Photo credit: Klaus
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Earlier this year, I wrote about the electrification of construction vehicles, ferries and tarmac vehicles in Norway. I didn’t think similar environmental progress would be made in the United States for years, but I was wrong. The fall issue of Sierra magazine, published by the Sierra Club, reported on the electrification of drayage vehicles in California. Changes will start at the Port of Long Beach, adjacent to the busy Port of Los Angeles.
Beginning in 2035, barely ten years from now, only zero-emission vehicles will be allowed to work at California’s ports. The transition from noisy, polluting diesel trucks has already begun, with both electric and hydrogen-powered trucks already in use. One unanticipated noise problem is that when one of these quiet vehicles shows up to deliver its load, the driver has to honk the horn because the receiving warehouse isn’t alerted to the truck’s presence by a noisy diesel engine.
As I have written, noise pollution is the unwanted accompaniment to the gaseous and particulate air pollution of the internal combustion engine. Diesel engines are noisy, producing about 100 decibel sound levels, according to this report from one plug-in hybrid truck manufacturer. Diesel engines also produce particulate emissions, PM 10 and PM 2.5, both of which have adverse health effects. Electric vehicles produce zero emissions when in use. If the electricity comes from renewable resources like solar power, wind turbines or hydroelectric plants, no pollutants are produced after the vehicle is manufactured.
Hydrogen-powered trucks produce only water when in use. However, producing hydrogen gas is energy-intensive. It remains to be seen if hydrogen technology will ever reach its theoretical potential in everyday use, but hydrogen engines are certainly quieter than diesel engines. Clean, green and serene sounds good to me.
A quieter world with cleaner air will be a better and healthier world for all.
