
Infrastructure in Alaska largely encourages an individual, heavily fuel-based culture, with many citizens even relying on small planes to travel from town to town. In remote and sporadically settled Alaska, transportation is largely car-based, with public transit primarily isolated to the major cities of Juneau, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Matanuska-Susitna. In contrast, sparsely populated states tend to rely on fossil fuels for both individual vehicle use and bigger industrial operations. In general, population-dense states with more urban areas tend to have more comprehensive public transportation systems, reducing overall transportation emissions. (1.57) have the lowest emissions per capita. At the opposite end, Pennsylvania (4.77), Massachusetts (4.62), Connecticut (4.30), New York (4.10), Rhode Island (3.69), and Washington D.C. Hawaii (8.34) and Louisiana (8.34) round out the top five. With 15.66 metric tons of CO2 per resident, Alaska tops state-by-state rates for emissions per capita, followed closely by Wyoming (13.34 metric tons per resident) and North Dakota (11.94). states with transportation emissions per capita. Velotric Alaska has the most transportation emissions per capita

On a global scale, transportation emissions were 600 megatons lower than 2019 levels, and the global aviation sector saw CO2 release equivalent to just 60% of its pre-pandemic levels. Much of this was the result of truck transport, as the pandemic saw a spike in online shopping and a resulting cross-country delivery of goods. After a 15% decrease in 2020, transportation emissions grew by more than 10% the following year. In 2021, Americans began to return to the road and air as lockdowns eased and businesses reopened, and emission levels rose to nearly pre-pandemic rates. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a record-breaking reduction in transportation-sourced carbon emissions in 2020, but unfortunately, this was only temporary. Line chart of transportation emissions since 1973, with a significant dip during 2020. Velotric Transportation emissions approached pre-pandemic levels in 2021 Finally, agriculture and forestry are also high-ranking sources of CO2, largely the result of livestock farming and carbon sinks. Industrial, commercial, and residential sources of carbon emissions encompass everything from heat production to waste elimination. One school district in Maryland, for example, recently introduced the largest fleet of electric school buses to hit the road, and multiple states are factoring in parking spaces, multiuse roads, and pedestrian navigation support to make cities more inclusive of various modes of transportation. In the past years, strides have been made in expanding public transportation systems, multimodal infrastructure, and accessibility of electric vehicles-not just electric cars and trucks, but e-bikes and scooters. However, the good news is that the American transportation industry can steer its long-standing tradition of innovation toward environmentally conscious systems. For instance, transportation emissions are responsible for over 55% of nitrogen oxides released into the air, a major component of smog and air pollution. These emissions have long-lasting effects beyond eroding the earth’s atmosphere and contributing to climate change. This figure accounts for fossil fuels burned by all forms of transportation-cars, trucks, ships, trains, and airplanes. In 2020, this sector accounted for 27% of total greenhouse gas emissions nationwide, amounting to around 1.6 billion metric tons, more than the agriculture, residential, and commercial sectors combined. Therefore, it is,unsurprising that transportation is the country’s largest source of CO2 emissions. Whereas extensive public transportation is regarded as a public imperative in nations throughout Europe, America prides itself on being behind the wheel, both literally and metaphorically.

This perhaps relates to the country’s strong ethos of independence and the symbolic (as well as practical) role automobiles have played in this sense of personal freedom. The United States is historically, and often proudly, a nation of cars.
