however, many drivers along this expressway aren’t aware of its dark history: because the stretch of i-81 in syracuse is a viaduct, or raised above ground level, its construction sliced through and greatly disrupted a historically close-knit african american community. this was syracuse’s southside neighborhood, also known as the 15th ward. in the 1950s, the city saw this community as a burden. as a result, many families were displaced in order to construct i-81.

the highway has not only divided syracuse, but it may have also caused health problems. according to a report by the new york civil liberties union, neighborhoods near highways have notoriously significantly higher rates of asthma than other areas. a school, a park, as well as public housing neighborhoods with run-down sidewalks border i-81, which experiences high volumes of traffic. in addition to this potential health concern, living in these areas is also uncomfortably loud. under one bridge near dr. king elementary school, a volume of 85 decibels was measured using the decibel x decibel reader app. this is as loud as an alarm clock. to hear an example of the audio quality under this bridge, give a listen:

the future of i-81

the new york state department of transportation (nysdot) has designed a plan to turn the current syracuse corridor of i-81 into a street-level boulevard that will be funded by the state. this project is funded and led by the state government. the options were to leave the current viaduct alone, construct a new viaduct, or construct a boulevard, which is the current plan.

the current viaduct “is at the end of its useful life,” according to joe driscoll, the i-81 project manager for the city of syracuse. this means that the traffic that the viaduct currently carries is at a much higher level than originally anticipated. driscoll said that another reason for the removal of the viaduct is simply a safety issue: some homes are as close to the highway as seven feet. the removal of the viaduct will also connect the downtown, university, and southside neighborhoods of syracuse.

one concern of i-81’s deconstruction is that dust will travel throughout the surrounding area as the land is dug up. but despite a potential increase in respiratory issues, the long term effects of removing the highway could include the reconnection and revitalization of the communities that were once divided by it. driscoll described these negative effects as re-breaking a bone that did not heal properly in the first place. in other words, the effects of construction are necessary if the community that was broken is to heal.

there have been recent setbacks to i-81’s removal, such as a lawsuit by the group renew 81 for all that claims that construction will cause traffic issues and will not cut back on vehicle emissions. this lawsuit has temporarily paused construction, which was planned to begin fall 2022. now, the project will likely begin in spring of 2023.

rochester’s inner loop

less than two hours away, rochester’s inner loop is often called “the noose tied around rochester’s neck.” the inner loop creates a c-shaped expressway that connects to i-490, one of the main rochester highways. unfortunately, the construction of this route in the 1950s and 60s cut through an economically powerful black community, the 16th ward. as the loop was built, families left the neighborhood, as the sense of community was lost. 

this is not an isolated or accidental incident. the national interstate and defense highways act of 1956 established the network of highways that is seen across the united states today. this act caused highways to be built through many thriving black communities but was supported by president eisenhower, who was impressed and inspired by the efficiency of germany’s autobahn in wwii. in the end, the 1965 act has become associated by some with an ideology of racism and persecution. now, rochester and syracuse are taking steps to fix the damage done by these expressways.

rochester completed the inner loop east removal project in 2017, which removed roughly one-third of the loop and replaced it with a street-level grid. removing the eastern part of the highway caused long-term benefits for people’s health. “by removing the highway,” said erik frisch, the head of the inner loop north project, “we immediately saw a jump in bicycle and pedestrian volumes just by virtue of breaking down that barrier.” as well as the physical benefits, an increase in biking is associated with stronger communities.

rochester’s current inner loop north project will transform another third of the loop. like the inner loop east project, the north project’s goal is to revitalize the communities that the initial construction of the loop tore apart. the key, however, is avoiding gentrification. development should not be “at the expense of residents who are there now or were there historically” and that the “benefits accrue to them,” said frisch. he adds that rochester is considering a “community land trust…where the board is made up of stakeholders” to ensure that gentrification doesn’t affect the developed area.

the removals of 1-81 and the inner loop in syracuse and rochester represent a shift in american values. although these highways have physically represented the barriers that many black communities have faced, their removal is a major step forward. now, it is up to other cities in the united states to consider the value of their highways.

washington — changes to the environmental protection agency’s renewable fuel standard program could lead to wide-ranging economic impacts like increased gas prices and shutdowns of small refineries, experts told lawmakers during a senate environment and public works committee hearing on wednesday.

“if we proceed with a(n) (epa) mandate, we prohibit innovation and alternatives to come forward,” said lucian pugliaresi, president of the energy policy research foundation. “everyone who wants to proceed with these exotic fuels of the future should keep in mind that i don’t believe that the american people will react very positively if we go into a period of sustained, high gasoline prices.”

lawmakers heard from several stakeholders, including members of the biofuel industry and a lawyer who represents small oil refineries, about their experiences with the epa’s rfs program. the rfs, first established in 2005, sets guidelines for the amount of biofuels required to be blended with fossil fuels each year. the epa recently announced new volume requirements for 2020, 2021 and 2022 in december. 

wednesday’s hearing marked the first time since 2016 that the committee re-examined the program — a gap that “speaks to the intricacies of the program,” according to ranking member shelley moore capito, r-w.va.

“the potential fault lines between opponents, supporters and would-be reformers don’t always align between one party or another,” capito said. 

both experts and lawmakers expressed concern about how epa policies might impact fuel costs, particularly in light of american prices hitting their highest level in eight years. emily skor, ceo of growth energy, said challenges toward epa policies have been one cause of higher fuel prices. the d.c. circuit court of appeals’ july 2021 decision to vacate the epa’s policy of year-round sale of e15, a gasoline mixed with ethanol, has been impactful as well, skor said.

