Intermodal Transportation Effects on the Environment

Intermodal Transportation Effects on the Environment

Introduction

This assignment focuses on the effects of Intermodal Transportation and its effects on the environment and ultimately on the public health. The interaction between intermodal transportation and the environment is one of the growing concerns in the world nowadays. The greenhouse effect and the reduction of the ozone layer can be the examples which can explain these effects. The severe effects of intermodal transportation go beyond the scope of environment and eventually adversely affect human health along with the development of the regions (Rondinelli, 2000). However, the aim of this paper is to discuss the environmental impacts of intermodal transportation, even though this paper does not intend to address all the problems involved in the activity of intermodal transportation, and highlight all the solutions that can be offered considering such issues, but an effort will be made to emphasize those points which are of greatest significance of this interaction and propose some ad hoc trends.

Discussion

Even though an increasing trend has been placed by the industrial sectors and government considering intermodal transportation, but still there is not as such definition for defining intermodal transportation. In past years, the department of transportation in United States has highly focused in the intermodal transportation. This increased focused on Intermodal Transportation was detained by ISTEA 1991 (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act).

According to the ISTEA, United States is obliged by policy to develop Intermodal Transportation System, which is environmental and economical sound and efficient and acts as the foundation in order to fight on the global level and transport goods and people in energy efficient manner (Steenken &Stahlbock, 2004). The National Intermodal Transportation System should contain all the forms of transportation in a unified, interconnected manner, including the transportation systems of the future, in order to facilitate in reducing consumption of energy and air pollution, and at the same time promoting economic development and supporting the Nation's preeminent position in international commerce."

Defining Intermodal-Transportation

Intermodal transportation has been defined by Merriam-Webster as “an involvement of couple of forms of carrier while carrying in a single journey”. The main characteristics of Inter-Modalism are involved in this definition, but still this definition does not give an overall concept of Intermodal Transportation that can be used later on as the foundation for any research on the topic under discussion (Toth &Vigo, 2002). Several researchers have considered “Containerization” as the foundation stone for defining intermodal transportation, which is not discussed in the above definition by Merriam-Webster. Furthermore, passengers and freight have also not been mentioned in the definitions which are the potential entities who will be transported in this manner.

Environmental Perspective of Transportation

It is said that transport is a "problem" for the environment when its genesis is in fact the people themselves who demand that service. However, more than two opposing variables traveling away and separated in time and space, it is very important to try such models through which adverse effects of transportation can be minimized. However, the development of transport is considered, in a broad ...