Transport, Energy and the Environment

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving environmental problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing policies to a professional level.
• Assess the environmental impact of transport schemes using WebTAG and related tools.
• Deal with complex environmental issues, both systematically and creatively, and make sound judgements in the absence of high quality data.
• Calculate the energy requirements and carbon footprint of transport options.
• Undertake calculations to determine air quality and noise levels and transport energy consumption.
• Continue to advance your knowledge and understanding and to develop new skills to a high level.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Manage and organise time
• Report your work effectively.
• Manipulate and analyse data
• Present data in a variety of ways
• Use creativity and innovation in problem solving
• Learn and study/research independently
• Collate and synthesise/prioritise information

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Assess a transport scheme for its environmental and energy impacts
• Identify /recall the key issues in energy and environmental policies concerning transport
• Prepare and present a critique of the key issues concerning transport and energy options for sustainable environments
• Analyse transport in terms of energy requirements and impacts in terms of noise, air quality and biodiversity.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The inter-relationships between sustainability, the environment, energy and transport.
• The role of testing equipment such as portable emissions monitoring systems and dynamometers.
• Road transport noise and emissions calculation and mitigation processes.
• Transport energy consumption calculations and technological and behavioural approaches to reducing energy consumption.
• Environmental impact assessment for transport schemes as practiced in the UK.
• British, European and International standards and UK Planning and Policy Guidelines as they relate to air quality, noise, carbon and other environmental impacts.
• The role of index numbers, ecofootprinting and carbon counting in assessing transport policies.

1. Introduction to transport, and environmental policies: indexing and footprinting.

2. Transport and energy: life-cycle approaches

3. Climate change and carbon measurement.

4. The Road Load Power Equation

5. Transport pollution: Air quality and vehicle emissions.

6. Transport pollution: Noise.

7. The sustainability paradigm.

8. Environmental Impact Assessment: Principles and practice

9. Environmental Economics: Welfare and Risk based approaches.

10. Sustainable transport fuel and vehicle technologies.

11. Sustainable transport policy instruments and case studies.

12. Course Conclusions

Teaching methods include: Lectures, seminars, technical demonstrations, class exercises and discussions.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Class Exercise

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback: Hand-outs (also presented on Blackboard) and discussed in class.
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.