“undermining the rfs and delaying the rollout of e15 means increasing gas prices for american consumers,” skor said. “gas prices are driven by the price of crude — not the cost of the rfs.”

pugliaresi disagreed with skor’s interpretation. while crude oil costs are contributing to overall higher fuel prices, he pointed to an analysis indicating that the epa’s rfs policies contribute an additional 30 cents per gallon to gas prices. 

on feb. 7, democratic members of the house biofuels caucus wrote to epa administrator michael regan in support of the updated rfs guidelines proposed in december, including the new volume targets and denial of economic hardship relief for 65 small refineries. 

during wednesday’s hearing, however, senate republicans said they were concerned about these changes, particularly regarding the refineries. 

“this unprecedented and drastic step to propose a blanket denial of outstanding small refinery hardship petitions is especially puzzling as we see increasing gas prices and several small refinery closures around the nation, eliminating good-paying jobs in some of our rural communities as well,” capito said.

some panelists said one solution could be allowing several types of biofuel to compete on the open market, giving consumers a greater number of choices. pugliaresi called for both greater market competition and greater research into biofuels with “substantial long-term public benefits.”

skor echoed pugliaresi’s calls for consumer choice, saying she was disappointed with the d.c. circuit court of appeals’ july 2021 decision, which will pull e15 fuel off the market in june and leave buyers with less options.

“consumers do need choices,” skor said. “they need options at the pump… when it comes to competition, as we all pursue lower-carbon intense energy, that’s very important. and critical to that is making sure that the modeling, the incentives, the performance standards are technology-neutral. in this country, let the best win, right?”

united airlines offers a quick fix to neutralize your carbon emissions for a trip from chicago to los angeles and back: $4.60 in carbon offsets. 

the round-trip economy ticket costs approximately $200, and the flights emit somewhere in the range of 0.46 to 1.19 tons of carbon dioxide, as much as 20% of the carbon emitted by the average person across the globe annually and 6% for the average american, according to our world in data, an online scientific database and publication.

carbon offsets are monetary investments into global projects that reduce carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to counterbalance one’s emissions. these projects can range from a tree planting program in kenya to a landfill gas capture in ohio, according to terrapass, an offset program.

however, the offsets for the same flights could actually cost upwards of $20 with different agencies, according to estimates from other offset calculating websites such as atmosfair and myclimate. the difference could be due to the type of offset, its quality or its social impact—but it also raises questions on the consumers’ end.

yet what’s more concerning is united’s offsets are “not even real” in taking carbon directly from the flight out of the air, noted united ceo scott kirby in a capa meeting in march 2021. instead of banking on carbon offsets, united will focus on making air travel itself become carbon neutral, said united spokesperson rachael rivas. 

carbon offsets have grown in popularity, especially as a means to make up for commercial air travel, which releases more than 2.5% of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to our world in data.

the decades-long increase in aviation carbon dioxide emissions corresponds to skyrocketing air travel. even though the total carbon dioxide emitted from aviation is growing, the relative proportion of global carbon dioxide emissions from air travel has remained steady.

improvements in aircraft fuel efficiency have allowed carbon dioxide emissions per passenger to plummet since the 1950s, when air travel began to boom. per traveler carbon emissions have fallen to half of what they were 20 years ago due to more fuel-efficient planes, according to the international air transport association (iata). the wider introduction of biofuels will allow the carbon dioxide emissions per passenger to shrink more.

“this is something that we can do to begin mitigating some of the damage that’s already been done, just to reduce some of the additional influx and emissions that we’re likely to see in the next 20, 30, 40 years and begin to start solving the problem,” said pat brewer, a senior analyst at green-e, a third-party company that checks offset certification methods. “it’s definitely not open-heart surgery [for climate change]. but i would argue it’s maybe a little bit more than a band-aid.”

carbon offset programs can be part of the compliance market or voluntary purchases.

government authorities mandate compliance programs, also known as cap-and-trade, and allow polluting companies to meet greenhouse gas emissions regulations by offsetting in another arena, said brewer. 

voluntary offset programs let individuals and companies make the choice to purchase offsets to account for their own carbon emissions, said brewer. offsets airlines sell to customers or that travelers buy independently fall into the voluntary category.

about 10% of americans have purchased carbon offsets, and more than half would consider purchasing them in the future, according to a survey of people who believe their carbon emissions affect climate change by ipsos, a global market research firm. 

carbon offsets encounter criticism from both a philosophical and a physical perspective.

philosophical objections to carbon offsets include allowing polluting companies to continue their practices while “greenwashing,” the lack of a long-term solution for polluting and the way in which offsets can serve as a “modern indulgence” for carbon-emitting consumers, according to the carbon offset guide. 

on a physical level, countless investigations have exposed the impacts of carbon offset programs. scandals range from projects displacing indigenous peoples, said sarah milne of the australian national university, to carbon certificates being awarded for projects planting non-existent trees, according to a report from the new england center for investigative reporting.

another criticism of carbon offsets is their inaccuracy, both in quantifying how much carbon one’s actions emitted and in assigning a dollar value to offset. 

differences in carbon offset prices are due to the nature of the programs. offsets such as methane capture are inherently cheaper (and are often bought in bulk by airlines) than projects such as cleaning cooking stoves in southeast asia, which have added health and social justice benefits, said brewer. despite flaws in numerical accuracy calculating carbon emissions and reduction, carbon offsets are still the best solution at the present, he said.

