it imperative to ensure that we are choosing these investments wisely.Â
Under the "Energy" umbrella, from most to least energy intensive make up the following percentages of human-driven emissions globally:
Industrial Energy Use: 24.2%
Other Industry: 10.6%
Iron & Steel: 7.2%
Chemical & Petrochemical: 3.6%
Food & Tabacco: 1%
Paper & Pulp: 0.6%
Machinery: 0.5%
Energy Use in Buildings: 17.5%
Residential Buildings: 10.9%
Commercial Buildings: 6.6%
Transit: 16.2%
Road Transport: 11.9%
Aviation: 1.9%
Shipping: 1.7%
Rail: 0.4%
Pipeline: 0.3%
Unaccounted Fuel Combustion: 7.8%
Fugitive Emissions for Energy Production: 5.8%
Energy In Agriculture: 1.7%
While these numbers aren't good, they can provide a road map on what types of changes we can make to help our planet.
For example Road Transport makes the lion's share of Transit emissions, and scientists have found that most of our trips are around 4 miles or less. Short enough for most adults to bike, especially if communities invest in protected walking and cycling spaces.Â
Communities everywhere can boost their economies, reduce medical costs, and experience other benefits by implementing plans to promote more Active Transport among their residents. The fossil fuel industry has pushed for Passive Transport, but even this presents possibilities.
Reduce > Reuse > Recycle
As usual this concept is a good starting point.Â
Reduce
We can reduce our energy use by improving insulation, buying less impulse purchases and buying better quality products that will last for decades instead of days. Turning lights off at night and switching to wildlife-friendly lighting can help individuals and entire communities save money and energy, while improving the health of humans and wildlife (some communities have started to turn off their street lights between 2-7am). Transit can be reduced by working or learning from home, holding televisits with doctors/therapists/clients, and other socially-distant alternatives to travel. Similarly we can explore our local parks, beaches, and other tourist spots instead of flying to distant places.
Reuse
Reusing products and materials instead of endlessly mining and farming for more can help reduce energy use. For example "Recycling scrap aluminium requires only 5% of the energy used to make new aluminium from the raw ore.[4]"
We can also think about reusability in our transit and infrastructure, reusing old tiers to create safety features for bike lanes, installing accessible paths that anyone in the community can use at any time, rather than coddling a system for private vehicles which increases our resources waste.Â
Old windmill blades can be used to build bus stops, bike shelters, park benches, and playgrounds.
People have complained about the high cost of replacing electric car batteries, but these used batteries present a wonderfully cheap option to homeowners wanting to build an affordable home solar system.
Recycle
Modern electric and hybrid vehicles have superior efficiency because they recycle brake power into battery power.Â
Germany is piloting a new water heating solution that takes excess energy from renewable sources and uses it to heat a giant thermos, which will supply hot water to nearby homes.Â
Energy Storage & Vehicle Batteries
Not only do vehicles need energy, but when they are inactive, they can (while plugged in), help stabilize the amount of energy in their community by feeding power back to the grid.
Old electric bus and car batteries can be used to create more affordable home or even grid storage. This opens the door of sustainable living to people in lower income brackets, helping to make sustainability even more accessible to humanity as a whole.
This section explores these topics and their benefits.
Bus Batteries
School Bus Batteries for Grid Storage
School buses can charge during peek energy production hours (particularly when paired with solar power systems), then the unused battery power can be fed back to the grid in the evening and during other hours when energy use is higher, but less sun is available.Â
Car Batteries
Used Car Batteries for Cheap Energy Storage
One of the problems potential buyers worry about when looking at used electric cars, is the knowledge that their batteries eventually "go bad" and need to be replaced. This often coincides with the time sellers decide to give up their electrics for a new model. The good news is that even though the battery loses the "oomph" to start and run a car, they're still perfectly good at that point for at-home energy storage. They are much cheaper than brand new batteries, which means the cost of setting up a DIY energy storage systemÂ
Charging Stations
Of course charging spaces are a critical part of this energy eco-system. When you buy an electric car or fleet of electric buses, you'll have to buy and install a charger at home or in a suitable place for the buses to charge. Similarly delivery companies will want charging spaces for their delivery vans, and companies can offer charging spaces for their employees or customers.
For longer distance travel, check out our Charging Station Directory which includes international maps for electric, hydrogen, and other fuel types. There are also some more localized apps.
Transport
Transportation uses
The Transit page offers a growing list of transport options, both common, and relatively unheard of. The majority are currently examples of Active Transport, but more Passive options are being added as we gather data. Topics include learning to use use these methods, their benefits, necessary infrastructure for each, maps of existing infrastructure or travel routes, studies, etc.
