The trucks and trains that transport goods across the United States emit gases and particles that threaten human health and the environment.
The trucks and trains that transport goods across the United States emit gases and particles that threaten human health and the environment. A University of Illinois-led project developed a new model that predicts through 2050 the impact of different environmental policies on human mortality rates and short- and long-term climate change caused by particulate and greenhouse gas emissions.
The findings are reported in the journal Nature Sustainability.
Greenhouse gas and some particulate matter emissions cause the atmosphere to heat up, but at different rates, said Tami Bond, a civil and environmental engineering professor who led the study with graduate student Liang Liu. “Particulate matter washes out of the atmosphere quickly, making its effect on climate short-lived – unlike greenhouse gases that stay in the atmosphere for decades. Particulate matter has the added drawback of causing inhalation-related diseases,” she said.
Read more at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Image: Civil and environmental engineering professor Tami Bond is part of a team modeling the impact of the freight industry on human health and the eniviroment. (Credit: Photo by L. Brian Stauffer)