across the carbon emissions calculators, there was a range of potential carbon footprints on a round-trip economy ticket from o’hare international airport to los angeles international airport. the differences in estimates might be due to inaccurate aircraft types used in calculations, according to a quartz article. another explanation could be aircraft emissions are more potent in the sky than on the ground and calculators accounting for that theory differently, according to the united states general accounting office. 

the same round-trip flight yielded different results in how much one should pay in offsets, with united’s partner conservation international the lowest. some of the differences in prices are due to the conflicting estimates of carbon dioxide emitted. other price differences are due to the types of offsets themselves and their quality. carbon footprint and flygrn both provide a range for carbon offset prices, and the average price from the range is provided in the chart.

the best carbon offset projects are independently certified by companies that set their own standards. offset projects can pay a fee to join certification programs, whereby third-party auditors then assess the projects to see if they meet the program’s criteria, said robin rix, chief policy and markets officer at verra, an offset-certifying program. 

the certifiers green-e endorses are gold standard, american carbon registry, verra and climate action reserve, said brewer. green-e provides another level of protection by checking the methods those certifiers used to quantify the carbon offset projects in the first place, he said. 

in the same way a food bank doesn’t hope to operate forever, verra hopes to be out of business by 2050, said rix. a world where offsets are no longer needed is the ultimate goal, but offsets provide a necessary bridge, he said.

“the reality is, if we were to get down to that level [of net-zero emissions] right now, overnight, it would be, frankly, economically destructive, disastrous. and it would be socially chaotic. we’re talking mass unemployment. we’re talking about mass disruption. it’s just not something that the world can do overnight. and so we do see offsetting as a way to enable that transition to be made in a way while preserving environmental integrity,” said rix.

at the verra-certified rimba raya biodiversity reserve, initiatives include an orangutan release site (which the pictured path leads to), fire fighting brigades and fuel-efficient cookstoves distribution. the reserve, located in central kalimantan, indonesia, is a reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (redd+) project.

at the verra-certified alto mayo protected forest in san martin and amazonas, peru, community workers rescue, cultivate and eventually sell orchids from coffee plantations. the forest is also part of a redd+ project.

voluntary market experts anticipate a boom in international carbon offset demand as countries work to achieve their goals laid out in the 2015 paris agreement and as companies work to reach their net-zero carbon promises, said brewer. 

airlines such as delta, jetblue and united have partnered with carbon offsetting organizations and make up a large sector of the voluntary market. delta has purchased more than 12 million voluntary carbon offsets since 2013, according to its website. jetblue began automatically offsetting domestic flights in july 2020, according to a press release. united is a partner with conservation international but is also investing in a broad range of strategies to limit emissions including biofuels and carbon sequestration, according to its environmental commitment. 

corsia, the carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation, is the next step for the airline industry. organized by the international civil aviation organization (icao), the scheme works to prohibit international aviation emissions from exceeding its 2020 levels, leading airlines to buy offsets to negate their excess emissions, according to the european union aviation safety agency. the vast majority of countries will participate by 2027, increasing demand in the offset market, according to icao.

“there’s a role for offsets. they just need to be as strong and certified and verified as possible,” said theodore rolfvondenbaumen, a communications manager for neste, a leading producer in sustainable aviation fuel. “but at the same time, they cannot be treated as an excuse to keep burning fossil fuels.”

beyond carbon offsets, the airline industry’s long-term sustainability goals involve transitions to biofuels, hydrogen fuel cell aircraft and, ultimately, electric aircraft.

alternatives to jet fuel are in the works, with biofuels in the beginning stages of its implementation. until wider administration of these new technologies, carbon offsets remain a solution to negate emissions from traditional aviation and to prevent airlines’ net emissions from exceeding 2020 levels.

consumers must weigh the social cost versus their private benefit when deciding to fly, said mark witte, a northwestern university economics professor. “if what you end up paying for the trip included the environmental damage, you’d probably be less likely to make the trip,” said witte. “there’s a certain lack of justice in that. people really rich can be like, ‘oh, well, i don’t care.’ and, a lot of other people like, ‘well, my mother’s really ill. i’d like to see her one last time. but i can’t afford it.’”

the bottom line is aviation emits a lot of carbon despite real progress and promising technological developments in the industry. as for your planned trip to california next month, carbon offsets provide a short-term solution for unavoidable carbon emissions. but consumers need to reduce what they can and offset what they can’t, said brewer.

“i’ve never met someone who has had a zero-emissions life. everyone has some emissions in their lives, even if it’s their bicycle. that aluminum comes from somewhere. the rubber comes from somewhere,” said rix. “and so i think anything that anyone can do to neutralize or to address their sources of emissions is a good thing.

in contrast to other transit networks in major u.s. cities that have made alterations to the frequency of service, the san diego metropolitan transit system (mts) has been continuing bus and trolley service on schedules nearly identical to those pre-pandemic. according to brian lane, a senior transit planner at san diego association of governments (sandag), which works in conjunction with mts, keeping these schedules is crucial for both allowing for social distancing on board with reduced capacity, and ensuring that essential workers throughout the county are able to commute with as little interruption as possible.

one thing that differentiates san diego from similarly sized cities is the scattered nature of employment centers. the downtown region is the third biggest employment center, following kearny mesa and sorrento valley, suburban business centers located to the east of downtown. the geographic spread of employment makes improving first and last-mile options a priority, lane said, citing palomar airport as an example. many businesses are located along palomar airport road, but implementing a new bus line along the street would still leave many commuters at least half-mile from work. it is largely for that reason, lane says, that shared modes of transit for first and last-mile travel are so critical to the 2021 plan. 

