Engineering prof: Online shopping offers environmental benefit
11/28/2016 |
Shoppers sitting down at their computer to take advantage of online sales are helping the environment, says a Purdue University professor.
Gregory Shaver, a professor of mechanical engineering in Purdue Engineering, says the resulting home deliveries push the possibilities of online shopping benefiting the environment.
“If you are no longer driving from your house to the mall, then the goods you are buying online often are being delivered,” he says. “That shifts the freight transportation from your vehicle to larger freight trucks. They’re often powered by diesel and are inherently more efficient.”
Shaver says the significant growth of e-commerce during the past 15 years has resulted in more of the larger delivery trucks on the road.
“Larger vehicles are operated by fleet operators who pay attention to their bottom line,” he says. “And these vehicles are built specifically to efficiently move goods. That translates to less fuel use. With less fuel usage, there are less carbon dioxide emissions and less greenhouse gases.”
– Brian L. Huchel, http://bit.ly/2gps2lO