Smart Policy for Smart Vehicles: Regulatory revisions to incentivize efficient autonomous automobiles

Transportation accounts for nearly 30% of the United States’ annual greenhouse gas emissions and is currently the fastest growing source of emissions by economic sector. National policies are therefore needed to mitigate the climatic impact of vehicular travel. Autonomous vehicle technologies, such as adaptive cruise control and real-time route optimization, can potentially improve fuel efficiency. However, many emerging technologies remain too inefficient to meet federal fuel economy standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The current regulatory framework therefore hinders vehicle manufacturers from researching and developing greener autonomous technologies. In this analysis, we argue that these federal agencies should adopt policies like technology waivers, regulatory credits, environmentally preferable purchasing, and educational programs to stimulate the development of more efficient autonomous vehicle technologies. These policies would incentivize manufacturers to widely develop and deploy fuel-saving technologies that could potentially realize substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Download Full-text

Nutritional contributions and non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions from human-inedible byproduct feeds consumed by dairy cows in the United States

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128125 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 128125

Author(s):

M.B. de Ondarza ◽

J.M. Tricarico

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Dairy Cows ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

The United States ◽

Gas Emissions

Download Full-text

A geographical assessment of vegetation carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions on potential microalgae-based biofuel facilities in the United States

Bioresource Technology ◽

10.1016/j.biortech.2016.09.006 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 221 ◽

pp. 270-275 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Carlos Quiroz Arita ◽

Özge Yilmaz ◽

Semin Barlak ◽

Kimberly B. Catton ◽

Jason C. Quinn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

The United States ◽

Carbon Stocks ◽

Gas Emissions ◽

Vegetation Carbon

Download Full-text

Greenhouse gas emissions and removals from forest land, woodlands, and urban trees in the United States, 1990-2019: Estimates and quantitative uncertainty for individual states

Forest Service Research Data Archive ◽

10.2737/rds-2021-0035 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Brian F. Walters ◽

Grant M. Domke ◽

David J. Nowak ◽

James E. Smith ◽

Stephen M. Ogle

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

The United States ◽

Urban Trees ◽

Forest Land ◽

Gas Emissions

Download Full-text

Changing International Law for a Changing Climate

AJIL Unbound ◽

10.1017/aju.2018.76 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 112 ◽

pp. 279-284 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Daniel C. Esty ◽

Dena P. Adler

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Public Transportation ◽

The United States ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Gas Emissions ◽

Wide Range ◽

National Governments

After more than two decades of inadequate international efforts to address climate change resulting from rising greenhouse gas emissions, the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement shifted gears. That agreement advances a “bottom-up” model of global cooperation that requires action commitments from all national governments and acknowledges the important role that cities, states, provinces, and businesses must play in delivering deep decarbonization. Given the limited control that presidents and prime ministers have over many of the policies and choices that determine their countries’ carbon footprints, the Paris Agreement missed an opportunity to formally recognize the climate change action commitments of mayors, governors, and premiers. These subnational officials often have authorities complementary to national governments, particularly in federal systems (including the United States, China, Canada, and Australia). They therefore possess significant independent capacities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through their economic development strategies, building codes, zoning rules and practices, public transportation investments, and other policies. Likewise, the world community missed an opportunity to formally recognize the commitments of companies to successful implementation of the Paris Agreement and thereby to highlight the wide range of decisions that business leaders make that significantly affect greenhouse gas emissions.

Download Full-text

Potential Impacts of Commercial Weight Loss Diet Recommendations on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the United States (P04-169-19)

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzz051.p04-169-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Rebecca Ramsing ◽

Brent Kim ◽

Roni Neff

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Weight Loss ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Dietary Patterns ◽

Large Scale ◽

The United States ◽

Assessment Model ◽

Gas Emissions ◽

Weight Watchers

Abstract Objectives To understand potential climate implications of dietary patterns associated with commercial weight loss diets, we tested the hypothesis that different consumption patterns of six commercial weight loss diets would shift United States greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) if followed on a large scale. Methods An estimated 50–70% of adults are interested in controlling their weight with diets, many advocating lower carbohydrate, higher fat and higher animal protein intake. While considerable research exists on the environmental and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) implications of dietary patterns, no identified work has focused similarly on weight loss diets. Atkins, Biggest Loser, DASH, Weight Watchers, Keto and Whole30 diets were selected for this study based on consumer visibility, market share, and documented efficacy. Official 1-week sample plans were collected to create representative samples of each diet and converted to unprocessed primary equivalents. Cradle-to-farm gate GHGEs for individual food items were adapted from FAO's Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model and 732 data points from 115 life cycle assessment studies. Results Estimated GHGEs varied significantly across the diet meal plans. Whole30 and showed the highest GHGEs per capita, while Keto, Biggest Loser and Atkins were lower but over twice that of DASH and Weight Watchers, which had the lowest. The largest single category value for each diet was bovine meat, suggesting that lowering recommendations for consumption of bovine meat could significantly decrease the GHGEs of each diet. Conclusions Our results provide a better understanding of potential costs and benefits associated with dietary recommendations for weight loss, critical to identifying impactful opportunities to shift dietary patterns toward public health and ecological goals, particularly reducing meat and increasing consumption of vegetables and pulses. Funding Sources Support provided by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) with a gift from the GRACE Communications Foundation.

Download Full-text