Tag: Transport

TRANSPORT: Silk Road 2.0

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The ancient silk road originated in China. Image: “Caravane sur la Route de la Soie” by artist and cartographer Cresques Abraham (1325-1387. Image from Gallica Digital Library. Creative commons public domain. Included with appreciaiton.

While many animals (and a few plants) move around, humans may be the only species that builds roads, ships, and aircraft to do so. Human history can be traced by modes of transport: carts and wheels, ships and sails, trains and rails, tunnels and tubes, roads and vehicles, aircraft and wings, rockets and boosters. The ancient Silk Road, emanating from China around 206 bc, running 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers), was one of the first extended paths over land. China’s Grand Canal connected to the sea via one of the world’s first inland waterways. Transport is about connection: ancient China achieved both land and sea routes that resulted in cultural and economic exchange.

In 2013, China announced the Belt and Road Initiative. Now, in 2023, here is a map of the project. “Topographic map of the Belt and Road Economic Corridor and pathway cities” by graphic artist, 18 October 2023. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

One decade ago, China announced what some call Silk Road 2.0; its formal name is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This week, representatives from nearly 150 countries met in Beijing to consider next steps. One agenda item: debt. China has reportedly financed airports, bridges, hydroelectric facilities, pipelines, ports, and roads in extensive world locations with an understanding that the receiving country would pay back loans and share user fees. There have been criticisms, as well as defaults and delays. Nepal’s new Pokhara Airport opened with a big price tag but as yet small revenue. China recently restructured debt with Argentina, Sri Lanka, and Zambia, among others. Not everyone is staying in the program; Italy had joined but is now trying to leave. But some countries and their leaders are decidedly there: Russia’s Putin was at the meeting, so was Haji Nooruddin Azizi, a minister of the Taliban. (Cash 2023)

Belt and Road Forum representatives, 17 October 2023. Image: from Kremlin.ru. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Perhaps in response to concerns involving environmental and justice concerns, China launched the 2021 Global Development Initiative to promote “economic and social development” with a funding deposit of $10 billion. The total BRI extension in loans and grants is estimated at $1 trillion.

The Belt and Road Initiative has both pro and con issues. Image: “Plus, Minus, and Equality Signs” by graphic artist Sa-se. Creative Commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

While debt is a concerning issue (some say it is a con in the word’s two meanings) so is pollution: China’s overseas fossil-fuel power plants emit 245 million tons of CO2 annually. Another factor is land use change, with further environmental damage and loss of biodiversity, especially to land that is the home of original, indigenous people. However, there may also be pros. China has extended $500 billion in funding that some say could improve the infrastructure and industrial capabilities of some areas that desire growth but may have had challenges getting funding. From any angle, the Belt and Road Initiative is macro and global.

The Belt and Road Initiative may soon circle the world. It is one of the most important macro projects in history. Could the BRI be an opportunity for renewable energy, sustainable water, and perhaps even a new understanding of our interconnected world? How can you get involved to make it so? Image: “Animated Globe with Flags” by graphic artist Meclee, 2012. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

The scope and span of the BRI make it one of the most significant agents in climate. The sheer volume of concrete, for example, could influence the environment: what if the BRI instituted a policy regarding the use of concrete as a carbon capture and containment? Ditto BRI’s energy use: as a leader in solar, could China favor renewable technology in BRI projects? BRi may be the biggest and most impactful construction project in history. We need to pay more attention. How can we influence climate and justice decisions? Want to know more? Start here, or  here. 

Cash, Joe. “Leaders gather in China for smaller, greener Belt and Road summit.” 16 October 2023. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/chinca/leaders-gather-china-smaller-greener-belt-road-summit-2023-10-16/

China, Belt and Road Initiative website. https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/

Gallagher, Kevin P., et al., “The BRI at Ten.” Global Development Policy Center, Boston University. https://www.bu.edu/gdp/files/2023/09/GCI-Report-BRI-10-FIN.pdf

Pierson, David, Anatoly Kurmanaev, Tiffany May. “With Putin by His Side, Xi Outlines His Vision of a New World Order.” 18 October 2023. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/18/world/asia/putin-xi-china-russia.html

Wakabayaski, Daisuke, Bhadra Sharma, and Claire Fu. “China Got a Big Contract. Nepal Got Debt and a Pricey Airport.” 16 October 2023. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/business/nepal-pokhara-airport-china.html

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

 

 

TRANSPORT: Cargo Ships with Wings

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Will winged ships be the future of cargo transport? Image: “Pigeons Flying” by Eadweard Muybridge, 1893. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Transportation contributes to global warming by use of fossil fuels. Electric vehicles are increasing in use while decreasing emissions; batteries needed to store and dispense electric power are easier to develop for smaller vehicles like cars or vans, even trucks. Airplanes are improving. Short-haul passenger travel has made some progress with electric aircraft, and United Airlines recently flew from Chicago, Illinois to Washington, D.C. on biofuel. Train travel is clocking faster speeds with lower emissions from innovations like Mag-lev and Hyperloop. But what about shipping?