the cornerstone of the 2021 regional plan is the “5 big moves”: five overarching strategies to change the way san diegans use transit. all of these moves are contingent on a willingness and motivation for commuters to both switch to or continue using transit.

a global pandemic understandably impedes some efforts to change commuting habits. the most significant losses in ridership occurred in mid-april, according to sandag’s regional travel survey. during that month, scheduling was reduced slightly to accommodate the need for drivers and essential transit employees to stay home. april also saw the most marked decreases in ridership attributable to the pandemic: system-wide, there was a 75 percent decrease in ridership. 

by the time of a joint meeting between sandag’s transportation, regional planning, and borders committees in mid-july, network-wide ridership had recovered by 53 percent. trolley ridership rebounded quickest, particularly on the blue line. the blue line trolley is regarded as the backbone of the mts network, with many essential workers commuting by a combination of trolley and bus. san diego transit is unique in that the mts network serves a bi-national metropolitan area, with blue line service at the u.s./mexico border in san ysidro. though the border has been closed to nonessential travel since march, essential workers have been commuting throughout the pandemic. 

while continuing to serve those working in person during the pandemic, sandag highlighted the positive environmental impact of teleworking as a means to achieve the 2021 plan’s long-term carbon emission goals. using data gathered from community-based organizations, sandag has set higher teleworking goals for the upcoming year, proposing that up to 25 percent of regional businesses could engage in some form of telework long-term. further development of the teleworking portion of sandag’s icommute program, which provides resources for organizations looking to transition into telework, is also a facet of the 2021 plan. although teleworking is connected to a decrease in emissions, the fact remains that those who are teleworking still drive for leisure, a fact that can obscure a clear understanding of exactly what highway driving trends will look like going into the future. 

what is much more evident is a persistent, longstanding need for accessible and equitable transit within the county. this is all the more crucial given the demographic of mts commuters, a group with an average annual income of $17,800 compared to a regional median of approximately $75,000. 

during july’s committee meeting, sharon cooney, the ceo of the mts board of directors, spoke about trends in the perception of transit as revealed by the 3700 responses to sandag’s regional transportation study. the results are promising: only 4 percent of respondents replied that they had used transit in the past, but would not again after covid. 18 percent of respondents reported having not ridden transit before and expressed an interest in integrating san diego’s transit network into their travel within the county post-pandemic.

in summary, cooney said, “fear of transit is not as profound as we expected.” 

while this is an overwhelmingly positive narrative, simply the idea of fearing transit implies that commuting by transit is a choice, which it is not for the 20 percent of mts commuters who do not have access to a personal vehicle. for these riders, it is not only the innovations brought forth by the 2021 plan, but consistency in and improvements to existing service that will prove critical in the coming months and years. 

circumstances may have reached a new junction as one main project is underway on u.s. soil, and a $205 billion national hsr system proposal was recently introduced into congress. more importantly, studies show that hsr is a smart, economic and green plan; a case analysis for one proposal found that the system would create an 8:1 return on investment. 

what remains is determining which player is going to take on this long-awaited task: should the government or private entities fund development?  

why trains are so bad in the united states 

it may be hard to believe, but the u.s. was once the global poster child of railway transportation. cities were filled with street cars, and most people did not yet live in suburbs or own a car, making it sensible to travel from city to city on steam engines. 

but according to andy kunz, the president of the national high speed rail association (nhsra), that began to change after the world war ii economic-boom. the american lifestyle became associated with living far away from city centers and owning an automobile to get from place to place. by 1940, 60 percent of americans owned a car, and the government began relocating money in 1955 to build our current interstate highways.

“amtrak is basically the remnants of our history: leftovers after cuts from this and that,” kunz said. “since the government has spent trillions of dollars on building highways that connect every inch of america, there has been an anti-rail bias coming from congress, the white house, and the u.s. department of transportation.”

it was not until former president barack obama’s administration that $8 billion was set aside for the development of an hsr system. kunz said although he is more than appreciative of the funding, that money is just a fraction of what would be needed for a trans-continental system. 

unlike construction in other parts of the world, american developers face several bureaucratic hurdles and costs when building such large-scale projects, kunz added, namely environmental regulations and private land battles. 

“it’s like building a new highway: you can’t do it overnight,” he said.

the projects currently underway

despite bureaucratic and political pushback, enthusiasm from leaders like obama and rep. alexandria ocasio cortez has transformed american hsr from some fantasy into an expected service within the next couple of decades. 

the most ambitious publicly led effort is the california high speed rail association’s project, which is currently under phase one construction in the state’s central valley. according to boris lipkin, the authority’s northern regional director, the current goal is to have the train connect san francisco with los angeles by 2033 and expects to run on 100 percent clean energy, which would reduce between 1.5 to 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2040. 

“i know california certainly likes to compare itself to other countries, but this kind of state-wide scale and magnitude is equivalent to what other nations have done,” lipkin said. 

once in operation, california’s trains will operate at over 200 miles per hour, which would be among the fastest in the world. to take on such a tremendous project, lipkin said the authority already has created 50,000 job years (which also represents employees who only worked for a few months), including 4,000 construction workers. 

the director added that despite covid-19 hurdles, california gov. gavin newsome’s executive order designates construction workers as essential employees. there are currently about 1,000 construction workers on site every week. 

