U.S. Interstate Highways’ Effects on the Environment

The U.S. system of cross-country highways came into being when President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. On June 30 of that year the New York Times reporter John Morris wrote of the event, “President Eisenhower set into motion a record $33,480,000,000 road-building today by signing the bipartisan authorization bill that Congress sent him Tuesday. Sinclair Weeks, secretary of commerce, immediately announced the allocation of $1,125,000,000 among the states for the first year of what he called ‘the greatest public-works program in the history of the world.’ ” Secretary Weeks may have overstated the magnitude of the 42,000-mile (67,592-km) highway network to be built, but the interstate system nevertheless made an impact on lifestyles and businesses for years to come.

The U.S. interstate highways provided a different type of roadway from state roads and local thoroughfares because the entire network contained only about 16,000 interchanges that drivers use for entrance or exit. This design made travel more efficient for drivers by avoiding traffic lights and busy intersections. As the highways reached across the nation
throughout the 1950s and 1960s, they also began to exert a subtle effect on the environment.

The interstates—north-south routes have increasing odd numbers from west to east; even-numbered east-west routes increase from south to north—made personal travel, business trips, and trucking more convenient and faster. The interstates improved travel so much in fact that they contributed to urban sprawl from city centers; densely populated suburbs have grown up near many interchanges. Though the interstate highways made life easier for communities and commerce, they also led to the following environmental issues:

1. car and truck exhaust
2. animal and plant habitat destruction
3. animal and plant habitat fragmentation
4. blocked wildlife migration corridors
5. wildlife road kills
6. noise
7. high fuel consumption

In addition to the environmental ills mentioned here, the interstate highways have probably helped build the U.S. car culture in which more people depend on personal cars than on mass transit. The highways surely changed the way American society matured between the 1950s and 1970s as people became more mobile and the country seemed to become
smaller. (Interstate highways also gave birth to the fast food restaurant industry.) The National Geographic writer Robert Paul Jordan said of the interstate system at the height of its construction, “Americans are living in the midst of a miracle. A giant nationwide engineering project—the Interstate Highway System—is altering and circumventing geography on an unprecedented scale.” Jordan’s description captured the importance
of today’s interstate highways, but the highway system’s progress also brought with it a decline in the health of the environment. 

Green Business in the US

What is a Green Business? It seems as if almost everyone is talking "Green." Green is everywhere around us. Bill companies are going green, grocery stores are going green, everyone is cashing in on green, but do we fully understand what it is.A green company or business is marked for its ability to decrease the impact made on the environment by waste, harmful chemicals and materials used to process or make products and services. The direct impact made from all of these products produce a gas which is referred to as carbon dioxide and is referred to as the carbon footprint. The carbon footprint therefore branches off from ecological footprint analysis, which then examines the ecological capacity required to support the consumption of products.One of the most popular examples that we see today of going green is going paperless which is what the majority of bill companies and banks try to get us to do. Instead of sending out paper and paying for stamps they want you to sign up for emails or create accounts online in which you can see your account activity and take care of your business without using or wasting paper.Green Businesses look for alternative ways to create or use products repetitively so we don't have to produce new ones such as paper, lead pencils, emails and more products which are not harmful to the environment and still function the same or at a better level and preferably with a lower cost.A company's green initiative can include conserving materials through remanufacturing, converting harmful gases into clean energy, generating green power and improving fuel economy. Designing this for the environment is a process for a green business as well as making for a sustainable business. This process aids the users into considering the potential for environmental impacts of a product and the process that is takes to make that product.In turn, weighing all of these options take time and effort which makes a business a good business because they want to get their products right in order to help the environment and therefore cut down or eliminate harmful wastes.

Green Business in the US

What is a Green Business? It seems as if almost everyone is talking "Green." Green is everywhere around us. Bill companies are going green, grocery stores are going green, everyone is cashing in on green, but do we fully understand what it is.A green company or business is marked for its ability to decrease the impact made on the environment by waste, harmful chemicals and materials used to process or make products and services. The direct impact made from all of these products produce a gas which is referred to as carbon dioxide and is referred to as the carbon footprint. The carbon footprint therefore branches off from ecological footprint analysis, which then examines the ecological capacity required to support the consumption of products.One of the most popular examples that we see today of going green is going paperless which is what the majority of bill companies and banks try to get us to do. Instead of sending out paper and paying for stamps they want you to sign up for emails or create accounts online in which you can see your account activity and take care of your business without using or wasting paper.Green Businesses look for alternative ways to create or use products repetitively so we don't have to produce new ones such as paper, lead pencils, emails and more products which are not harmful to the environment and still function the same or at a better level and preferably with a lower cost.A company's green initiative can include conserving materials through remanufacturing, converting harmful gases into clean energy, generating green power and improving fuel economy. Designing this for the environment is a process for a green business as well as making for a sustainable business. This process aids the users into considering the potential for environmental impacts of a product and the process that is takes to make that product.In turn, weighing all of these options take time and effort which makes a business a good business because they want to get their products right in order to help the environment and therefore cut down or eliminate harmful wastes.

Green Business - Change Your Business Into an Eco-Friendly Business

These days business circles are abuzz with the talks of eco friendly practices. New start ups and small businesses are keen to jump on eco-friendly bandwagon by adapting environment friendly practices like recycling, green manufacturing, sustainable development or renewable energy. Not only these practices provide small businesses with good projection, but the technologies like recycling or renewable energy are also beneficial to the businesses in terms of cost reduction. "Green business" is a recently introduced phenomenon and it is much more than placing a greenish logo on your products or packaging. In actual fact, Green businesses are enterprises that use natural products, reprocess materials and try to be as energy efficient as they can.Efficient Use of Energy:Businesses are keen to minimize energy cost and emissions. Businesses can save a handful on bills by taking initiatives like switching off unnecessary lights or using appliances which are much more energy efficient than the older ones. Energy efficient electronics like computer monitors, cooling systems or lighting systems have in-built programs along together with different kinds of sensors, which helps them save energy in various ways. Buying these appliances or installing new cooling systems may sound a little squandering, however when you look at the amount you can save on bills, it is easily justified.Environment Friendly Manufacturing:Manufacturers are quickly realizing that adapting an eco-friendly approach is actually more beneficial for the business itself than it is for the environment. A green manufacturer will focus on the longevity of the products, it won't pile up unnecessary inventory, it'll think of ways to recycle scrap and it wouldn't be wasting resources in over production. As you can see, these are all commonsensical practices. Therefore, green manufacturing is not some useless hoopla; it is in fact a more sensible approach of doing business.Working for the waste reduction and Recycling:Waste reduction should be added into the job description of managers or supervisors as an added responsibility. Take the example of paper wastage, which can be reduced significantly by taking small steps. For example, using electronic mail for internal communication or printing on both sides of the paper. Stop purchasing or making use of color printers when you can do with black and white copies. Read the instruction manuals of your electronic appliances like Air Conditioners, generators or printers and follow the instructions, it will maximize their performance while increasing their lifespan. Manager or anybody else who is in charge of purchases should make sure that the need exists before authorizing any purchase.