Container ship “Ever Given” stuck in the Suez Canal on 21 March 2021, by Copernicus Sentinel Satellite. Adapted as photo by Pierre Markuse, 2021. Creative commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Maritime shipping moves 80% of all the goods manufactured and produced in the world economy. The industry emits one billion tons of CO2 every year – 3% of human-generated emissions. The industry grows every year: in  2021, 1.95 billion metric tons of cargo were shipped via container fleets. The biggest shipping companies include APM-Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, and MSC; each receiving loads of TEUs (acronym for twenty-food equivalent unit, a standard of measure in the shipping industry). When a particularly large container freighter became stuck in the Suez Canal, attention was called to the shipping industry and its role in global transport, and emissions. Behemoth container ships are too large run on batteries, and solar panels are not the answer, either. What about wind?

Cargill chartered the Physix Ocean retroftted with WindWings. Image: Cargill Logo, public domain. Included with appreciation.

Enter Pyxis Ocean. It’s a cargo transport ship, chartered by Cargill, that has been fitted with wings. Two sails made of steel, each 123 feet (37.5 meters) tall, set sail recently. The wing/sails are foldable, allowing passage under bridges. The vessel was retrofitted by BAR Technologies, Yara Marine Technologies, and Mitsubishi. While the ship still uses fossil fuel, wings use wind to reduce fuel consumption by 30%. Launched in China and sailing toward Brazil, Pyxis Ocean is an innovation worth watching. Cargill is an agricultural firm, transporting 225 million tons annually. Could this be the beginning of a new era in shipping?

The earliest global trade was through ships with sails. Image: “Two Danish Ships entering Portsmouth Harbour” by J.M.W. Turner, circa 1807-1809. Tate acquisition number N00481. Creative commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

The earliest global transport ‘supply chain’ was through ships with sails. Historic great fleets with complex arrays of sails are the stuff of legend, and art. Is past now prologue? Cargill/BAR/Mitsubishi/Yara received support from the European Union’s WindWings project. The aim is to retrofit existing shipping vessels with wings to reduce fuel use and therefore emissions. BAR’s Head of Engineering Lauren Eatwell, a lifelong sailor with Olympic experience as well as education in composite structural engineering, helped to pioneer the WindWing design. Cargill aims to save 1.5 metric tons of fuels per wing per day. With advanced fuels (think methanol), more cost and emission savings are full speed ahead. We are the water planet, and we will continue to traverse the globe with ships. Can the shipping industry take wing?

Shipping will continue to be a mainstay of global supply chain routes. Can the shipping industry take wing? Image: “Spinning Globe with one frame/sec = one hour/sec” adapated from public domain images by Wikidao. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

WATCH: Video of Pysix Ocean and WindWings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STlkqiQ62e4

BAR Technologies. “WindWings.” https://www.bartechnologies.uk/project/windwings/

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Supply Chain Reaction.” Building the World Blog 2021 https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2021/10/15/transport-supply-chain-reaction/

Cargill. “Cargill and BAR Technologies’ ground-breaking wind technology sets sail, chartering a lower-carbon path for the maritime industry.”  21 August 2023. Cargill. https://www.cargill.com/2023/cargill-bar-technologies-wind-technology-sets-sail

Lewis, Neil. “Wind-powered cargo ship sets sail in a move to make shipping greener.” 21 August 2023. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/22/travel/wind-powered-cargo-ship-cargill-bartech-climate-c2e-spc-intl

Placek, Martin. “Container shipping statistics & facts,” 31 August 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/1367/container=shipping/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

TRANSPORT: Mobilizing the Future

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Transport has evolved since the days of Ford and Edison. Image: “Automobiles over the years” by wikipedia.de, creative commons 2.5. Included with appreciation.

Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were both working, in 1912, on a new invention: the automobile. Edison’s was electric. Ford’s was powered by gasoline. What might the world look like today, if Edison’s design had prevailed?

Oslo, Norway, has achieved 30% reduction in emissions. Image: “Oslo at night” by Jørn Eriksson. Creative commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Norway might offer a preview. The Nordic country will stop selling gas-powered cars in two years. In 2022, over 80% of new cars sold were electric. Carbon emissions have declined by 30 percent in Oslo, Norway’s capital. The air is cleaner, the city is quieter. Government subsidized charging stations line the roads. The grid has not buckled; those formerly employed in fossil-fuel jobs have been able to transition. The only problem, so far, is an increase in tiny particles of pollution entering the air as a result of the friction of fast EVs and asphalt highways. When the United States Federal Highway System anticipates the increase in electric vehicles, perhaps the surface of roads, often renewed in the summer season, can be adjusted.

“Think City” car that may have started Norway on the road to low or zero transport emissions. Image: “Think City” by Mahlum, 2008. Donated by the photographer to the public domain. Included with appreciation.

Ironically, it was Henry Ford’s legacy that turned Norway towards electric vehicles several decades ago. Ford Motor Company collaborated on, and later acquired in the late 1990s/early 2000s, a car called “Think City” that captured the imagination of Norwegian motorists, in no small part because of policies including no import tax and no highway tolls. (Ewing 2023)

Norway’s network of pipelines is extensive. Image: Pipeline HDPE, Australia” by photographer Gordon J86, 2013. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Another irony: while Norway has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to a goal of zero (or close) by 2030, and electric vehicles are helping to reach that goal, Norway continues to drill for oil and gas. While Norway may be cleaner and greener, the country’s production of $180 billion worth of fossil fuels may see more exports. Russia-Ukraine conflict increased the need; Norway responded. Pipeline gas for Germany jumped 11%. Norway also sent gas to Belgium, France, Poland, and the UK. In 2028, Norway’s government plans to nationalize some Gassled pipelines. Norway’s network of gas pipelines rivals some countries’ highways: the pipes cover 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers). By comparison, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) in length.

Norway leads the world in electric vehicle use. Image: “Plug-in electric cars in use as a proportion of all passenger cars on the road in selected countries and regional markets at the end of 2021” by Mariordo, 2022. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Meanwhile, 98% of Norway’s power generation comes from renewable energy, predominantly hydroelectricity. But transport has been a challenge. Norway introduced a National Transportation Plan (2018-2029) requiring all new ferries to use low emission technology, and all new cars and vans to be electric, all new city buses  to be fueled by biogas. (Sweco 2023) With a focus on the transport sector, ports will also be designed as energy centers where ships may power up with a mix of biogas, hydrogen, and electricity. Because transport accounts for 60% of Norway’s carbon emissions, and the Nordic nation has set a plan for zero (or low) emissions, the world may get a preview of the track to mobilizing the future.

“Animated GIF showing the Speed Dreams track system from a car’s point of view.” by Ocirne94, 2012. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Buli, Nora. “Norway piped gas exports rise 3.3% in 2022, set record for Germany” 23 January 2023. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/norway-piped-gas-exports-rise-33-2022-fall-just-shy-record-2023-01-23/

Ewing, Jack. ‘In Norway, the Electric Vehicle Future Has Already Arrived” 10 May 2023. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/business/energy-environment/norway-electric-vehicles.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Litwin, George H., John J. Bray, K. Lusk Brooke. Mobilizing the Organization: Bringing Strategy to Life. London: Prentice Hall, 1996. ISBN: 0131488910

Sweco. “Report: Race to Electrification – Norway in a Pole Position.” https://www.swecogroup.com/urban-insight/energy/report-race-to-electrification-norway-in-a-pole-position/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

TRANSPORT: Building urban transit, unearthing ancient treasures

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Mexico City is built on the foundation of Tenochtitlan. “Foundation of Tenochtitlan” by Roberto Cueva Del Rio (1908-1988), 1986. Photograph by Jujomzx. Creative commons, public domain. Included with appreciation.

Building an urban transit system in an already dense city is a case study in retrofitting. But what happens when cities dig deep and uncover archeological treasures? During the construction of Boston Central Artery (known at the time as “The Big Dig”) uncovered a 17th century home and a 19th century glass factory.