“this is having big effects in the central valley, where many people in these communities have been hit hard and have been historically poorer than the rest of the state,” he said. 

although there are no private companies to break ground on a brand-new hsr system, the two most prominent efforts underway are the texas central railway to connect houston with dallas and virgin trains’ (formerly brightline trains) xpress west project connecting las vegas with los angeles. nevada recently allocated a $200 million bond to virgin trains, and the company said it plans to break ground by the end of 2020.

today’s debate: public or private hsr?

the question now isn’t whether we should be developing hsr: it’s now about who should oversee the development. 

some potential american hsr users, like transit-geek nathaniel zhu, believe american technological development is rooted in capitalism, and he said he believes hsr initiatives should observe current american space technology programs, where several private actors like virgin galactic, spacex, and boeing compete among one another to produce the best and most affordable technology. 

“the united states would be such a more efficient country if it had a high speed rail system,” zhu said. “for such a technologically advanced country, it’s a shame we don’t already have one.”

however, he said there is a distinction between innovation and economic sustainability and added that an american hsr would probably not help reduce automobile and plane use if ticket prices are not competitive.

having lived in both china and europe, he said the reason he used hsr in both places was because it was often a much more affordable and convenient alternative to flying or driving, and he acknowledged that publicly operated hsr systems do make hsr cheaper.

“until it’s treated as a public service and (while) ticket prices are still expensive, i don’t think i would even take a train from say chicago to minneapolis,” he said. 

others, like california’s boris lipkin, argue that the public sector is necessary for development because the government has a strong incentive to economically link together several communities it tresspasses, not just create a link between two cities.

unlike the project in texas, where both the houston and dallas stations are planned to be constructed on the city outskirts, lepkin said the california project will provide easy access to downtown stations and stop along smaller cities between san francisco and los angeles.

although more expensive, lipkin said the goal is to provide economic opportunities for the historically marginalized communities in the central valley — an investment that will offset the costs tremendously. 

“from an economic, equity, and connectivity standpoint, we want fresno to be an hour away from san jose; we want bakersfield to be an hour away from los angeles,” lipkin said. “that changes the entire way the state operates; it changes the way our economy works.” 

and in a few decades, it is quite possible that americans could have an hsr that would connect them from cities all across the country. in may, rep. seth moulton introduced a $205 billion economic recovery bill into congress that would provide the foundations for a national high speed rail system.

ultimately employing up to 1.16 million people, moulton’s plan would build off existing federal transit administration plans to provide new transportation alternatives for business commuters between large, innovative cities like chicago to milwaukee, portland to seattle, and dallas to oklahoma city.  

lipkin added the federal government historically has helped navigate transportation projects like the interstate system, so he said he would not be surprised if a future administration or congress would take on the project.

“federal funding will be a necessary component to finishing that project — i have no doubt in my mind about that,” he said.

but electric vehicles are not expected to face the same financial impact as internal combustion engine vehicles. according to one new york consulting firm, ev markets in europe and china are doing surprisingly well, with ev sales in europe up 25% just within the first business quarter of 2020. 

although american ev figures are not as reassuring, experts believe that if the u.s. begins implementing similar measures as found throughout europe and asia, american ev markets are expected to rebound and increase over the next several years. but this requires u.s. policy to stimulate both ev supply and demand.

why european and chinese ev markets are doing fine 

according to colin mckerracher, the head author of bloombergnef’s 2020 ev outlook, ev markets in europe have largely have stabilized because of pre-pandemic ev policies and the development of more efficient and inexpensive technology. 

“while the internal combustion engine vehicle market is on a downward trajectory, despite covid, evs are on an upward trajectory,” mckerracher said. 

he added the most prominent mechanisms that have cushioned the ev markets are shifting national and sub-national policies that now focus on influencing the supply of evs. in addition to already existing tax incentives for new ev owners, european countries have pushed for strict fuel economy standards. 

“the policies are really saying ‘we don’t care how you do it, but you really need to bring down your emissions,’” mckerracher said. “the most compelling ways for a lot of automakers to do that is by selling a lot of plug-in vehicles.”

unsurprisingly, european automakers have generally expressed economic optimism. volvo ceo hakan samuelsson said at a conference earlier this year that he predicts the pandemic will accelerate future demand for evs, echoing volvo’s commitment to sell an all-electric and hybrid fleet by 2025. and unlike american automakers, volvo’s stock price was higher than it was at pre-pandemic levels.

likewise, as battery technology improves, evs have become more affordable in europe and china, making them fierce competitors with traditional vehicles. chinese automakers have introduced updated lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are cheaper to produce because they do not require metals like cobalt or nickel, according to one analyst from roskill, a london-based global metal trade consulting firm.  

supply localization efforts also have helped avoid tariffs and trade costs that accumulate on ev price tags. according to mckerracher, there is no significant difference between battery production costs among geographic locations, which also means that the overall carbon footprint made as a result of ev production has actually improved.

but more importantly, localization efforts have also helped drive the economies of europe and china. according to marine gorner, an energy and transport analyst at the international energy agency, localizing battery production and the deployment of ev infrastructure has a higher employment multiplier for every dollar invested compared to conventional vehicle manufacturing. 

“i think this particular point will be a key piece of information for governments to have in mind when they think of this shift,” gorner said. “this shift comes with more economic growth prospects.” 

what the u.s. is doing wrong

the same narrative cannot be told in the u.s., largely because the pandemic continues hammering the americas while europe and asia already have flattened the curve. 

even so, a lack of ev implementation and recovery efforts have reduced national ev sales by 33%. according to genevieve cullen, the president of the electric drive transportation association, this figure may only increase if federal and state governments leave automakers uncertain about what standards their fleet must meet. 

