| Introduction | | | | 16.20Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 73.20Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| Logistics constitute a vital link in the present day | | | | 162.24Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 255.31 |
| transportation systems. They have improved the cost, | | | | Chennai             |
| efficiency and reliability aspects of our delivery | | | | 2.34Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.02Â Â Â Â Â |
| systems comprising the end part of supply chain. | | | | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 28.21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| However, the negative environmental impact of | | | | 50.46Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 143.22Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 226.25 |
| transport movements leading to high fuel consumption | | | | Hyderabad         |
| emissions, enhanced noise levels, movement vibrations | | | | 1.94Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.56Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| and accident rates have now reached such high | | | | 16.84Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| proportions that the sustainability issues have inevitably | | | | 56.33Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 126.17Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 202.84 |
| come to the forefront of discussions all the world over. | | | | Jaipur                 |
| Logistics, including the reverse distribution logistics, have | | | | 1.18Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.25Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| to be made environment friendly. In this context, | | | | 15.29Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| ‘Green Logistics' assumes great significance. | | | | 20.99               51.28        |
| Present day transportation owes much to modern | | | | 88.99 |
| technology which has indeed helped develop a high | | | | 1. Kanpur              |
| degree of organization and control over freight | | | | 1.06Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.08Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| movements not only within a country but also across | | | | 13.37Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| the seven seas. Technology could be called the most | | | | 22.24Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 48.42Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| effective driver of growth of transportation industry | | | | Â 6.17 |
| today. It is however paradoxical that logistics providers | | | | Lucknow           |
| in their eagerness to serve own narrow and | | | | 1.14Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| commercial interests have lost sight of the objectives | | | | 0.95Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| of green logistics. The conflict between industry's | | | | 9.68Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| self-interest and the much-avowed green objectives | | | | 22.50Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 49.22Â Â Â |
| therefore deserves serious debate and action. | | | | Â Â Â Â Â 83.49 |
|  The objective of this paper is to discuss the | | | | Nagpur              |
| significance of the concept of green logistics, transport | | | | 0.55Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| industry related green house gas (GHG) emissions, air | | | | 0.41Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| quality management in urban agglomerations, modal | | | | 5.10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| shift issue, use of bio-fuels and sustainability issues in | | | | 16.32Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 34.99Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| general. | | | | 57.37 |
|   What is Green Logistics? | | | | Grand Total     35.31          |
|   The concept of ‘greenness' came to be | | | |  29.84         422.88           |
| discussed in relation to the transportation industry | | | | 809.69 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2299.21Â Â Â 3597.20 |
| during the eighties and nineties, especially after the | | | | Source: (3) |
| World Commission on Environment and Development | | | | Â The air pollution levels in our cities are disturbing |
| Report, 1987 announced environmental sustainability as | | | | indeed. The number of motor vehicles moving on Indian |
| a goal for international action. The transportation | | | | roads today is certainly much more than the figure of |
| industry was identified as one of the culprits | | | | 7.2 crore in 2004 (See Table 3). What is more |
| contributing to environmental degradation. Studies and | | | | alarming is their concentration in metropolitan cities like |
| reports had also suggested that environment ought to | | | | Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Delhi, for instance, |
| be incorporated in the logistics framework or supply | | | | which had 1.4 percent of Indian population accounted |