Active TransportÂ
This includes anything from walking to biking, skating, rowing, even swimming. The need for calories can help boost sales for restaurants, while reducing the amount of fumes guests inhale while dining on street side patios or balconies. Active transport reduces disease, improves the sense of community, reduces crime, and creates economic opportunities.Â
Legal Protections & Planning
Passive Transport
The most common type of passive transport at the moment is probably privately owned vehicles, but trains, trams, and buses also fall under this category. Anything where the people being transported do not use their own energy, but instead rely on external power sources including fossil fuels or renewable energy.Â
Electric & Hybrid Vehicles
Life Expectancy: " A well-maintained hybrid vehicle should last well past its first decade and 100,000 miles, but once vehicles approach 150,000 miles you may need to prepare for hybrid battery replacement." - compare.com
Pro: These are significantly more efficient than ICEs and reduce emissions. Even if they are powered with energy from a fossil fuel plant, they produce less emissions, but when run on renewables, they help support our transition to these energy sources. Another benefit of these is that electric and hybrid vehicles (including school buses) can be charged by solar during peek production times, and then any unused energy can be taken from the batteries and used by the grid during less productive times of the day.
Con: These still cause problems such as congestion, and use more resources including road and parking space than public transport does. Tires and liquids that shed or leak from privately owned vehicles are a major source of pollution run off that effect our waterways and oceans, so these are not the best solution to a sustainable planet.
Solution: Carpooling can further reduce the emissions and other harms assosciated with private vehicle ownership. Car sharing is gaining popularity, or you might choose to only rent a car for the rare times you need one (maybe to go camping or visit someone who lives too far for public transport to make sense).
Fuel Type: Hybrids use fossil fuel, electricity from a charging station which may be powered by renewable or fossil energy, breaking energy can also be captured to recharge the battery, meaning that one tank of gas can easily last a family all year if hardly any of their commutes are far enough to switch the car from the battery system into fuel mode. Fully electric vehicles use the same systems minus the gas tank and option to switch to fossil fuel mode.
Rail
Electric trains could similarly help use and store extra energy from renewable energy sources. Tracks can cause flaking of pollutants, but they are much more sustainable in general than privately owned vehicles or those that require rubber. Current designs can be more appropriate for different locations.
Bullet Trains - fast transport for long distance travel. These often skip stops to get from one major city to the next.
Freight Trains - These are a very safe option for moving industrial shipments, and one of the most efficient.
Funicular - tracks take the sloped cars up and down a sloped track. Perfect for hills or mountains.
Metro - Underground, these bypass street traffic, waterways, historical buildings, and can easily connect with existing lines.. This is not advisable for places that flood or are expected to face sea level rise.
Tram - Tram tracks are attached directly at street level, and some are 100 or more years old, attesting to their durability. These are an incredibly comfortable way to explore a city as a tourist as they stop directly outside restaurants, museums, hotels, and major shopping districts. They often move through historical areas, produce no fumes for fellow road users, and are very quiet. This last part can be a problem, as poorly designed roads can cause accidents when pedestrians or car drivers accidentally cross the tracks, so ample signage and design choices should be implemented to reduce confusion or injury to people who might not see the tracks.
Electricity Free Rails
The men in the video below demonstrate how relatively easy it is to construct a simple rail with metal and wood, then run an motor-free/human-powered vehicle on top. A design like this could help reduce energy needs on farms and in industrial areas, while giving workers a simple and comfortable way to move heavy loads fairly short distances.
The Schweeb concept uses peddle power and pods that hang from a rail.
Click the Rail button to learn more about the different types of rail transit from funiculars to bullet trains.
Click the Railway System button to learn more about the different railway systems you can use locally, and while traveling long distance. Most of these are active railways, but we also include a few which are in the planning or construction phase.
Solar Powered Gondolas
These have an almost negligible physical footprint and are perfect for hilly or mountainous communities. They can run during normal work and visiting hours giving residents or even tourists an unforgettable view of the community beneath.Â
These can provide a low-impact option avoiding historical buildings that might have to be removed for ground-level infrastructure like roads or tracks. They'd also be appropriate for giving a bird's-eye view of local parks or even conservation areas that might not be safe or appropriate for people to walk around in. For example an area with bison herds, large cat species or bears who might otherwise be fed by visitors.