“what global governments do and what the u.s. does as part of their pandemic responses, i think it’ll have a major impact on what that means going forward,” she said.

besides tesla, which has a higher stock price than one year ago, american automakers are more concerned about cash flow and have cut back on ev research and development. when demand for automobiles returns to pre-pandemic levels, many american consumers will not find as many competitive evs in the market. 

recent federal guidelines also have stunted the development of america’s ev market. in march, the trump administration revised fuel economy standard goals by reducing 2026’s goal of 54 mpg to 40 mpg, further disincentivizing automakers to develop ev technology. 

cullen said that the electric drive transportation association has modeled a multi-prong recommendation plan that would reinforce manufacturing, strengthen retail incentives, and construct more ev charging infrastructure to help boost the ev market in the united states, but local governments largely have ignored these suggestions. 

“with these things together, we could essentially grow the entire ev ecosystem,” she said. “providing both that market signal for manufacturers and that accessibility for consumers is key, but we’re not seeing that in the u.s.”

not all that bad

although not as many americans are switching over to evs as fast as in europe and china, the future of the american ev industry remains optimistic. 

if predicted ev adoption rates are not drastically altered by federal litigation, american ev sales are expected to rise and continue rising starting in 2021, according to the bloombergnef outlook.  

moreover, mckerracher said replacing an ev in the united states has more of an ecological impact because current internal combustion vehicles in the american market have lower fuel economy standards than those in europe and china. bloombergnef forecasts that u.s. carbon dioxide emission levels are expected to decrease by more than 25% in the next two decades. 

however, the approach to these figures may decelerate if the federal government continues pushing automakers away from ev production. 

“if trump wins the 2020 election, the u.s. will almost certainly fall behind in ev purchases,” mckerracher said. “if democrats win, that gap will close.”

others also believe that federal and state governments must increase ev demand by enacting innovative policies that entice consumers to purchase new evs. sean mitchell, the president of denver’s tesla owner club, said state governments should enact policies like a carbon tax that make fossil-fueled vehicles less economically viable for the average american.

“i think in a free market it’s important to let products and industries survive on their own,” mitchell said, “but, when you’re talking about a market that is directly related to pollution and emissions, there’s got to be another factor that’s considered there.”

mitchell added that state governments should remove policies that complicate ev sales. for example, texas prohibits customers from purchasing vehicles directly from the manufacturers. removing this policy would increase ev demand because customers would not be forced to shop online for such a large product, mitchell said.

“making it easy for people to purchase electric vehicles is key,” he said. 

but experts also point out that like buying in bulk, the price of ev batteries are expected to decrease as more americans trade in their cars for evs, according to marine gorner of the iea. 

“what’s really important is to get more vehicles on the road so that production and sale volumes are higher,” she said. “this is how we will get an ev’s cost parity — it’s up-front cost — comparable to a conventional vehicle.” 

over recent months, stay-at-home orders have led to a temporary plunge in greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, as much of the population stayed home more and traveled less. however, as governments gradually lift social distancing orders, more and more people are leaving their homes and transitioning back to old routines. 

yet, some aspects of the quarantine routine have the potential to translate into long-term lifestyle changes. in particular, teleworking offers a multitude of environmental benefits if continued after the quarantine period. recent research shows that increased teleworking in communities reduces air pollution and traffic congestion. 

in 2018, civil engineer and transportation systems analyst at the university of illinois-chicago ramin shabanpour published a study on the impacts of teleworking on local air pollution. in his study, shabanpour identified the current populations in chicago capable of telework. then, he calculated what percentage of those populations participated in telework at the time. he found that only 12% of individuals who are capable of telework worked from home to some extent. using 12% as the base, shabanpour and his team developed a simulation that modeled a hypothetical “twin city” of chicago. 

“we spent a few years here in chicago developing a transportation simulation platform which, in a nutshell, is a simulation-based twin city. using a software known as the polaris model, we were able to simulate what we have in the real world,” he said.

shabanpour and his team kept all data points constant in the simulation, except for the percentage of the population who worked from home which they increased from 12% to 50%. the simulation did not manipulate the frequency that chicago residents worked from home, only increasing the percentage of teleworkers at the current frequency. 

the results proved to shabanpour and his team how beneficial teleworking can be for the environment. 

“we found that we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.7% because of an increase in telecommuting. when you talk about impact, this is actually a huge number because if you multiply 0.7% with current greenhouse gas emissions in chicago, we find that an implementation like this can reduce 500 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per day,” shabanpour said.

capable teleworkers do not need to solely work from home to produce these emission reductions. shabanpour acknowledges that most teleworkers only work from home a few days per week, and they likely still drive when they telework in order to run errands. the simulation’s results account for the driving needs of teleworkers, because shabanpour kept the frequency that teleworkers drive to work and run errands in real life constant.

shabanpour’s study was one of the first to analyze teleworking’s impacts on air pollution and the environment. while he only examines telework patterns in the chicago metropolitan area, his findings can apply to any area that suffers from air pollution and has a section of the population that is capable of telework. 

as a result, shabanpour has emerged as an advocate for telework. he believes that current efforts to reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions invest in the wrong solutions, instead of cost-efficient solutions like telework programs. 