| chain paradigm. The term ‘green logistics' has since | | | | for 7 percent of total motor vehicles in the country. |
| then become a catchword. | | | | Another worrying feature is that while the share of |
| Â Traditionally, logistics takes care of the forward | | | | mass transport (buses) is quite below the desired |
| distribution of products which includes transport, | | | | range of 60-85 for two million plus cities, the share of |
| warehousing, packaging, inventory management and | | | | personalized transport (cars and two wheelers) and |
| information processing starting from the producer to | | | | para- transit (autorikshaws and taxis) is above the |
| the retailer and end user. Environmental considerations | | | | optimal range of 10-20 in most cities. |
| require that, as a corollary, care has also to be taken | | | | Â The impact of such a rapid growth of vehicle |
| of ‘reverse logistics' which involves recycling and | | | | population in the background of grossly inadequate |
| disposal of waste and used materials. Reverse flow | | | | road space, poor street furniture, illegal encroachment |
| logistics have, in fact, opened up a new market for the | | | | by hawkers, parked vehicles and pavement dwellers |
| take back (10). In fine, the entire life cycle of a product | | | | can be easily imagined. Most Indian cities today face |
| - production, distribution, consumption and disposal - has | | | | severe traffic congestion, especially during peak hours |
| to be considered as part of logistics. Since quite a few | | | | when vehicle speeds slow down to 5-10 kms per hour |
| related operations like inventory, materials handling, | | | | in central business district areas. Vehicular emissions in |
| packaging etc may be outsourced to other agencies, | | | | the form of CO2, HCs and NOx drastically increase |
| operational integration assumes great significance in | | | | the pollution levels. |
| the total supply chain. In other words, the various | | | | Â Mass transport services like buses and suburban rail |
| independent operations linked together on a | | | | systems are generally overcrowded. They are |
| transactions-to-transactions basis are buffered by | | | | irregular and involve long waiting times. This naturally |
| inventory.  The focus is on maintaining a continuous | | | | leads to a massive shift to personalized transport and |
| flow of desired velocity by synchronizing all the | | | | para-transit modes. In India owning a motor car is still |
| activities which form part of the supply chain. | | | | considered a status symbol. As a result the neo-rich |
| Â The key benefit of establishing an effective | | | | are fast joining the car-owners club and it is feared |
| connectivity is the minimization of transport costs | | | | that the situation may worsen after the rupees |
| incurred by firms. The logistics expenditure is | | | | one-lakh nano car arrives on Indian roads. All this may |
| comprised of following elements: (a) In-bound logistics | | | | also lead to a soaring up of accident rates to dizzy |
| cost (operations), (b) Out-bound logistics cost | | | | heights. It is time we listen to the wake up call and |
| (marketing and sales), (c) Service cost, and (d) | | | | save ourselves from turning into a car-oriented society. |
| Management profit (12). The hallmark of an effective | | | |  Air Quality Management - Measures     |
| integration in supply chain is (a) Transit time | | | | Â Â It is obvious that we need to act without delay |
| compression, (b) Reliability of service,, (c) Just in time | | | | through effective intervention in the transport sector. |
| (JIT) delivery (d) Good information systems support, | | | | Green transport through green logistics should be our |
| (e) flexibility in operations (f) Customization and (g) | | | | goal. Maintenance of air quality standards is possible |
| Minimization of ‘back haul' or empty trucks in return | | | | through setting an ambient air quality monitoring |
| journey. The same criteria apply to reverse logistics | | | | network for vehicular emissions and simultaneously |
| which require management of products returned by | | | | helping motorists to make the transition. The variety of |
| customers, their recycling or reuse, repair or removal | | | | measures that need to be undertaken can be on |
| of products and finding alternate channels to sell | | | | following lines: |
| impaired assets (18). All these have environmental | | | | Â |
| implications. | | | | - (a) Diesel engines emit carbon particles TSP, heavy |
| Â Transport administration, as part of supply chain is | | | | hydrocarbons, sulphate and other by-products of |
| also of great significance. It involves expertise in | | | | combustion, and petrol engines also emit CO, NO and |
| vehicles and equipment scheduling, load planning, routing | | | | other volatile compounds. However, diesel engines are |
| of freight, advance shipment notification, consolidation | | | | considered as relatively dirtier and government should |
| of cargo, tracing the movement of cargo as part of | | | | discourage their use through suitable policy measures |
