Sustainable Freight Transport in the US: Ships, Ports, and Trucks
This year’s students in subject 12.000 Solving Complex Problems were tasked with the problem “Can long distance transport be made sustainable and equitable?”. Our lives are built on the global transport of freight–from raw materials to consumer goods–by sea, land, and air, a process that involves significant emission of greenhouse gases and that can harm communities near transport hubs. We often hear about the “First Mile” and the “Last Mile” of the transport chain, but the effects of the “Middle Many Miles” can be much greater. Your task will be to develop sustainable, equitable alternatives to current methods and systems of long-range transport, and to estimate the potential impact of your solutions.
The students presented an analysis of the threats and proposed solutions to address them in their website and final presentation.
The Terrascope Class of 2025 presented their findings and recommendations to a distinguished panel including:
- Anne Aylward Director of the U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center
- Chris Caplice Executive Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics
- Greg Downing Director of Sustainability at Cargill
- Paulina Muratore Campaign Manager for the Clean Transportation Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists
- Sean O’Brien, President of Teamsters Local 25, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters