Shipping to prevent global warming
Scientists agree that emissions from cars and trucks are responsible for polluting our air and while they disagree if that pollution contributes to global warming, it’s essential to restore our air quality to as much natural purity as possible. Pollution is responsible for billions of health care dollars, deaths and chronic lung disease. And while many inventive people are coming up with practical ideas for non-polluting vehicles, there are a number of things we can do to improve air quality, even before these vehicles are mass-produced.
One way to help reduce global warming is already being implemented in several places. The state of Utah, for example, has switched to a four day work week in order to save oil and emissions into the atmosphere by thousands of vehicles make the daily commute. By staggering the four day work week, there is no shortage of workers and essential services are maintained with no interruption. The feedback so far from employees who have switched to a four day work week is nearly one hundred percent positive. Not only do they save money on fuel with the plan, many of them gain extra time with their families and have more time to do proactive things like recycling or taking their bicycle to the grocery. Having an extra day not only saves fuel and the resulting emissions, people are more inclined to take the time to walk or ride motorless transportation for short errands.
There really are no services that could not take advantage of a four day work week. There may be minor inconveniences but that could easily be compensated for . Documents that are sent overnight could instead be faxed; signatures can now be legally affixed online through several legitimate document services. Consumer merchandise deliveries would be designated to certain days, saving thousands-even millions-of gallons of fuel. The emissions that would not enter the atmosphere from this environmentally friendly scheduling would drastically reduce pollution and the resultant global warming.
Railways, a very efficient fuel-saver, can also be employed to deliver business packages as well as consumer shipments. Airlines are increasingly cutting flights and personnel, causing delays in their shipping contracts with corporations and retail establishments. Rail service could fill the gap much more economically and in a much more earth-friendly manner.
Economists, when presented with such plans, often begin to worry about lost revenue. These concerns are groundless, for the most part. A delivery schedule that confines consumer and business packages to certain days wouldn’t reduce the wages of the employees, as it merely shifts hours instead of removing them. Routes would be more efficient with more good delivered per day instead of going over the route several times daily rather than crisscrossing back and forth as packages arrive. The only thing that would change with such a plan would be the use of much less gasoline and thus, less emissions into our air. The carrier would actually improve the bottom line while helping to alleviate global warming as they save fuel and maintenance costs.
A little creative thinking can go a long way toward reducing global warming!