| control and an efficient information system. It also | | | | including differential pricing (14). |
| involves documentation in terms of bill of lading and | | | | Â |
| shipment manifest and what is quite important, a | | | | - (b) The government should promote the use of |
| competitive pricing strategy (2, 4). | | | | alternative cleaner fuels like liquefied petroleum gas |
| Â In modern times international trade has become a | | | | (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG). Thankfully, |
| bigger part of world's economic activity. The role of | | | | it is already doing this gradually and effectively. The air |
| transportation in the global supply chain is now all the | | | | quality in Delhi and Mumbai has certainly improved after |
| more important. Transporters may use a combination | | | | their use in public transport buses and autorikshaws. It |
| of modes like air, road, rail, water, pipelines and | | | | should also take care to establish CNG filling stations |
| inter-modal. Trucking is normally more expensive than | | | | along all major roads. Another good news, according |
| rail or water but it provides the advantage of | | | | to a Research Report by Frost and Sullivan ( ), is that |
| door-to-door shipment and shorter delivery times. It | | | | car makers in India are soon likely to roll out models |
| also eliminates the need for transfer or transshipment | | | | that run on alternative fuels like CNG and LNG. They |
| between pick-up and delivery points. Shippers | | | | are also developing a converter kit which will transform |
| therefore often prefer road transport over rail for all | | | | an existing petrol and diesel vehicle into a CNG/LPG |
| short distance movements within the country. When it | | | | driven vehicle. Such converter kits for three-wheelers |
| comes to global trade, water transport becomes the | | | | are already in the market. After this conversion India |
| dominant mode, although air transport is also preferred | | | | will actually need 10,000 CNG pump stations whereas |
| for light-weight and perishable cargo. | | | | today their number is less than 5000 across 15 cities. |
| Â Transport Industry and Green House Gas (GHG) | | | | Â |
| emissions | | | | - (c) Use of old vehicles should be effectively curbed. |
| Â Â Transport is certainly an energy- intensive industry | | | | Shortage of finance or fear of unemployment should |
| involving high levels of direct and indirect GHG | | | | not come in the way of enforcement of government |
| emissions. According to Carbon Budget and Trends | | | | directives. Petitions for judicial intervention should be |
| Annual Report, 2007, global carbon emissions rose | | | | quickly dealt with. Obsolete models, except those used |
| rapidly during 2007 with industrializing nations like China | | | | for vintage car ralleys, ought to be made to retire. |
| and India producing more than half of mankind's output | | | | Â |
| of carbon dioxide CO2 which happens to be the main | | | | - (d) Improvement in fuel quality in terms of lower |
| cause of global warming (11). The Report states that | | | | surphur content in diesel and lower benzene and |
| emissions from burning fossil fuels was the major | | | | aromatics in petrol should be enforced. The |
| contributor to CO2 increase and India would soon | | | | Department of Road Transport of the Government of |
| overtake Russia to become the world's third largest | | | | India has rightly promulgated Rules in April 1995 |
| emitter of CO2. It should be noted that 450 parts per | | | | regarding use of unleaded petrol and fitting of catalytic |
| million (ppm) of CO2 leads to two degrees Celsius | | | | converters in new petrol-driven cars. Similarly, the |
| increase in atmospheric temperature with disastrous | | | | norms for sulphur content in petrol have been fixed at |
| consequences in terms of global warming. A wake- up | | | | 0.1% and for diesel at 0.25% |
| call to industry, business and our wily politicians is given | | | | Â |
| by recent figures of atmospheric CO2 concentration in | | | | - (e) Setting up of emission standards for all kinds of |
| general which rose to 383 ppm in 2007. This was 37% | | | | motor vehicles is necessary. Happily, the next |
| higher than the mean level. China, India, Russia and | | | | generation emission norms for two-wheelers and |
| Japan are considered as the big players in CO2 | | | | three-wheelers have been made effective from April |
| emissions and in that the vehicular pollution is the main | | | | 2005. If feasible, the government may start conducting |
| culprit(6). Country wise figures in the accompanying | | | | emission testing of motor vehicles prior to their |
| table 1 illustrate the severity (23). | | | | registration. It may be stated that the automotive |
| .Table 1 : Showing GHG emissions for select countries | | | | sector of Indian industry is quite sensitive to |
| Country                 CO2 | | | | environmental risks and safeguards. |
| Emissions             Growth Rate | | | |  |
| (In million tones)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (1990-2004) | | | | - (f) The local enforcement agencies should launch |
| Â | | | | sustained drives against smoke-belching vehicles which |
| United States                   | | | | abound in small and medium sized Indian cities. For this |
| Â 25 | | | | purpose they should bring emission testers to |
| Â Â Â 5,007Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | roadsides for inspection of vehicles. Forced retirement |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 109 | | | | of older high-polluting vehicles may be resorted to. The |
| Â Â Â | | | | government should also bring in pedestrian safety laws |
| Â Â 23 | | | | and clear footpaths of all encroachments to allow |
| Â Â Â | | | | pedestrians their right to walk safely. |
| Â Â 97 | | | | Â |
| Â Â Â | | | | - (g) Better integration between rail transport systems |
|   17 | | | | and other ‘feeder' bus services and water |
| Â Â | | | | transport facilities should be brought about by linking |
| -18 | | | | them together. Common ticketing and information |
| Canada                 | | | | systems to offer seamless connections between |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 54 | | | | different transport modes can also be thought of. |
| United Kingdom               | | | | Elevated railways integrating LRT and MRT lines may |
| Â Â 01 | | | | be constructed to discourage private car ownership. |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â 465Â Â | | | | (20) |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 93 | | | | Â Modal Shift |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Â The question of changing the modal split in favour of |
| Â 15 | | | | railways and waterways also needs to be addressed |
| World                           | | | | seriously. It is a well-established fact that road freight |
| Â Â Â Â 28 | | | | vehicle movements give out greater carbon emissions |
| _____________- | | | | per tonne kilometer than rail or water borne freight. |
| Note: Share of developed countries is 15% in world | | | | The road arteries in India these days are getting more |
| population, | | | | and more congested affecting climate change. The |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | share of rail transport in freight movements, not in |
| but 50% in CO2 emissions. | | | | absolute but relative terms, has been declining relative |
| Â Â It is also felt that since Russia is effectively | | | | to road transport, because of the accessibility and |
| reducing the emission rate, India may soon rank as third | | | | door-to-door delivery advantage enjoyed by road |
| greatest polluter after U.S.A. and China. | | | | transport. This however does not augur well from the |
| Â Addressing Urban Transport Air Pollution | | | | environment and sustainability viewpoint. There is no |
| Â Transport no doubt plays a crucial role in the proper | | | | doubt that Indian rail freight traffic during the last |
| and efficient functioning of our cities.\, but it is also | | | | decade has increased in absolute terms thanks to the |
| responsible mainly for air pollution. Vehicle emissions | | | | Container Corporation of India - a subsidiary of Indian |
| are considered a serious issue in most metro cities of | | | | Railways- playing a more customer-friendly role in |
| the world including India. The levels of Suspended | | | | providing ISO containers both at port terminals and |
| Particulate Matter (SPM) is much higher than the | | | | inland container depots (ISDs). However, for logistics |
| standard of 90 (as in 1992) set by the World Health | | | | providers road transport still continues to be the |
| Organization (WHO). A comparison of the SPM | | | | favoured mode for the reason that their criterion of |
| concentration in selected Indian Cities with that in other | | | | measuring transportation costs differs from that of the |
| Asian cities is given in Table 2. | | | | government. The costs of environmental degradation |
| Â As can be seen, in 1992 each of the three Indian | | | | for them are external and do not need internalization |
| cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata had exceeded | | | | for business accounting purposes. |
| many times over the WHO limit of 90 SPM and our | | | | Â It is here that policymakers should use their ingenuity |
| national capital was the worst offender. | | | | in evolving such fiscal, regulatory and organizational |
| Â Table 2: Figures of Average Annual SPM | | | | measures which will bring about a modal shift from |
| Concentration in Cities of Asia- During 1990-1999Â | | | | road to rail and water transport. Unfortunately, there is |
| (WHO SPM limit 90 as in 1992)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | no evidence yet of serious thinking on the part of |
| _ | | | | policymakers to bring about such environmentally |
| Bangkok          | | | | desirable modal shift from road to rail and water. The |
| 215Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Hong | | | | reason is not far to seek. The decision about mode |
