Comments on: Approaching Critical Mass http://underthedome.org/2007/09/24/approaching-critical-mass/ Politics * Economics * Business * History * People Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:38:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Michael T Packard BSEE http://underthedome.org/2007/09/24/approaching-critical-mass/comment-page-1/#comment-31793 Michael T Packard BSEE Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:37:38 +0000 http://underthedome.org/?p=300#comment-31793 A new APTA, American Public Transit Association, study is out which calculates total GHG emission reductions for public transit. It was done by SAIC. It is considerably better done than other reports commissioned by APTA. The report is at www.apta.com/research/info/online/climate_change.pdf or .cfm The net GHG reduction impact of all transit in America is calculated at 6.9 million metric tons per year. Does that ring any bells? It should, if you read their article. It is slightly more than 1% of all car GHG emissions, but less than 1/2% of combined car and truck GHG emissions, nationally. These are tiny effects for national transit that is on course to consume over one trillion dollars in the future on the assumption that it can reduce GHG, and do other things that it has failed to do for a century. But.... A single typical 1,000 MW nuclear reactor which displaces equivalent coal-generated capacity will prevent the release of 7 million metric tons of GHG. Now that is a big performer! (Dr. Max W. Carbon, Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison, in his book , Nuclear Power: Villain of Victim?, p.60) Of course, it is not fair to compare transit to nuclear GHG reductions. One new 1,000 MW nuclear reactor would do as much for "Global Warming" as the entire transit industry. It is not fair to transit and rail pushers everywhere, to notice things like that. Mike Packard A new APTA, American Public Transit Association, study is out which calculates total GHG emission reductions for public transit. It was done by SAIC. It is considerably better done than other reports commissioned by APTA.

The report is at http://www.apta.com/research/info/online/climate_change.pdf or .cfm

The net GHG reduction impact of all transit in America is calculated at 6.9 million metric tons per year.

Does that ring any bells? It should, if you read their article. It is slightly more than 1% of all car GHG emissions, but less than 1/2% of combined car and truck GHG emissions, nationally.

These are tiny effects for national transit that is on course to consume over one trillion dollars in the future on the assumption that it can reduce GHG, and do other things that it has failed to do for a century.

But….

A single typical 1,000 MW nuclear reactor which displaces equivalent coal-generated capacity will prevent the release of 7 million metric tons of GHG. Now that is a big performer!

(Dr. Max W. Carbon, Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison, in his book , Nuclear Power: Villain of Victim?, p.60)

Of course, it is not fair to compare transit to nuclear GHG reductions. One new 1,000 MW nuclear reactor would do as much for “Global Warming” as the entire transit industry. It is not fair to transit and rail pushers everywhere, to notice things like that.

Mike Packard

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