The rise of ‘last-mile’ e-commerce warehouses — and their attendant truck traffic and air pollution — is disproportionately impacting the most historically disadvantaged parts of the city.
Air pollution from delivery trucks is impacting the health of New Yorkers, with an estimated 2,000 excess deaths per year attributed to long-term exposure to fine particulate matter, according to city data.
As Lauren Dalban reports in Inside Climate News, “The poorest neighborhoods often suffer the most in this equation—the PM2.5 levels from traffic are often higher in high-poverty neighborhoods, as well as the number of hospitalizations related to this pollutant.”
Dalban explains that the “last-mile warehouses” built for the distribution of e-commerce goods, which add to traffic and air pollution in surrounding areas, are often located in the poorest neighborhoods. Such warehouses can be built without a permit or environmental review in eight “commercial or manufacturing districts” around the city — many of which coincide with “environmental justice areas—places that have experienced a disproportionate amount of negative impacts from environmental issues due to historical disinvestment and social inequities.”
As part of an effort to redesign its trucking routes, New York City has launched a Commercial Cargo Bicycle Pilot Program and MicroHub program to encourage the use of smaller, low- or zero-emissions vehicles such as vans and cargo bikes for last-mile deliveries. According to Zach Miller of the Trucking Association of New York, “I think 80 percent of deliveries are happening to people’s homes right now in New York City, and that’s not what the truck route network was designed to do, so it is long past time to have this network be redesigned.”
FULL STORY: The Online Shopping Boom Comes at a Price—and Some New Yorkers Pay More Than Their Fair Share
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Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?
Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.
Updating LA’s Tree Rules Could Bring More Shade to Underserved Neighborhoods
A new USC study finds that relaxing Los Angeles’ outdated tree planting guidelines could significantly expand urban tree canopy and reduce shade disparities in lower-income neighborhoods, though infrastructure investments are also needed.
California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy
California’s Project Nexus has begun generating electricity from solar panels installed over irrigation canals, with researchers and state agencies exploring statewide expansion to conserve water and boost clean energy production.
HHS Staff Cuts Gut Energy Assistance Program
The full staff of a federal program that distributes heating and cooling assistance for low-income families was laid off, jeopardizing the program’s operations.
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