| Kong          55   | | | | choice by shippers of freight involves many complex |
|                  New Delhi       | | | | issues. It depends upon a variety of factors influencing |
| 490 | | | | performance of rail freight movements and the costs |
| Beijing             | | | | in terms of money and time that is to be borne |
| 380Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | ultimately. It is therefore necessary to identify the |
| Kolkata                | | | | barriers that prevent the desired modal shift and |
| 394Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | evolve suitable measures to achieve the objective. It is |
| Seoul               101 | | | | the logistics managers who can really enlighten us on |
| Busan              | | | | the eco-friendly way of influencing mode choice.(  ) |
| 100                      | | | |   Switch to Bio-fuels          |
| Manila                  | | | | Due to soaring prices in the world oil market during the |
| 198Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | last few decades, need arose to break free from oil |
| Shanghai          250 | | | | and use alternative energy sources like bio-fuels which |
| Chonguing      | | | | would cut oil demand, provide energy security and |
| 250Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | prevent climate changes. Simultaneously, efforts were |
| Mumbai                252 | | | | begun to promote research and development in clean |
| Â The blame for rising pollution levels can be laid at the | | | | alternative energy options like wind, water, solar and |
| door of steeply rising vehicle population in Indian cities | | | | hydrogen resources. However, a switch to bio-fuels- |
| as show in Table 3. | | | | specifically ethanol - was looked upon as the easier |
| Â Table 3: Total Number of Registered Motor Vehicles | | | | way to achieve the objective (7) |
| in India during 1951-2004 | | | | Â Â The question often being asked is whether reliance |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | on bio-fuels would prove a good strategy. Researches |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Figures | | | | undertaken by International Food Policy Research |
| in thousands)Â Â | | | | Institute (IFPRI) reveal a different story (17). During the |
| Year        All          | | | | period 2000-2007 there was a boom in ethanol |
| Two          Cars, Jeeps        | | | | production. Brazil and USA controlled the market |
| Buses      Goods          Others | | | | producing 90% of ethanol. European Union (EU) also |
|              Vehicles    | | | | followed suit. Large tracts of land were diverted |
| Wheelers    & | | | | towards production of palm and soya-bean to produce |
| Taxis                           | | | | bio-diesel and towards corn and sugarcane to produce |
| Vehicles | | | | ethanol. This led to a surge in commodity prices |
| Â | | | | throughout the period. According to IFPRI, if this trend |
| 1951Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 306Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | continues, by 2020 prices of corn are estimated to rise |
| 27Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | from present 26% to 72%, of sugar from 12% to |
| 159Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | 277% and of oilseeds from 18% to 44%. This scenario |
| 34Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | is bound to have a serious impact on the poor strata |
| 82Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4 | | | | of society with diet quality getting reduced and |
| 1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 665Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | malnutrition spreading to large parts of Asia and Africa. |
| 88Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Â Â In this situation, rich countries may continue to emit |
| 310Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | majority of green house gases (GHGs)Â and the poor |
| 57Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | countries will bear the burden of climate change in |
| 168Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 42 | | | | terms of hotter climate, lesser rain, and deforestation, |
| 1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1865Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | and also low incomes, malnutrition and greater |
| 576Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | dependence on agriculture and natural resources for |
| 682Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | living. |
| 94Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 343Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Â It is feared that the risks in switching to agro-based |
| 170 | | | | fuels are real. The switch may trigger further |
| 1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 5391Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | deforestation and destruction of the ecosystem. |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2618Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Warnings are therefore being given that agro-fuel |