“we just invest billions and billions of funding into building new bridges and infrastructure – let’s start looking at this soft side of transportation. focusing on these numbers, we can definitely reduce the transportation emissions and congestion that we have at a very low cost, compared to the big infrastructure projects that we have,” shabanpour said. 

as the quarantine period forced many companies to temporarily transition their workforce online, the potential for companies to commit to a long-term telework system makes shabanpour’s research more relevant now than ever. 

in the past, companies have hesitated to allow teleworking. timothy golden, a professor and telework researcher at rensselaer polytechnic institute, finds that companies assume teleworking would decrease employer satisfaction and productivity. 

“because you’re working away from the office, particularly if the rest of the office is still there, that has the potential to make you feel cut off or separated from people,” golden said.

golden asserts that hybrid teleworking programs, which allow employees to split their hours between working from home and in the office, alleviate employees’ concerns of feeling isolated from the workplace. he also recommends that managers assess which employees are capable of telework, meaning they can productively complete their tasks at home. 

“it’s not an all-or-nothing scenario. it’s not a one-size-fits-all,” golden said.

companies who supported teleworking before the pandemic prove that implementing a telework system increases productivity and company savings, in addition to reducing carbon footprints.

dell, headquartered in austin, texas, is one company leading the global movement toward hybrid teleworking programs. since implementing its “connected workplace” program, dell allows employees to design a work-from-home schedule tailored to their preferences. dell cuts 136 million travel miles and more than 35,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually through this program, as calculated in their most recent sustainability report. 

john pflueger, the principal environmental strategist at dell who designed the connected workplace program, told environment+energy leader, “we’re pleased with the flexibility it offers our employees and the positive consequences it has on carbon emissions.”

if the environmental impacts do not incentivize companies, perhaps the benefits in finances and productivity will. dell’s recent sustainability report highlights that it saved $39.5 million from the connected workplace program, which allows the company to reduce the amount of office space they pay for and maintain. dell also hires from a greater applicant pool, with the ability to hire top talent beyond the region of austin.

“when a company is considering a work-from-home program or telecommuting or remote work, sustainability is probably not the primary reason why. the primary reasons are issues related more to work-life balance and being the sort of employer that the 21st-century employee has come to expect, but we found sustainability-related benefits are an important side effect,” pflueger said.

golden is hopeful that this quarantine period will help companies and employees realize the various benefits to teleworking. 

“i think this is a defining moment for telework in that it is likely to be much more commonplace after this pandemic. now that it’s forced on so many people, it’s changing mindsets because teleworking is no longer something that ‘other people do’, it is something that everyone does,” golden said.

shabanpour demonstrated the environmental benefits of teleworking scientifically, while companies such as dell show how teleworking programs foster a more sustainable and cost-efficient workplace. now, the covid-19 pandemic showed many companies already have the means for telework, although they may not have taken advantage of it previously. 

perhaps what helps to flatten the curve of covid-19 cases now just may help flatten the curve of greenhouse gas emissions as well.

rising junior grace jaeger said she was a freshman when she first noticed the transportation needs on northwestern university’s evanston campus. her first-year dorm was located roughly half a mile from her classes, and, as a result, she was frequently late. she found the campus shuttle system unreliable, and she resorted to calling uber to avoid tardiness. this, she said, was the inspiration for eo — northwestern’s first student-run subscription bike-sharing program.

jaeger with a team of four other northwestern students, officially launched eo this spring and expect to expand the campus service this fall. eo is a subscription-based service in which students pay $20 per quarter for unlimited rides and the ability to pick up and leave the easily identifiable purple and orange bikes almost anywhere on campus since the bike has a locking system triggered by a telephone app. 

within the first week, eo had over 100 memberships, more than 275 miles traveled, and — most notably — roughly 110 kilograms of carbon saved in uber rides and car commutes. by april 22, only three weeks after the company’s launch, that number had risen to almost 500 kilograms of carbon saved, according to jaeger. carbon — as in the heat-storing carbon dioxide greenhouse gas — is the thermostat for turning up global warming. 

“we want our system to decrease the environmental impact of students and community members by providing an affordable and accessible method of transportation,” jaeger said. “and [we want] to create a culture of sustainability on campus.”

thus far, eo has done just that, and the start-up is not alone. eo is just one of a growing number of bike-sharing programs that have been gaining traction over the last several years. just outside evanston, the city of chicago is helping lead the charge in encouraging residents to opt to use carbon-free or low-carbon transportation such as biking as a means to mitigate climate change and reduce carbon emissions.

most recently, the chicago city council, in tandem with the chicago department of transportation, approved a $50 million expansion of the city’s largest bike-sharing program that partners with divvy. as part of the expansion, divvy bikes will now be available and accessible in all 50 of the city’s wards. at a press conference introducing the expansion, former chicago mayor rahm emanuel explained part of his administration’s reasoning for supporting the investment. 

“my administration has made it a priority to create a variety of high-quality, reliable transportation options to get chicagoans and visitors where they want to go,” emanuel said.

under new chicago mayor lori lightfoot, support for green initiatives in transportation has continued. julia gerasimenko is the advocacy manager at the active transportation alliance, a lightfoot-supported non-profit advocacy organization whose goal is to improve conditions for bicycling, walking and transit, and engage people in healthy and active ways to be mobile. gerasimenko said the expansion of divvy bikes throughout the city is essential to ensure that all chicagoans have access to bikes and low-carbon mobility.

“at active trans, we definitely advocated for bike-share to come to chicago [in 2013] and we’ve been really excited to see the growth of divvy over the years,” gerasimenko said. “they will now be expanding to cover all of chicago, and we’re really excited to see that happen so that everyone in the city can have access to biking.”

chicago was recently named a winning city of the bloomberg philanthropies’ american cities climate challenge, based on city plans to expand bike-share programs to reach 100% of the city and policies that support car sharing and transit ridership while reducing vehicle ownership overall. in doing so, chicago joined 20 other american cities in sharing a $70 million grant from the organization to accelerate  efforts.

encouraging low carbon mobility options through bike-sharing is as important today as ever before. with more news every day unveiling the seriousness and pressing nature of climate change, the time for change is now. according to a recent report by the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc), “global warming will likely reach 1.5°c between 2032 and 2050, causing massive increases in already life-threatening environmental changes if it continues at its current rate.” 

this means that during the next 12 years, significant change must occur in the amount of carbon consumed across the globe to deter the climate from changing, and the planet from warming to life-threatening levels. a huge step in reaching this goal comes from the reduction of carbon through low-carbon transportation options. according to data published by the environmental protection agency in 2017, 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the united states result  from transportation — the largest contributor of any one category. 

encouraging people to reduce their carbon footprint through low-carbon transportation options such as biking is a vital part of the ongoing fight. when asked of the importance of encouraging more people to use low-carbon transportation options as a means of decreasing chicago’s carbon emissions, gerasimenko said that it is absolutely vital.

“if we are able to make a substantial impact in the individual day-to-day choices that people are making in their transit,” gerasimenko said, “i definitely think it would lead to decreased emissions and to better air quality for everyone.”

while chicago was not the first city to launch a widespread bike-sharing service, the business of bike-sharing has expanded rapidly across the united states since divvy bikes debuted  in chicago in 2013. more specifically, motivate — the parent company that owns divvy — has expanded its efforts vastly in recent years. today, motivate owns city-wide bike-sharing operations in nine major american cities, including new york, chicago, boston, and san francisco, and has teamed up with major ride-sharing services like lyft. 

not only is motivate helping to promote sustainable and healthy low-carbon modes of transportation across the country, but the company is proving that doing so can be a profitable practice. according to a report from the bike-sharing service market, the global bike-sharing industry was valued at nearly $1.6 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $5.4 billion by the end of 2024.

at northwestern university, eo team member and co-founder grace jaeger also sees the profitability of bike-sharing, especially on college campuses like northwestern’s.

“we believe eo is economically profitable on a campus like northwestern,” jaeger said. “it’s a niche community where we are all close and have pretty uniform needs in terms of where we need to go” 

commuting to classes is a high priority and, at northwestern, eo fills that niche. further, as a source of profitability, eo team members say they believe investors will be attracted to their service, and invest in their program, subsequently investing in low-carbon transportation.  

“we believe that we can grow as a company by expanding to other campuses,” jaeger said. this summer, jaeger and the eo team say they plan to conduct research in order to determine which other campuses in the nation are marketable and open to eo’s expansion, as well as possible ways that they can best manage that potential expansion.

at a recent conference on sustainability held at northwestern’s kellogg school of management, valueact capital founder and ceo jeffrey ubben stressed the importance of encouraging business leaders to invest in sustainability. ubben said that, to change the industry, business leaders must work to make active investments and be a part of the change themselves, rather than giving their money to others as a way to promote change. 

“you can’t go into the system, take advantage into it, then come out and try to fix it through philanthropy,” ubben said. “you have to combine the two, and fix the issue from the inside and that’s what i’m trying to do…we are tomorrow’s company now and not yesterday’s.”

according to ubben, profitability in sustainable businesses is the key to gathering investors as well as maintaining progress in reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. in the greater chicago area, bike-sharing companies like divvy and eo are proving to be a profitable and sustainable business.

at a time when reducing the collective carbon footprint must be an ultimate priority for businesses and nations around the world, it is small businesses like eo, and larger corporations like motivate, that must lead the charge. by creating profitable business models anchored in low-carbon mobility, and specifically bike-sharing, eo and motivate are successfully doing their part. 

but all this information is just words unless you do something about it. it’s important to recognize that regardless of where you are, you can make a difference. it’s easy to complain about the large organizations for the role they play in relief, but what is more important is that we hold them accountable. some organizations approach disaster relief with ideas already in mind, but it is up to us to tell them what the needs of the community are. we have to insist that they build a relationship with the community first, and not after. people go on vacations and seldom realize the positive the impact that tourism could have, if done correctly. keep in mind where your money will go in the community and make sure you are supporting locals rather than corporations. its also important to realize the environmental impact of vacationing and adopt the “leave no trace” mindset. the island struggling to gain access to water and food, so consider bringing your own of both, and if you’re going to bring plastic, make sure you carry it off. the struggles are not over for vieques, as climate change is only causing storms to increase. after hurricane maria, it was said that the people of vieques were very resilient, and while i’ve found this to be true, resiliency is a term used to describe things over short periods. in addition, i believe the community to be resistant. each year they go through hurricanes and tropical storms, and they still have a thriving community and this is what it means to be resistant. if we all take this lesson and apply it to the way we approach environmental problems, we can begin not to only solve problems for the short term, but find permanent solutions for reoccurring problems.

these photos and the story represent the collaborative experience of the suny college of environmental science and forestry’s students, faculty, and friends. in january of 2019, each of the people in this picture wanted to make a difference and traveled out of their comfort zones to vieques. we spent a week asking the community what they needed and getting involved. while doing so we fell in love with the island, and continue to maintain a collaborative relationship in every way we can.