“Amsterdam: construction of subway station Rokin.” by A. Bakker. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Amsterdam is another example.  When Dutch engineers began work on the North-South metro line, they unearthed 10,000 artifacts. The Amstel River and banks yielded objects like ancient coins, and the remnants of a furniture craft store from the 1800 era. Working in underwater caissons like those used to build the Brooklyn Bridge, archeologists assembled an archive of objects, and documented the process with film and a . Within the new Rokin station urban travelers can enjoy a wall of stone mosaics by Daniel Dewar and Grégory Gicquel featuring found objects. Eight stations on the new metro line present art as well. The metro has become an underground museum.

México City’s metro goes right to one of the greatest urban archeological discoveries in history: the Templo Mayor at Tenochtitlan. On 21 February 1978, electrical workers digging near the city’s main plaza, called the Zócalo, hit a stone. It was no ordinary stone. The object was carved in the shape of disk measuring 10 feet in diameter. On its surface, a relief could be traced to reveal a portrait of Coyolxauhqui, warrior sister of Huizilopochtli, deity of the ancient Mexicas.

On 21 February 1978, Mexico dug for electrical installation and unearthed this treasure, a stone disk carved in the image of Coyolxauhqui. Photo by miguelao,2009, creative commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

An archeological team led by Eduardo Matos Moctezuma excavated the site for the next four years, when the endeavor received presidential support as the Templo Mayor Project. More than 7,000 objects were unearthed, bearing witness to the glories of Tenochtitlan, the Templo Mayor, and a series of temples that once stood as evidence of the great civilization. When Tenochtitlan fell in 1521 to the invasion of Cortés and troops, Aztec temples were destroyed. But now, they are once again part of México’s history and culture. To visit the site, take the México City metro Blue Line to the Zócalo stop, and step back in time.

Lewis, Ann-Eliza H., Editor. Highway to the Past: The Archaeology of Boston’s Big Dig. Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Massachusetts Historical Commission, 2001. Https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/Big_Dig_book, pdf

Museo de Templo Mayor. https://www.templomayor.inah.gob.mx/

Pinto-Rodrigues, Anne. “How train tunnels beneath Amsterdam revealed a medieval treasure trove.” 13 February 2023. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/underground-amsterdam-treasures-rokin

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

 

TRANSPORT: Day of Two Noons

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18 November – Day of Two Noons.
Image: Anakin101. Donated to public domain, wikimedia. Included with appreciation

Transport has advanced civilization in many ways, but did you know that trains gave us standard time zones? When railroads began to connect the world, there were no established time zones. Each city had a town clock, sometimes a sun dial: when the device displayed “noon,” all the businesses and homes in that city would set their own clocks accordingly. As a result, noon was slightly different in Albany and in New York City: this was acceptable for cities but not for the trains that connected them. Accidents plagued the new mode of transport, and became a serious hazard with the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, approved in 1862 and completed in 1869.

“East and West Shaking Hands,” photograph of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad by Andrew J. Russell, public domain. Included with appreciation.

It was railroad engineers who introduced the idea of standard time zones. In the United States, Charles F. Dowd proposed the concept in 1863, but it would be twenty years until a five-zone system designed by William F. Allen, editor of a railway guide, became law. On 18 November, 1883, at noon, every railroad clock was reset. Some towns and stations had already passed noon on their sundial, so November 18, in 1883, became known as the Day of Two Noons.

“TIme Zones (2012)” showing the zones in reference to the Prime Meridian or Greenwich Meridian. Image by NASA. Public domain. Included with appreciation.

International time zones soon followed. Sandford Fleming, surveyor on the Canadian Pacific Railway, proposed standardizing time zones across the world. In 1884, the International Prime Meridian Conference, meeting in Washington, DC and chaired by Count Lewenhaupt, Delegate for Sweden, adopted the system of AM and PM (Ante Meridiem and Post Meridiem) based on Greenwich Mean Time and coordinated globally, on 22 October 1884.

Today, 18 November, when your time-keeping device (be it digital, analogue, or solar – phone, clock, or sundial), take a minute to celebrate the Day of Two Noons.

Davidson, Frank P and K. Lusk Brooke,  “The Transcontinental Railroad,” pages 205 – 218; “The Canadian Pacific Railway,” pages 253-287. Building the World. Westport: Greenwood, 2006.

International Prime Meridian Conference. http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/info/conference-finalact.htm.