| 1160Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 162Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | policies should not be pursued further without a proper |
| 554Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 897 | | | | risk analysis. (1). According to a UNIDO document, "the |
| 1991Â Â Â Â Â 21374Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | key concern here is the competition between land use |
| 14200Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2954Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | for bio-energy production and food and animal food |
| 331Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1356Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2533 | | | | production." The fuel versus food issue is really |
| 2000Â Â Â Â Â 48857Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | enigmatic. The document further states that "the |
| 34118Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6143Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | coupling of energy market with food market can |
| 562Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2715Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 5319 | | | | increase food prices and hence worsen the access to |
| 2001Â Â Â Â Â 54991Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | affordable food for many" (25). This warning can be |
| 38556Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7058Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | ignored only at our peril. |
| Â 634Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2948Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Â Â It should be clearly understood that increased |
| 5795 | | | | prices may result in increased incomes for farmers |
| 2002Â Â Â Â Â 58924Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | and give them their food security, but the overall effect |
| 41581Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7613Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | would depend upon the distribution of increased |
| 635Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2974Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6121 | | | | incomes. In the opinion of the Food and Agriculture |
| 2003Â Â Â Â Â 67007Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Organization (2006) the food versus fuel issue needs |
| 47519Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8599Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | detailed analysis of the possible outcomes of bio-fuels |
| 721Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3492Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6676 | | | | policy. The Stanford University's Wood's Institute for |
| 2004Â Â Â Â Â 72718Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Environment claims that reliance on bio-fuels as part of |
| Â Â 51922Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | America's new energy plan is not a good strategy. It is |
| 9451Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 768 | | | | a fact that USA's Ethanol-from-Corn Program has led |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3749Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6829 | | | | to a rise in prices of food crops due to farmland |
| | | | diversion. (23) This can happen anywhere and in India |
| Source: (19) and Transport Research Wing, Ministry of | | | | too. Lands can be diverted for production of |
| Road Transport, G.O.I. | | | | soya-bean and sugarcane. The decision to switch |
| Â Motor vehicles are prone to emit large quantities of | | | | from fossil fuels to crop-based fuels has therefore to |
| Total Organic Gases (TOG) including hydrocarbon | | | | be taken with extreme caution. Scientists state that |
| (HC), Carbon Mono oxide (CO), Fine Particulate Matter | | | | agro-fuels production from oilseeds and corn has the |
| (PM), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), and Sulphur Oxides (SOx). | | | | potential to damage our climate catastrophically. |
| These air pollutants cause severe health and | | | | Â Â Researches are being carried out to produce liquid |
| environmental effects. The fine Particulate Matter (PM) | | | | bio-fuels for transport as such. Here the ‘first |
| results in aggravating respiratory and cardio vascular | | | | generation fuels refer to bio-energies made from |
| diseases and impairing lung function. Besides, the | | | | sugar, starch, vegetable oils or animal fats using |
| environment may get degraded by way of acid rain, | | | | conventional technologies. ‘Second generation' fuels |
| eutrophication, visibility impairment and, of course, | | | | refer to those from lingo-cellulose biomass feedback |
| climate change. According to a study published in | | | | using advanced technologies. In India, we have |
| Current Science (5), while the Indian economy grew by | | | | resorted to gasification of solid bio-mass through |
| 2.5 times during 1975-1995, the vehicle pollution level | | | | setting up small scale plants mainly in rural areas which |