Bogota's Solar-Powered Gondola Gives Slum Dwellers a Lift (article)
"With two solar panels atop each cable car, the system called “TransMiCable” transports about 20,000 residents a day living in the southern neighborhood of Ciudad Bolivar, up and down the mountain in under 15 minutes and for less than $1 per journey.
The 3.5-km (2-mile) TransMiCable, launched in December, has not only more than halved journey times but is helping cut traffic congestion, air pollution and planet-warming emissions.
“I’ve really benefited from the TransMiCable because it saves time,” said 38-year-old nanny Bonella, riding a red cable car on her way home from work. “Each wagon has solar panels which I think is nice - it helps to conserve the environment.”"
Energy Production & Safety
Energy Needs & What Needs to Change
In the link to the right, Project Drawdown explores the questions "How can we generate electricity for the whole world without burning fossil fuels? How do the means of transmitting, storing, and efficiently using electricity need to evolve?" Highlights include:
Enhance Efficiency
"Electricity efficiency solutions include technologies and practices that reduce demand for electricity generation, literally lightening the load. The two biggest end users of electricity are buildings and industry, in roughly equal measure. While a home or factory may be the location of efficiency measures, these emissions get counted at the power plant where they are created or avoided as part of the electricity sector."
Shift Production
"Production of electricity must move away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible. A spectrum of solutions can help, from small-scale/distributed to large-scale/centralized. Some solutions harvest photons from the sun. Others tap nature’s generous kinetic energy—the movement of wind and water. Still others use an alternate source of heat, such as geothermal or nuclear, for the same basic steam-turbine process."
Improve the System
"To enable the transition to renewable electricity production and use, the broader electricity system also needs to evolve and upgrade. Flexible grids for transmission and effective energy storage make it possible to better balance electricity supply with demand."
Safety & Productivity Rates by Energy Type
According to Our World in Data and their graphs (to the left), "All energy sources have negative effects. But they differ enormously in size: as we will see, fossil fuels are the dirtiest and most dangerous, while nuclear and modern renewable energy sources are vastly safer and cleaner.
From the perspective of both human health and climate change, it matters less whether we transition to nuclear power or renewable energy, and more that we stop relying on fossil fuels."
"... Energy production can have negative impacts on human health and the environment in three ways.
The first is air pollution: millions of people die prematurely every year as a result of air pollution. Fossil fuels and the burning of biomass – wood, dung, and charcoal – are responsible for most of those deaths.
The second is accidents. This includes accidents that happen in the mining and extraction of the fuels – coal, uranium, rare metals, oil, and gas. And it also includes accidents that occur in the transport of raw materials and infrastructure, the construction of the power plant, or their maintenance.
The third is greenhouse gas emissions: fossil fuels are the main source of greenhouse gases, the primary driver of climate change. In 2020, 91% of global CO2 emissions came from fossil fuels and industry.1
No energy source is completely safe. They all have short-term impacts on human health, either through air pollution or accidents. And they all have long-term impacts by contributing to climate change."
Geothermal or Heat Pumps
Click the button below to learn about different types of high efficiency heat pumps including geothermal, air-source, water-source, and more.
Solar
Click the Solar button to learn about solar energy, including the many ways it can be captured, and used in daily life to do important things including cook, heat water, and produce electricity.
Solar for Farmers
Solar programs and funding opportunities for Farmers.
Solar For Schools
Programs, funding opportunities, installers, and educations programs for students.
Hydro Power
Wind Power
Click a button to learn about wind power.Â
We talk about the macro-grid scale down to what you can do to harness benefits of wind power merely by opening or by air drying your clothes. We also cover sail-powered transit on land and water.
Our For Teachers page includes lesson plans, and fun wind-powered car designs so that kids can get hands on experience crafting their own vehicles to learn about aerodynamics, friction, and energy.
Help keep our planet habitable and even save some money!
Resources
Europe
UK
DeSmog’s Air Pollution Lobbying Database "find out about organisations opposing or seeking to weaken planned air quality measures in the UK’s most polluted cities, including Clean Air Zones and London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone."
Tools & Calculators
North America
USA
Rewiring America: Track Your Local Pace of Progress "These projections from Rewiring America worked backwards from the emissions targets for 2050, and forward from current sales of machines for cooking, water heating, space heating, transportation, and rooftop solar to set a number of new clean electric machines that must be sold each year to reduce emissions from fossil-fueled machines. Type your city, county, or state into the search bar to get those numbers broken down for your area, by each machine category.
While creating this tool, one of things we found is that some individual communities and states are leading the way: their goals are bolder than the rest of the country and so don’t match the path laid out in our data. That’s a great problem to have. So our tool should not be considered the only source of its kind -- but one that reflects only one of the possible paths to decarbonization."