New York Times. “Turning Back the Hands: A Quiet Change to the Standard Time.” 18 November 1883. Digital reproduction of text: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5748

Terrell, Ellen. “The Day of Two Noons.” January 2021. Library of Congress. https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/november/day-of-two-noons

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

TRANSPORT: If cars could fly

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Flying cars have long been a dream: this one’s from 1947. But new models are coming to a sky near you, soon, Image: “Convair Model 118” from 1947. Wikimedia, public domain, Included with appreciation.

If the car changed history, even more so: the airplane. Now these common modes of transport must, themselves, change. Transport contributes 25% to CO2 emissions, from the burning of fossil fuels. We are seeing adoption of electric vehicles, encouraged by automobile manufacturers’ new vehicles and installation of charging networks. Air travel has not made the transition to zero-carbon as easily: aircraft are simply too heavy to run on batteries. But what if cars could fly? And do so on electricity?

“Back to the Future” starring Michael J. Fox featured a flying car. Image: wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Alef, in California, has invented a flying car that drives on regular roads, and then transforms into a biplane. For the sum of $300,000 you can go “Back to the Future.” And, it’s electric. Pal-V, made in the Netherlands, will cost $599,000; or $399,000 for a sports edition: both models include training in the price. AirCar is a hybrid car/plane that runs on a BMW engine using gasoline: it can fly 600 miles once it morphs from car to aircraft.

“Cormorant” from Israel Defense Forces, built by Tactical Robotics LTD, Image by Timus Saban, 2016. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

What’s the market for flying cars? Morgan Stanley estimates it will be worth $1.5 trillion in 2040. Some Tesla investors have expressed support, and technologies like AirCar, Pal-V gyrocopter, and Alef might interest the military, like the above Cormorant flying vehicle used by the Israel Defense Forces, or NASA where vehicles roaming planets need to travel by land and by air. Since Daedalus, innovative humans have found inspiration from Nature where birds strut the ground, then fly through the sky. Will we soon join them?

“Seagull in flight,” by Mark Buckawiki, 2017. Wikimedia Creative Commons 1.0 Donated into the public domain by the author, and included with appreciation.

Kleinman, Zoe “Flying car completes test flight between airports.” 29 June 2021. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57651843

Vallance, Chris. “The flying car that could turn into a biplane.” 21 October 2022. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-63325341

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

TRANSPORT: Tunnels – Environmental Option

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“Hamburg-Mitte-Elbe Tunnel” by Anita Janda, 2019. CC4.0 wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Ten years to plan, nine years to build, seven billion to budget: the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link Tunnel will offer an alternative to a 45-minute ferry between Germany’s Fehmarn island and Denmark’s Lolland isle. The new tunnel will clock travel time to ten minutes by car and seven minutes by train. Not just a faster trip between islands, Fehmarnbelt will reduce passage duration between Copenhagen and Hamburg.

Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link Tunnel will shorten the travel time between Copenhagen and Hamburg. Image: “Fehmarn bridge” by Bowzer. CC by SA 3.0, wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

It will be the world’s longest immersed tunnel, although at 11.1 miles long (18 kilometers) shorter than the Channel Tunnel stretching 31 miles (50 kilometers). Other differences include construction methods. The Channel Tunnel was built using a traditional boring machine. Fehmarnbelt will be pre-fab: tunnel sections completed on land will be submerged and then connected. Each section is 711 feet long (217 meters) – about half the size of a large container ship. All that length is heavy – each section weighs as much as 13,000 elephants.

One section of the tunnel’s pre-fab building blocks weighs as much as 13 elephants. Image: “Elephant,” by Felix Andrew, 2005. Public domain gnu. Included with appreciation.

In a world where the environment is part of every decision, Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link will include newly established stone reefs on both Danish and German sides, similar in some ways to the natural paths fashioned along the New River of England. Tunnels offer other environmental advantages, bringing automobiles, trains, and trucks below the surface where emissions be captured, if the tunnels are so equipped.

SMART Tunnel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, combines transport and flood control. Image: “SMART tunnel entrance,” by David Boey, 2018. Wikimedia CC4.0. Included with appreciation.

Another environmental advantage of tunnels is response to flash floods. The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is designed to divert rainwater into a lower section, allowing the upper section to remain open to vehicular traffic. Floodwater diversion, storage, and reuse options are certain to present problems (and opportunities) in our future: can tunnels be part of the solution?

Thanks to Cherie E. Potts for suggesting this post, and to Frank P. Davidson for proposing and achieving the success of the Channel Tunnel.

Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link. “Why we’re building the Fehmarnbelt fixed link.” Femern. https://femern.com

Prisco, Jacopo. “Denmark and Germany now building the world’s longest immersed tunnel.” September 2022, CNN.com. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/fehmarnbelt-longest-immersed-tunnel-cmd/index.html

SMART. https://smarttunnel.com.my/smart/what-is-smart/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

TRANSPORT: Origins of Labor Day

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“Golden Spike Ceremony: Promontory Summit, Utah, 1869” marked the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Soon, the new railroad industry would be linked to Labor Day. Image: National Archives and Records Administration (NAI #594940. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

When the Transcontinental Railroad, with more than 1,800 (2,900 kilometers) miles of track, opened in 1869 with the driving of the Golden Spike in Utah, thousands of workers had toiled to complete what had been the largest government project in history, to date. A cross-country trip that had previously taken months of overland perilous journey across deserts and mountains, or a sea-voyage around South America, was now possible. But working conditions were arduous and dangerous. Rail travel proved more comfortable: George M. Pullman began converting passenger cars into sleepers, employing “Pullman porters” to work aboard. Hiring practice discriminated racially, and enforced extremely long working hours – 400 per month.

“Pullman strikers and Illinois National Guard at Arcade Building,” 1894. Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project. Image: wikimedia, public domain, Included with appreciation to all workers on Labor Day.

When Pullman laid off 30% of the workers in the recession of 1893, Pullman porters and employees walked out on strike. Train travel stalled in 27 states from Illinois, home to the Pullman company, and the West Coast. In the Chicago suburb of Blue Island, a crowd derailed a locomotive pulling a postal train, and the U. S. Attorney General enacted an injunction against the striking workers. President Grover Cleveland sent troops. Riots broke out, hundreds of rail cars were ravaged and burned by protestors; the National Guard fired into the mob, killing 30 people and wounding many others. This was in July 1894. Ironically, Cleveland had just signed, in June, a bill declaring a new holiday to honor workers and promote good conditions. The first Labor Day was celebrated on the first Monday in September of that year.

“A. Phillip Randolph – political and social leader.” Founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Image: wikimedia, public domain. Included with appreciation to A. Phillip Randolph and those in the BSCP union.

The Labor Day announcement raised national attention regarding Pullman workers. The Guard was recalled and the strike was over by August. While Labor Day began a new era of awareness of worker health and safety. Pullman porters now worked in better conditions: some earned more money, others advanced to management positions. But hours remained long. In 1925, Pullman porters, organized by A. Phillip Randolph, formed a union: Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP). It took more than ten years to negotiate better working hours – 240 per month.

Transport has always initiated economic and social change. Ships, rails, wheels, and wings caused major shifts in commerce, communication, and culture. Labor Day honors all workers. Around the world, there are Labor day celebrations, some in May. But in the United States, the holiday is always observed in September, and we have transport to thank for its origin and celebration.

“Labor Day” by S.D. Ehrhart, 1909. Image: Library of Congress #2011647501. Public Domain. Included with great appreciation to all who labor.

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

Davidson, Frank P. and K. Lusk Brooke. “The Transcontinental Railroad,” Chapter 17, Building the World. Pages 205 – 238. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006. ISBN: 0313333734.

Loomis, Erik, A History of America in Ten Strikes. The New Press,  2018. ISBN-10: 1620971615.

United States Department of Labor. “History of Labor Day.” https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history

Whitney, Asa. A Project for a Railroad to the Pacific. New York: George Ward, 1849. Text available in Building the World, pages 215-227.

TRANSPORT: Tunnel Visionaries

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Underwater tunnels like the Channel Tunnel, and Japan’s new tunnel under the Tsugaru Strait, are engineering feats. Here, “Underwater tunnel in Mandalay Bay Aquarium” photo by Daniel Ramirez, 2014. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Walking on water takes a miracle, but walking through water requires excellent planning. When the Channel Tunnel was first designed, over a luncheon meeting in New York City hosted by Frank P. Davidson, Thomas Lamont, and representatives of Bechtel, Brown & Root, and Morrison Knudsen Company, a 1959 decision saved lives in 2022. The group engaged Charles Dunn of International Engineering Company of San Francisco, CA, to design the project. Dunn added a service tunnel. It was not mandatory, but it proved prescient.