| increased by 7.5 times. This is disturbing indeed. It | | | | produce heat and energy. We should upgrade the |
| shows that transport system and air pollution are | | | | technology so as to feed the gases into pipelines or |
| directly co-related. The emissions from motorized | | | | alternatively compress them for use in transport |
| vehicles in practical terms depend on vehicle | | | | vehicles. In this respect Brazil has a success story to |
| kilometers, vehicle speeds, life of vehicles and | | | | report. The production of sugarcane ethanol has |
| composition of vehicle fleet. The emission rates of | | | | reduced that country's dependence on fossil fuels and |
| different categories of vehicles are shown in Table 4. | | | | also ‘cleaned' the industry. (  ) |
| Â Table 4:Â Emission Rates of Different Categories of | | | | Â Â In fine, as long as the thrust is on producing |
| Vehicles in Typical Indian City in gms/km | | | | ‘clean' energy and on scaling down petroleum |
| Â | | | | consumption, bio-fuels can be considered as welcome. |
| Vehicle category              CO    | | | | But we must carefully assess the fall outs of switching |
|        HC        NOx     | | | | to bio-fuels. President Obama's New Energy Plan for |
|    SO2         Pb           TSP | | | | USA supports greater use of ethanol produced from |
| Â | | | | maize. This has led to increase in food prices, |
| Two- wheeler                  | | | | especially of wheat. If we in the same way produce |
| 8.3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 5.18Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | sugar ethanol in India, it may deplete our water levels |
| -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0.013Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | and degrade soil quality. Bio-fuels may not prove to be |
| 0.004           - | | | | so ‘green' after all. (23) The sustainability of |
| Motor car                       | | | | bio-fuels does not seem to be as strong as it |
| 24.03Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3.57Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | appeared earlier. |
| 1.57Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0.053Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Â References |
| 0.012Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â - | | | | Â Â |
| Three-wheeler (autos)Â Â Â Â 12.25Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | - 1. Almuth Ernsting, Deepak Rughani, Dr. Andrew |
| 7.77Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Boswell (2007): "Agro Fuels Threaten to Accelerate |
| 0.029Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0.009Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â - | | | | Global Warming", UNFCCC, Bali Version, |
| Bus                | | | | - 2. Bowersox, Closs, & Cooper (2008), Supply |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4.38Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Chain Logistics Management, McGraw Hill, 2nd edition |
| 1.33Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8.28Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | - 3. Central Pollution Control Board: National Ambient |
| 1.441Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Air Quality Statistics of India, different years |
| 0.275 | | | | - 4. Chopra Sunil and Peter Meindl (2007) : Supply |
| Â Â Â Â 3.43Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.33Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Chain Management- Strategy, Planning and operation, |
| 6.48Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.127Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Prentice Hall of India |
| -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0.450 | | | | - 5. Current Science (1999): "Urban Air Pollution- |
| Light commercial vehicle 1.30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Commentary", Vol.77, No.3, August 10, 1999. |
| o.50Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.50Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | - 6. Financial Express, November 3, 2008, Emerging |
| 0.400Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Ventures India |
| 0.100 | | | | - 7. John Browne (1997): "Bio fuels - A Solution for |
| Note: (-) indicates negligible quantity | | | | Climate Change- Our Changing Earth Climate", A |
| Source:Â (21) | | | | Presentation in the Council of foreign Relations, New |
| Â Here one can see that emission rates in terms of | | | | York, Nov.13, 1997. |
| CO and HC for personalized modes of transport like | | | | - 8. John Pucher, Nisha Korattyswaropan, Neha Mittal, |
| motor car and two wheelers are very high suggesting | | | | Ninu Ittyerah (2005): "Urban Transport Crisis in India", |
| the need for their substitution by public passenger | | | | Transport Policy 12, Elsevier, pp. 185-198. |
| transport modes lie bus or metro rail. The figures of | | | | - 9. Prodosh Mitra (2009): "Biofuels are not so green- |
| average efficiency of different categories of motor | | | | Counter view", Times of India, February 17, 2009 |
