How would a trucking hub affect the environment?
More trucks, more pollution.
While long-haul trucks account for less than 6% of the vehicle miles traveled over U.S. highways, they account for about 40% of the emissions of air-polluting particulate matter (PM 2.5) and about 55% of nitrogen oxides -- the precursor to ozone in the atmosphere.
Freight trucks primarily use diesel engines, which emit fine-particulate exhaust, which poses a cancer risk 7.5 times larger than all other air toxins. Diesel exhaust is classified as a Group 1 (highest level) carcinogenic, according to the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Some large trucks can produce as much pollution as 150 cars. Most diesel trucks only get 5-6 mpg, guzzling hundreds of gallons a week, and spewing the noxious chemicals into the air we breathe.
Less trees, less oxygen.
The 128 acres of greenspace includes over a thousand mature trees. One mature tree produces about 260 pounds of oxygen a year; two mature trees provide enough oxygen for a family of four for a year. In addition to providing us with oxygen, mature trees also remove carbon from the air.
If the development proceeds, there will be more than a thousand fewer trees removing carbon from the air after the development, while simultaneously adding more carbon to the air through increased diesel exhaust.
Mature trees are home to hundreds of organisms. 326 species in North America are dependent on Oak trees alone. Despite being designated as a Tree City by the Arbor Day Foundation, Homewood has no plans to replace the hundreds of trees and habitats that the development will destroy.
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