December 8, 2010
Mike Savonis
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
US Department of Transportation

Text version of Webinar presentation:
Description of image or images on a slide are contained in brackets. [ ]

AERIS Webinars are brought to you by the ITS Professional Capacity Building Program (ITS PCB) at the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) ITS Joint Program Office, Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA)

Slide 1:  What are the Emissions of Concern?

Criteria Pollutants

• Ozone (NOx & VOCs), Particulate Matter, Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Air Toxics

• Diesel Particulate Matter, Benzene, Acetaldehyde, Butadiene, Formaldehyde, Acrolein, Naphthalene, Polycyclic Organic Matter

Greenhouse Gases

Slide 2:  Criteria Pollutants are Declining

[This slide contains three charts that explain how the criteria pollutants have declined from 1980 to 2008. Criteria pollutants are ozone, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide. Ozone air quality has decreased 25%. Carbon monoxide declined 79%. Particulate matter decreased 19%.]

Slide 3:  Characteristics of Criteria Pollutants

Geographic scale

• Microscale (“hotspots”)
• Regional (“metropolitan”)

Time Frame

• Duration of events – hours to days
• 20-Year Planning horizon

Slide 4:  Climate Impacts are Significant

Average global temperature to rise 2 to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100

Sea-level to rise 3-4 feet by 2100

Impacts in US:

• Increase in severity of storms, draughts, floods, heat wave

Widespread climate impacts are occurring now and expected to increase

[This slide contains a picture that depicts how global climate change impacts the United States. The average global temperature will rise 2 to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. The sea-level will rise 3-4 feet by 2100. An increase in the severity of storms, draught, floods, and heat waves will also impact the United States.]

Slide 5:  CO2 is the Predominant Greenhouse Gas (GHG)

[This slide contains two pie charts that display the percentages of greenhouse gases from all sources including a breakdown of transportation. The left pie chart displays the share of greenhouse gases from all sources. Of the greenhouse gases displayed, carbon dioxide represents 84% of emissions. The pie chart on the right represents transportation as a source of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide represents 95%.]

Slide 6:  On Road Sources are the Largest Share

[This slide contains two pie charts that provide a percentage breakdown of all sources of greenhouse gases. Transport represents 29% of all US emissions. The largest source of transport emissions are light duty vehicles and freight trucks. Combined, they represent nearly 77% of all transport emissions.]

Slide 7:  GHG Emissions Trends: 1990-2006

[This slide contains a chart that displays a 24% increase of light duty vehicles' emissions from 1975 to 2006.]

Slide 8:  Characteristics of GHGs

Geographic Scale

• Global, but national “targets”

Time Frame

• Cumulative process, CO2 stays in the atmosphere ~ 100 years
• Major climate change effects realized over 50 – 100 year period
• But “short” (e.g. 10-15 year) term reductions needed

Slide 9:  What do we know? Typical emissions benefits (VOC) under CMAQ are small

[This slide contains a bar chart that displays how typical emissions benefits under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) are small. Generally, about 50% of all funded projects yield under a five kilogram reduction of volatile organic compounds per day. This is at the project level.]

Slide 10:  Results from Moving Cooler

	2030 GHG Reduction	Key Assumptions
Traffic management	< 0.1 - 0.5%	Signal coordination, faster clearance of incidents, ramp metering
Real-time traveler information	< 0.1%	Electronic message boards, 511, web
Cumulative TSM strategies	0.6%

Slide 11:  US DOT Report to Congress, 2010

Optimize design, construction, operation, and use of transportation networks

Benefits:

• Reduced congestion
• Reduced travel time
• Reduced travel costs
• Economic benefits

[This slide contains a picture of the cover of a report that US DOT released to Congress in April 2010. The report is called “Transportation's Role in Reducing US Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Volume 1: Synthesis Report”. Among other topics, the report surmises that Intelligent Transportation Systems and Transportation Systems Management strategies will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.]

Slide 12:  System Efficiency | Combined 3-6% GHG ↓

	2030 GHG Reduction	Key Assumptions
Highway bottleneck relief	< 0.1 - 0.3%	Improve top 100-200 bottlenecks by 2030
Reduced speed limits	1.1 - 1.8%	55 mph national speed limit
Truck idling reduction	0.1 - 0.2%	26-100% of sleeper cabs with one board idle reduction tech
Freight rail and marine operations	0.1 - 0.5%	Reduce rail chokepoints, shore-side power for ships, reduce VMT in intermodal terminal, limited modal diversion
Air traffic operations	0.3 - 0.7%	Airport efficiency, direct routing, reduced separation, continuous descents
Construction materials	0.7 - 0.8%**	Recycled material in cement, low temp asphalt
Other	0.3%	Truck size and weight, freight urban consolidation centers, transportation agency energy efficient buildings, alt fuel fleet and construction vehicles
Combined Strategies	3 - 6%	Includes strategies not shown

[This slide contains a table that displays some of the results from the “Transportation's Role in Reducing US Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Volume 1: Synthesis Report”. Overall, using combined strategies, we are looking at a greenhouse gas reduction of 3-6% from a baseline. One example is highway bottleneck relief, which represents a .1-.3% reduction.]

Slide 13:  Travel Activity | Combined 5-17% GHG ↓

	2030 Reduction	Key Assumptions
Pay as you drive insurance	1.1 - 3.5%	Require states to allow (low) Require companies to offer (high)
Congestion pricing	0.4 - 1.6%	LOS D on all roads (avg 65c/mi for 29% of urban and 7% of rural VMT)
Public transportation	0.2 - 0.9%	2.4-4.6% annual increase in service
Non-motorized travel	0.2 - 0.6%	Comprehensive urban bike/ped improvements 2010-2025
Land use	1.2 - 3.9%	60-90% of new urban growth in approx. >5 units/acre
Parking management	0.2%	Downtown workers pay for parking ($5/day avg. for those not already paying)
Commuter/worksite trip reduction	0.1 - 0.6%	Widespread employer outreach and alternative mode support
Telework/compressed work week	0.5 - 0.7%	Doubling of current levels
Individualized marketing	0.3 - 0.4%	Reaches 10% of population
Eco-driving	0.8 - 4.3%	10-50% of drivers reached, half implement
Combined Strategies	5 - 17%	Does not include interactive effects. Includes induced demand.
VMT fee (not included above)	1.1 - 3.5%	2 to 5 cents per mile

[This slide contains a table that displays more results from the “Transportation's Role in Reducing US Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Volume 1: Synthesis Report”. Travel activity can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5-17% from a baseline using combined strategies. Pay as you drive insurance, for example, can reduce emissions by 1.1-3.5%.]

Slide 14:  What Does it All Mean?

Greenhouse gases are NOT the same as criteria pollutants

• Difference in geographic scales
• Different time frames

Baseline development will be crucial
Critical for strategy development & evaluation

Limited effectiveness at the project level
Need for transformational strategies

Slide 15:  AERIS Contact

Mike Savonis
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
US Department of Transportation
Michael.Savonis@dot.gov