| vehicles as expressed in terms of kilometers per litre | | | | - 10. Rodrigue Jean-Paul, Brian Slack, Claude Comtois |
| are as in Table 5. | | | | (2001): "Green Logistics (The Paradoxes of)", in The |
| Â Table 5: | | | | Handbook of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Vehicle | | | | Brewer et al (eds.), Pergamon/Elsevier publishers, |
| category         _Fuel type          | | | | London Greening Business Survey 2008 |
| Kms. per litre__ | | | | - 11. Financial Express, September 22 & 29, 2009: |
| Â | | | | "Global Carbon Emissions Rise Despite Abatement |
|    Bus                        | | | | Steps" - Carbon Budget and Trends Report, 2007 |
| Diesel                    4.30 | | | | - 12. G. Raghuram and N. Rangaraj (2005): Logistics |
| Two wheeler             | | | | and Supply Chain Management- Cases and Concepts, |
| Petrol                   44.40 | | | | Macmillan, Delhi |
| Three wheeler           | | | | - 13. Hindustan Times, December 19, 2007: "India is on |
| Petrol                    20.00 | | | | an eco drive". |
| Motor car                  | | | | - 14. House of Representatives, Phillipines Policy |
| Petrol                    10.90 | | | | Advisory No.2004-03 (2004): Addressing Urban |
| Source:Â (21) | | | | Transport Pollution. |
| Â An idea of the vehicular emission loads in selected | | | | - 15. Indian Express, November 16, 2007:International |
| Indian cities can be had from the figures in Table 6. | | | | Energy Agency (IEA) Report on World Energy |
| Â Table 6: Estimated Vehicular Emission Load in | | | | Outlook |
| Selected Metropolitan Cities of India | | | | - 16. Jain, A.K. (2009): " Retrofitting Cities and Built Form |
|  Name of city   Vehicular pollution load (tonnes | | | | to Meet the Challenges of Climate Change and |
| per day) | | | | Carbon Emission", Akruti Journal of Infrastructure, Vol. II, |
| _Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Particulates | | | | No. 2, pp. 101-121 |
|   Sulphur   Oxide of      Hydrocarbons | | | | - 17. Joachin von Braun (2008): "Food Prices, Biofuels, |
|  Carbon       Total | | | | and Climate Change", International Food Policy |
|               Dioxide   | | | | Research Institute (IFPRI) |
| Â Â Â Â monoxide | | | | - 18. Sahay B.S. (Ed.) (2004): Energy Issues in Supply |
| Â | | | | Chain Management, Akruti Journal of Infrastructure, Vol. |
| Delhi                 | | | | II, No. 2, pp. 122-1 |
| 10.30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8.96Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | - 19. Sanjay K. Singh (2005): "Review of Urban |
| 126.46Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 249.57Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Transportation in India", Journal of Public Transportation, |
| 651.01Â Â Â Â Â Â 1046.30 | | | | Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 79-97 |
| Mumbai              | | | | - 20. Warwick J. McKibbin (2009): "Climate Change |
| 5.59Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4.03Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Policy for India", |
| 70.82Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 108.21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | - 21. Sibal and Sachdeva (2001), "Urban Transport |
| 469.92 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 659.57 | | | | Scenario in India and Its Linkage with Energy and |
| Bangalore           | | | | Environment", Urban Transport Journal, Vol.2, No.1, |
| 2.62Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.76Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | pp.34-55 |
| 26.22Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 78.51Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | - 22. Sudarsanam Padam & Sanjay K. Singh |
| 195.36Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 304.47 | | | | (2002), "Urbanization and Urban Transport in India- The |
| Kolkata              | | | | Sketch for a Policy, Central Institute of Road |
| 3.25Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3.65Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Transport, Pune |
| 54.69Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 43.88Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | - 23. Times of India, November 28, 2007, "Global |
| 188.24Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 239.71 | | | | Warming- Earth on Fire"- Subodh Varma |
| Ahmedabad       2.95             | | | | - 24. Tiwari Geeta (2007), "Urban Transport in Indian |
| 2.89Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Cities", Urban Age, Newspaper Essay, L.S.E. |
| 40.00Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 67.75Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | - 25. UNIDO (2007): Bio Energy Strategy- Sustainable |
| 179.14Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 292.71 | | | | Industrial Conversion and Productive Use of Bio Energy |
| Pune                  | | | | - Report |
| 2.39Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.28Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | | | | Â e-mail: shankermodak@yahoo.co. |