US Study: Global Warming May Ruin Transportation

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US Study: Global Warming May Ruin Transportation

A new US study warns that effects of global warming will ruin transportation if the government doesn't plan ahead. The imminent danger appears to come from an expected rise in sea levels. The change in sea levels would hit roads, pipelines and airports in U.S. coastal areas, which are exactly the areas where most of the population is located.

The report was put together by an expert panel convened by the National Research Council, the research arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

"The time has come for transportation professionals to acknowledge and confront the challenges posed by climate change and to incorporate the most current scientific knowledge into the planning of transportation systems," said to AP Henry Schwartz Jr., who led the panel.

Apart from rising sea levels, there are other significant threats such as heat waves, rainstorms, frequent strong hurricanes and rising arctic temperatures thawing permafrost. In essence, the problem comes from the fact that everything in the transportation system was designed based on historical weather data, and some designs may be well unsuited for the new weather triggered by global warming.

The report calls for immediate changes in all current and future projects in order to make sure the designed transportation systems can withstand the new climate for the foreseeable future. The study was sponsored by the Transportation Research Board, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, the Transportation Department, the Transit Cooperative Research Program, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, AP reports.

source: eflux