Norfolk Southern aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity 42% by 2034

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Norfolk Southern aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity 42% by 2034

By Norfolk Southern Corporation Jul 26, 2021 Updated Jul 26, 2021

NORFOLK, Va., July 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) today announced its science-based target to achieve a 42% reduction in scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 2034 from a 2019 base year. This commitment is another step in the company's ongoing journey to build a more sustainable future.

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[underpants]

1. Rail is much greener than trucking

At least as I understand it. One engine pulling a lot more weight and goods.

[hatrack]

2. "Emissions Intensity" - Wow, it's 2003 all over again!

WASHINGTON, December 3, 2003 — Two months after his inauguration, President George W. Bush surprised some supporters by changing his position on carbon dioxide emissions. He had pledged during his campaign for the White House to fight for a new law to reduce air pollution from power plants, but abruptly abandoned his pledge once in office. [For a report on how the president changed his views, see “The Politics of Energy: Coal—How a conservative think tank gave Bush the cover he needed to break his carbon dioxide pledge.”] One year later, the administration proposed in its place a voluntary policy that became an inviting target for critics.

The president announced this replacement proposal on February 14, 2002. The White House, in a “draft” list of Bush’s environmental accomplishments circulated in Congress, called the new plan “a realistic, growth-oriented approach to climate change.” A strictly voluntary project, it aims at reducing something called the “greenhouse-gas intensity” of the American economy. Even for some people steeped in the arcane technicalities of the climate issue, this was a new term. Basically, it is a yardstick for measuring the volume of greenhouse gases that a nation emits per unit of economic productivity.

In his proposal, Bush called for reducing U.S. greenhouse-gas intensity by 18 percent from 2002-12. This would compare with a government-projected 14 percent decline in a “business as usual” scenario, according to government estimates. Some independent experts, however, said 18 percent actually was about the same rate already being recorded in the past decade, without the additional effort that Bush’s plan envisions.

EDIT

https://publicintegrity.org/environment/the-politics-of-energy-coal-and-bushs-greenhouse-gas-policy/

[Scrivener7]

5. Made me think about "chocolaty chips" in some products that have no chocolate in them whatsoever.

[Vogon_Glory]

3. Railroad electrification would help them close in with that goal

But would cost like ****. It’s been decades since any private freight railroad has strung and energized overhead wires for long-distance freight electrification.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. The two most recent that come to mind ran exclusively between coal mines and generation plants.

{edited to add}

Muskingum Electric Railroad

The Muskingum Electric Railroad was a private coal-carrying railroad owned by American Electric Power, and started operation in 1968. MERR shuttled coal in two trains from the mine to a powerplant at Relief, Ohio (across from Beverly, OH), a distance of 20 miles. The trains were driverless and powered by automated General Electric E50C's. The road also owned two private cars, Dover Fort and Oak Lane. The line is now defunct as the captive coal mine has since run out of economically recoverable coal. The coal was harvested by the largest dragline ever to be built, "Big Muskie". The railroad closed in January 2002.

The line was the first automated railroad in the U.S.

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Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad

The Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad (reporting mark BLKM) was an electrified private railroad operating in Northern Arizona, USA within the Navajo Nation which transported coal 78 miles (126 km) from the Peabody Energy Kayenta Mine near Kayenta, Arizona to the Navajo Generating Station power plant at Page, Arizona. It was completely isolated from the national rail network and did not connect to any other railroad. As a result, like metros, light rails, and trams, it was not controlled by the Federal Railroad Administration.

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The railroad's final delivery to the Navajo Generating Station was August 26, 2019. The power plant was shut down in December 2019 due to competition from cheaper energy sources.

The electrical components of the railway were dismantled between winter 2019 and fall 2020, but the tracks have remained in place to be evaluated for future use.

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