Channel Tunnel has three tunnels – two rail lines and a service tunnel between. The design by Charles Dunn has saved lives. Image: “Cross section with service tunnel in between two rail lines,’ by Commander Keane and Arz. Wikimedia commons. Public domain. Included with appreciation.

The three tunnels under the Channel (in French, “La Manche”) are a north-running tunnel, a south-running tunnel, and – between them – a service tunnel. During an August 2022 incident, a train experienced an alarm warning, stopped, and held for assessment. Passengers walked for 15 minutes from the rail shuttle to a freight train that conveyed them through and out of the service tunnel. That freight train did not have the usual accommodation for passengers: no elegant meal service, not even seats. But with Dunn’s design, the service tunnel, and its freight train did provide safety. When passengers arrived in Folkestone, terminal restaurants welcomed them with free food and beverages.

Strait of Dover between England and France. Image: NASA, 2000. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

The service tunnel in the Channel Tunnel has proven its worth before. In 1996, a fire broke out in the Channel Tunnel when a train carrying heavy goods vehicles (there are passenger trains as well as freight trains carrying trucks) sparked a fire. The train was brought to a controlled stop adjacent to an entrance to the service tunnel. While there were no reported fatalities, some people suffered from smoke inhalation. The fire was fought by English and French teams who extinguished the flames after considerable effort. Tunnel repair was carried out by Freyssinet, a French engineering firm. Bi-national Channel Tunnel Safety Authority (CTSA) chaired one of three inquiries: the result was regular bi-national team practice exercises and shared operational procedures. In 2008, a fire in the Chunnel, started by a truck that spread to other vehicles, caused damage but no fatalities or serious injuries. It is worth noting that when the Channel Tunnel project began, the service tunnel was the first built.

“Tsugaru Srait” by Kyoyaku, adapted by Bourrichon, 2019. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

How can the Channel Tunnel’s design inspire the future? Japan, home to many tunnels that connect the nation composed of four main islands – Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku – is currently planning a new tunnel across the Tsugaru Strait for automobile traffic between Honshu and Hokkaido. The tunnel would span 31 kilometers (19. 26 miles) and cost about $7 billion (720 billion yen). In the new Tsugaru Strait tunnel, there will be two decks: the top for autonomous vehicles like self-driving cars; the lower for freight trains. Economic benefits include increased ability to transport agricultural produce from Hokkaido, estimated at 34 billion yen ($249 million).  The project will take 15 years to build; construction costs would be recouped in 32 years. Tolls are estimated to be 9,000 yen for cars ($65).

“Platooning” is a method for linking controls of lines and groups of autonomous vehicles. Could this be used in the new Tsugaru Strait Tunnel? Image: “Platooning Back” by U.S. Department of Transportation, 2019. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Tsugaru Strait is also the location of Japan’s Seikan Tunnel, serving only trains; it was not built with a separate escape or service tunnel, but with two emergency escape points in the system, Tappi-Kaitei station and Toshioka-Kaitei station. Shinkansen trains in Japan’s high speed rail network use the Seikan system. Fifty trains traverse the Seikan Tunnel every day, and night trains offer sleeping accommodation. Seikan suffered inundation accidents during construction but no fatalities.

“Cross-Harbour Tunnel Bridge Fire,” in Hong Kong, 2019. Photograph by Studio Incendo. Wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Other tunnels around the world have experienced accidents, fires, and floods. In Hong Kong, the Cross-Harbour Tunnel was the first built there for underwater transit; in 2019, protestors set fire to tollbooths, causing the tunnel to close but avoiding any fatalities. In 1991, two trains collided in the Severn Tunnel joining England and Wales; 185 passengers were injured but none fatally. In 1999, a fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel joining France, Italy, and Switzerland, caused 39 deaths and 14 non-fatal injuries. These examples point out the wisdom of Dunn’s design of an extra service tunnel for the Channel Tunnel.

“Shadertoy Tunnel Example,” by Inigo Quilez, 2016. Creative Commons, wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

In a time of budget cuts, along with an increased focus on transportation infrastructure, this week’s Channel Tunnel problem and its successful rescue solution may serve to underscore the importance of safety, and its support by budget and planning. In a new era when safety measures for autonomous vehicles and driverless cars are forefront, Japan’s new tunnel may set an important example for tunnel transport infrastructure for autonomous vehicles. What safety measures should be included?