Education & Training Opportunities
North America
USA
Climate Tech LaunchPad program helps Black and Latinx innovators and owners of climate tech businesses to overcome the barriers that stand in their way of growing and scaling climate and cleantech solutions, especially in disadvantaged communities."
Organizations
International
DeSmog "was founded in January 2006 to clear the PR pollution that is clouding the science and solutions to climate change. Our team quickly became the world’s number one source for accurate, fact-based information regarding global warming misinformation campaigns.
DeSmog continues to expand our focus to other areas where misinformation has eroded public understanding and political action to address critical societal challenges, such as meeting the world’s energy needs, confronting environmental racism, and ensuring a just transition to a sustainable economic paradigm.
Through hard-hitting investigative journalism, in-depth research, and collaborations with other investigative outlets, DeSmog works tirelessly to provide climate accountability and serve as an antidote to science denial and disinformation. Supported by science and dedicated to equity, our team is helping to clear the way for clean energy solutions, environmental justice, and the preservation of democracy.
Now a global organization, with reporters and researchers spanning North and South America, the UK, Europe, Africa, and beyond, the DeSmog team works to expose corporate misinformation from major fossil fuel interests, including the likes of ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and others with a documented history of undermining climate science and action. We conduct original research and reporting on a range of issues in the broader energy policy dialogue. In many cases, we find the same tactics, and many of the same people, that DeSmog first began exposing in our early research into the climate denial industry, are now sitting alongside a new breed of lobbyist, downplaying potential solutions to climate change, and promoting questionable “silver-bullet” solutions.
Our research databases provide vital information on over 800 organizations and individuals responsible for spreading misinformation on a range of energy and science topics. We first started reporting on Koch Industries’ funding of climate denial in 2007, and continue to track Koch-linked groups and operatives in our Koch Network Database. In 2020, we added two new databases — the Air Pollution Lobbying Database and Agribusiness Database — showing how vested interests are working to slow action across multiple sectors."TUMI "supports transport projects all around the world and enables policy makers to transform urban mobility. TUMI is based on three pilars: innovation, knowledge, investment. We support innovative pilot projects around the whole world. We share knowledge with planners about modern mobility concepts, in workshops and conferences. We invest in construction and modernisation of sustainable urban infrastructure."
Asia
The Asia Society Policy Institute "works with policymakers, scientists, economists, business leaders, and experts from other fields to enhance the regional and global fight against climate change through accelerating the transition to net zero emissions, carbon pricing, clean energy and climate diplomacy."
Livable Cities "... has three operational approaches or pillars: Improve coverage, quality efficiency, and reliability of services in urban areas; strengthen urban planning and financial sustainability of cities; and improve urban environment, climate resilience and disaster management of cities.
With 65% of people in Asia and the Pacific set to live in cities by 2050, we have gathered stories and lessons that will ensure cities in Asia and the Pacific are inclusive, competitive, environmentally sustainable, and resilient."
North America
USA
The Clean Energy States Alliance "is a national, nonprofit coalition of public agencies and organizations working together to advance clean energy.
CESA works with state leaders, federal agencies, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to develop clean energy programs and inclusive renewable energy markets. CESA members—mostly state agencies—include many of the most innovative, successful, and influential public funders of clean energy initiatives in the country."
California
Civic Well "supports leaders responding to the climate crisis and its impact on their communities. As a nonprofit organization, we inspire, equip, connect, and cultivate leaders working toward a more sustainable and resilient future.
We know that innovation happens when communities name their own challenges and define their own visions. Through policy guidance, collaborative partnerships, and direct assistance, we support and equip communities to bring those visions to life."
Grants & Funding
Asia
Livable Cities: Financing Partnership Facility "The urban operations of ADB benefits from the support of notable trust funds, which are collectively referred to as the Urban Financing Partnership Facility. Under this umbrella, strategic, long-term, multi-partner investments on innovative urban solutions are implemented. These investments help to achieve the vision of livable cities." These include:
Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) eligible countries include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
North America
USA
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program "provides $5 billion in grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Authorized under Section 60114 of the Inflation Reduction Act, this two-phase program provides $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants, and approximately $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants."
Power Forward Communities "is a coalition of some of the country’s most trusted housing, climate, and community investment groups dedicated to decarbonizing and transforming American housing. We’re saving homeowners and renters money, reinvesting in communities, and tackling the climate crisis."
Connecticut
The Connecticut Green Bank "is the nation’s first green bank"