Efficient Transport for the Global Economy - Essay Example

1. The growth in any country and particularly America is concentrated in the metropolitan areas. To cater to the growing population the transport system has to be enhanced. Business and industries are responding to the technology and applying just-in-time techniques to improve production and delivery. Hence providing services efficiently requires and equally efficient transportation system to compete in the global economy. The Regional Plan Association presented a report America 2050 that stated that the expansion would be concentrated in 10 emerging mega-regions. Infrastructure in these mega regions is important because they offer competitive advantages when dealing with similar regions in other world markets. The number of people living in the metropolitan areas in the past 50 years has increased from 85 million to 225 million and is expected to go up to 350 million in the next 50 years. This demands urgent attention on the transportation sector as over 80 percent of the country’s GDP is generated from these areas. This is especially important and challenging because America has always invested in the existing infrastructure rather than investing in building infrastructure that would be needed in the next 50 years. To keep America competitive, to reduce congestion and to meet the 21st century metropolitan mobility needs, America has to wake up to the reality of enhancing the transportation sector. Transportation includes the roadways, the national highways, building intercity passenger rail system, connecting rural America through roads which could and the To meet this growing demand due to population increase, the current 75,000 interstate lane-miles have to be increased by 40,000 lane miles. This would only reduce the current congestion in the urban areas but to sustain the traffic system on the highways, another 50,000 lane-miles would have to be added. To provide further space to the public transport system like buses, autos, trucks and vans another 8000 centerline miles would have to be added. In addition an efficient Intercity Passenger Rail System is considered a necessity. This could serve as a genuine transportation alternative. This requires planning, technology and designs that supports the vision of regional and national connectivity. Along with the passenger rail service, freight capacity and service also needs to be expanded to compete in the business world. The establishment of infrastructure may require private investment. Even the rural states in America are facing demand on travel and transportation services. Most of these states are large in size and long stretches of the national highways is essential. Trucks that move goods from the coasts across rural America are expected to double by 2035. Agriculture too depends on low cost rail, truck and water transportation to keep US products competitive in the global economy. Tourism is another area vital to the economy of any nation and access to places like national parks have to be easier. Thus the challenge before the transportation planners for the next 50 years is to ensure bridges, roads and highways for the urban population, provide for trucks to facilitate movement of goods across the nation and connect rural America, an efficient intercity rail system to ease the burden on the roads, infrastructure for tourism and agriculture. 2. The speed of internet is not just fast enough even though it is now possible to send a DVD movie in three seconds. The art of convergence appears to be the direction to which personal computer technology seems to be heading. In convergence technology the manufacturers take the best and the most useful components of computer technology and incorporate them into familiar household appliances to create ‘smarter’ homes for the new millennium (Holmes, 1999). It is the convergence of computer technology, consumer products and home integration. Not only have the home entertainment technology providers entered the convergence space but also mainstream computer technology people like HP and IBM. Every instrument has become a convergence device. The cell phones that could earlier just receive and make calls, can now be used to keep appointments, set reminders, use for browsing through the net or just chat with friends. As a convergence device it mixes the features and capabilities of computing, communications and consumer electronics and enhances the value for the user. Convergence means convenience – it provides convenience to the consumer who are perpetually racing against time. This technology would help consumer gain in time. Signs of convergence penetrating into our daily lives are already evident. Mundane objects like telephones and televisions have already become appliances. The PC works as an information appliance and it is estimated that the number of such appliances used worldwide would be phenomenal in the years to come. The line between the PC and appliance s already blurred with a 29 inch PCs with a built in TV tuner. While this is costly, another version known as WebTV uses a set-top box to provide internet access via the television which is cheaper and also combines the features of TV and the PC. This is an excellent example of the convergence technology that is yet to come in a full-fledged way. Convergence is not only transforming the homes but it has also made its way behind the wheels. A device can now merge the computer functions with the car’s audio system. People can now access email on their laptops from the car and this device also includes extensive speech-recognition system. All of the information appliances will cater to the behavior patterns of the people. The internet-enabled telephones are now convergence devices have graphical screens that can display the web pages and send emails. It will soon be possible to perform online banking on the television screen as watching a movie on the computer monitors is already possible. ReplayTV is another convergence devise that can be plugged into regular telephone line and it is possible to download the television programming information. It is then possible to find and record the favorite TV programs which are stored on the hard disk to be viewed later. ReplayTV thus bridges the gap between the TV and the PC. In the years to come there will be a central PC that would control everything at home – from the television to the heat and electricity. Convergence technology would provide the convenience and the extra time that everyone is seeking today. 3. The US army has to think beyond and plan for the next generation, a lighter and more mobile fighting army that relies heavily on technology. There is a shift in the military energy use – away from the use of carbon-based resources. The US army has to operate on a smaller budget as it could participate in joint and coalition operations anywhere in the world for undetermined periods of time. These are forcing the US army to bring about substantial changes in its force and mode of operation. In any case worldwide coal reserves are decreasing and could also be depleted in 20 to 40 years (Pfeffer & Macon, 2001). This rate could be further accelerated due to the excess consumption by rapidly industrializing nations like China and India. Major oil reserves have been discovered and controlled by OPEC countries and these too are expected to be depleted within 10 to 13 years at the current rate of use. Carbon-based fuels continue to add pollutants to the atmosphere. These socio-economic pressures have forced the US military to rely on nuclear power. The Army has to be more mobile and deploy rapidly and it should be able to sustain itself anywhere in the world for any period of time. It usually gets its water and fuel supply from the regions where it extends its coalition. There are chances that US army could be asked to extend support in far-off regions where the third world countries are unable to support either financially or militarily. It would be a challenge to produce potable water and fuel. This challenge can be met by small nuclear power plants that could convert sea water into hydrogen fuel and potable water whenever needed. This would have less impact on the environment than caused by current production, transportation and use of carbon-based fuels. A small nuclear power plant could be fit on the barge for the military, and be deployed to a remote theater, where it could produce both potable water and hydrogen fuel. This could be used by both the US military forces and the coalition forces in times of conflict. This will greatly reduce the logistics requirements for oil, coal and gasoline. There have been advances in nuclear power plant technology and portable nuclear power plants could be useful to produce fuel anywhere. There have also been recent advances in fuel cell technology, hydrogen liquefaction, and storage. Nuclear power provides energy security, reduces air pollution and cuts greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power can also provide district heating, industrial process heating, desalination of seawater, and marine transportation. The US should always carry with it a small fleet of nuclear power barges or other portable power plant configurations developed by DOE. For military applications, nuclear reactors like the remote site-modular helium reactor (RS-MHR) developed by General Atomics could mobile electric power for the military. The demand for energy is heavy on the US military and the only possible mobile and the cheapest solution would be its reliance on the nuclear energy. Reference: AASHTO. Transportation Invest In Our Future. Available from: http://www.transportation1.org/tif5report/changing_america_cont.html [accessed 08 July 20080 Holmes, T. (1999). The art of convergence - using computer technology to make better consumer electronics. Available from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_10_29/ai_54636732 [accessed 09 July 2008] Pfeffer, R. A. & Macon, W. A. (2001). Nuclear Power: An Option for the Armys Future. Available from: http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/SepOct01/MS684.htm [accessed 09 July 2008] Read More