The Bright Side of the Brightline: Florida’s Carbon Footprint on the Right Track
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
In Person or Zoom Presentation
In-Person
Campus
Daytona Beach
Status
Student
Faculty/Staff Department
Honors
Student Year and Major
Sophomore in Aerospace Engineering, Rocket Propulsion Track
Presentation Description/Abstract
The United States’ transportation infrastructure is primarily car-centric, resulting in excessive quantities of harmful carbon dioxide emissions every year. However, recent investments in high-speed railways, such as the Brightline in Florida, have shown promise of alleviating some of the environmental impact associated with the popularity of private transportation in the US. Through an in-depth evaluation of various relevant scholarly articles and past scientific research, our goal is to determine the extent to which Florida’s installation of the Brightline railway system has lessened the overall carbon footprint of the state’s transportation industry. Notably, high-speed railways have proven successful in reducing pollution across both Europe and East Asia; however, North America has been slow in the uptake of high-speed public transportation infrastructure. As such, analysis dictates that it is largely too early to determine the degree to which high-speed railway initiatives have lessened the environmental impact of Florida’s transportation industry. However, research findings from other countries have led us to expect significant reductions in net carbon dioxide emissions through a decrease in active car usage alongside the active benefits associated with power generated via electricity over diesel.
Keywords
Florida, “Public Transportation”, “High-Speed Railway”, "Brightline", "Carbon Footprint”
The Bright Side of the Brightline: Florida’s Carbon Footprint on the Right Track
The United States’ transportation infrastructure is primarily car-centric, resulting in excessive quantities of harmful carbon dioxide emissions every year. However, recent investments in high-speed railways, such as the Brightline in Florida, have shown promise of alleviating some of the environmental impact associated with the popularity of private transportation in the US. Through an in-depth evaluation of various relevant scholarly articles and past scientific research, our goal is to determine the extent to which Florida’s installation of the Brightline railway system has lessened the overall carbon footprint of the state’s transportation industry. Notably, high-speed railways have proven successful in reducing pollution across both Europe and East Asia; however, North America has been slow in the uptake of high-speed public transportation infrastructure. As such, analysis dictates that it is largely too early to determine the degree to which high-speed railway initiatives have lessened the environmental impact of Florida’s transportation industry. However, research findings from other countries have led us to expect significant reductions in net carbon dioxide emissions through a decrease in active car usage alongside the active benefits associated with power generated via electricity over diesel.