Bove, Tristan. “Passengers forced to walk through ‘terrifying’ emergency tunnel under the sea after France-England train breaks down.” 24 August 2022. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2022/08/24/eurotunnl-evacuation-passengers-walk-terrifying-service-tunnel-between-france-england/

Davidson, Frank P. and K. Lusk Brooke. “The Channel Tunnel,” pages 761-804, Building the World (2006) ISBN: 0313333742.

Failure Knowledge Database. “Train Fie in Hokuriku Tunnel.” http://www.shippai.org/fkd/en/cfen/CA1000605.html

Rosenberg, Jennifer. “How the Channel Tunnel Was Built and Designed.” 12 August 2019. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-channel-tunnel-1779429

Takahashi, Toru. “$7bn plan for new Japan undersea tunnel warms up after years on ice: Project would allow auto traffic between Honshu and Hokkaido.” 3 January 2021. Nikkei Asia. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Engineering-Construction/7bn-plan-for-new-Japan-undersea-tunnel-warms-up-after-years-on-ice

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

 

TRANSPORT: Heat melts airport runway

Posted on by Building The World
“Aircraft landing at Zurich International Airport” by Kuhnmi_DSC-3711.2, 2014. Creative Commons license 2.0, wikimedia. Included with appreciaiton.

Airline woes have lately taken a toll on passengers, crew, aircraft maintenance, and profits. But during this week’s heat wave, an airport runway melted. When London, England, UK suffered a temperature rise to 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), Luton airport had to suspend flights to repair a runway damaged by intense heat. Transport infrastructure is made of materials susceptible to heat. Roads buckle, and airport runways are specialized roads.

“Hammersmith Bridge, 1827.” Original drawing scanned by Project Gutenberg. Public Domain, wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Bridges are also vulnerable. City of famed London Bridge saw some structures falling down. Hammersmith Bridge was wrapped, Cristo style, in a cooling material designed to reflect sunlight away. The temperature control system, costing about half-million dollars (420,000 Pounds), is designed to keep the 135-year-old bridge from melting and placing an untenable load on its support pedestals that are made of cast-iron, also vulnerable to heat.

“Three Rail Tracks” by photographer G-Man, 2003. Dedicated to the public domain. Wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Railways become hot grids when sunlight sears the rails. With the high ambient temperatures combining with sun rays on the rails, the heat reaches 48 Celsius (118 Fahrenheit). The solution? Painting the rails white.

Wildfires cause damage to people, animals, plants, and also to the atmosphere. “Carbon Monoxide from Amazon Wildfires in 2019.” NASA/JPL-Caltech. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

In Europe and the UK, heat is causing wildfires: 27,000 acres scorched in southwestern France, causing 32,000 people to leave their homes. Spain’s wildfires caused the state railway to suspend service; in Portugal, one person died every 40 minutes between July 7-13. In the United States, over 100 million people are sweltering in record-breaking heat. In China, heat melted the roof of the museum housing cultural treasures of the ancient Forbidden City. Sadly, each season brings the same dangers and the same warning: according to World Weather Attribution (WWA), the 2021 heat wave was “virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.” In addition to human and natural resources suffering, heat waves damage economies: projected economic impacts in Europe by 2060 are expected to increase five-fold (García-León 2021).

“How a heat wave forms.” by U.S. weather.gov. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons. With appreciation.

Bad as that news is, it is also an indication of the potential savings – in human, natural, and economic resources – of innovations that can halt and reverse climate change – and also innovations in materials more suitable to a warming world. Even with climate goals met, warming will continue for some decades. Aging transport infrastructure is due for rebuilding: bridges, roads, and runways need an upgrade. What kinds of materials can be developed for a changing climate?

García-León, David, et al., “Current and projected regional economic impacts of heatwaves in Europe.” Nat Commun 12, 5807 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26050-z

Hammersmith & Fulham Council. “Keeping Hammersmith Bridge cool- and open – in the heatwave.” 13 July 2022. https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/articles/news/2022/07/keeping-hammersmith-bridge-cool-and-open-heatwave

National Weather Service, NOAA. “WetBulb Globe Temperature.” https://www.weather.gov/tsa/wbgt

Vera, Amir. “It’s so hot, roads are buckling, they’re putting foil on a bridge, and roofs are melting around the world.” 22 July 2022. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/21/weather/global-infrastructure-its-so-hot-extreme-heat/index.html

World Weather Attribution (WWA). “Western North American extreme heat virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.” 7 July 2021. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/western-north-american-extreme-heat-virtually-impossible-without-human-caused-climate-change/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un