Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

High-speed transportation pollution refers to a type of environmental pollution consisting of high levels of noise, vibration, and air pollution brought about by high-speed transportation systems such as the airplane and airport, the “bullet” (super-express) train, or the traffic expressway. These disturbances cause damage to daily life such as sleep deprivation or the disturbance of conversation at home, as well as stress-related health issues like heart disease or gastrointestinal disease. Bullet trains, jet airplanes, and high-speed expressways are essential to highly industrialized modern urban life. They are basic conditions for developing efficient modern economies, greatly reducing the time and cost of moving goods and people over large distances. In most countries, high-speed transportation pollution is serious along the train line, the expressway, or the area surrounding the airport. It is especially serious in metropolitan areas and in high population density countries like Japan. In many ways, high-speed transportation pollution is quite distinct from industrial pollution. At first glance, the impact on the environment for each flight, bullet train service, or individual automobile on the expressway looks inconsequential. It comes and goes away very quickly, at most within a few minutes. But an airplane takes off every several minutes at a major airport, and in the case ... log in or subscribe to read full text