Original Post by Griffin Brown:
Annotated Reference List
Amtrak. 2021. “FY 2020 Company Profile.” Amtrak. Accessed January 27, 2022. https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/nationalfactsheets/Amtrak-Company-Profile-FY2020-041921.pdf.
Eurail. n.d. “Everything You Need to Know About Eurail.” Eurail. Accessed January 17, 2022. https://www.eurail.com/en/get-inspired/everything-you-need-know-about-eurail.
Ge, Mengping, Johannes Friedrich, and Leandro Vigna. 2021. “4 Charts Explain Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Countries and Sectors.” World Resources Institute. Accessed January 17, 2022. https://www.wri.org/insights/4-charts-explain-greenhouse-gas-emissions-countries-and-sectors.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2018. “Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C Approved by Governments.” IPCC. UNEP. Accessed January 25, 2022. https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/.
Monnier, Jen. 2020. “Reducing Street Sprawl Could Help Combat Climate Change.” Scientific American. Accessed January 25, 2022. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reducing-street-sprawl-could-help-combat-climate-change/.
Newman, Peter and Jeffrey Kenworthy. 2015. The End of Automobile Dependence: How Cities are Moving Beyond Car-Based Planning. Island Press: Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
Nunno, Richard. 2018. “Fact Sheet: High Speed Rail Development Worldwide.” Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Accessed January 18, 2022. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-high-speed-rail-development-worldwide.
Sachs, Jeffrey D. 2015. The Age of Sustainable Development. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2021. “Fast Facts on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” EPA. Accessed January 18, 2022. https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions.
Wey, Wann-Ming and Jhong-You Huang. 2018. “Urban Sustainable Transportation Planning Strategies for Livable City’s Quality of Life.” National Taipei University. Habitat International, Volume 82: 9-27. https://doi-org.du.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2018.10.002.
In order to reduce emissions and increase accessibility within the transportation sector, upgrades need to be made for expanding public transit and railway infrastructure.
Amtrak: “FY 2020 Company Profile”
Amtrak is the primary passenger rail service in the United States; heavily backed by the federal government itself. Through over 21,000 miles of routes, Amtrack is able to serve over 500 destinations in 46 states, D.C., and even into 3 Canadian provinces (Amtrack 2021). While this profile highlights progress made within the company to improve rail systems, it also includes quality information on the network itself. This includes data regarding revenues, ridership concentrations, high speed lines, distance of routes, and much more. Considering that a prominent portion of this capstone will be focused on improving rail infrastructure in the country, including information on how things currently stand is a necessary component. The ability to compare Amtrak information with rail progress made elsewhere in the world will help make the argument of how the United States can improve their own network.
Eurail: “Everything You Need to Know About Eurail”
Although Eurail is a company that sells rail passes for international travelers, their site contains information regarding the expansive network in which it operates. Through this network, the Eurail system connects 33 countries and services 40,000 destinations (Eurail n.d.). Considering that the capstone will look to compare the United States’ rail network to the foreign systems, evaluation of how Europe approaches rail travel will be a very valuable component. Some of the countries that will be used for comparison do not have similar geopolitical tendencies as the United States. However, many European countries are much more similar, geopolitically speaking. Therefore, comparing the rail systems in the United States and Europe might be more tangible than some of the other examples presented.
Monnier, Jen: “Reducing Street Sprawl Could Help Combat Climate Change”
The way this nation has built and expanded cities has had a significant impact on the environment. Not only does urban sprawl intrude on natural land and biodiverse ecosystems, but it promotes automotive dependence. More often than not, these primarily residential areas are not equipped with nearby commercial centers or accessible public transit networks. Therefore, these sprawl-influenced communities are heavily influence by the need to drive to wherever residents need to go. This includes going to doctor’s offices, grocery stores, and schools, as well as to and from business districts for the daily commute. All this dependence on driving leads to greenhouse gas emissions that could be avoided with better community planning. Because this capstone will have a focus on improving public transit, it is important to acknowledge some of the factors that are holding it back. The current state of sprawl in the United States has interfered with the expansion of public transportation and has helped foster automotive dependence.
Nunno, Richard: “Fact Sheet: High Speed Rail Development Worldwide”
Both European and Asian countries have had a heavy emphasis on expanding and improving railway infrastructure in recent decades. Through this article from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, data regarding high-speed rail growth in various countries is assessed. This discusses the origins of high-speed rail in Japan and how it has grown in the country since, the expansiveness of the high-speed network in Europe, the rapid development of high-speed rail in China, as well as how the United States compares. This article also contains rail statistics for the countries that have invested in high-speed systems. As the capstone itself will look to compare the United States rail network to the success stories from abroad, this resource will certainly be valuable for the sake of assessment.
EPA: “Fast Facts on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions”
Considering that greenhouse gas emissions are a major component as to why the national transportation system needs to be improved, statistics regarding current transportation emissions are vital. It would be a very difficult task to make this case if information is not provided. Therefore, this webpage does just that. It includes information on greenhouse gas emissions by sector; in which transportation proves to be the highest (EPA 2021). Information is also included for emissions within the transportation sector, mainly by vehicle type. Additionally, this includes links to pamphlets that dig deeper into transportation emissions and how they’ve changed in the past few decades. This data will be extremely valuable for pointing out specific issues within transportation itself, the progresses made, and the best ways the country can capitalize on upgrades.
My Comment:
Hi Griffin,
1. Are the writer’s sources likely to persuade an audience that the writer’s purpose is valid? Why or why not?
Yes, sources aid in convincing the audience that the argument is pressing and valid. Great use of different types of reputable sources. It would even be useful to get additional sources that provide a viewpoint of others talking about Amtrak and Eurail because it could prevent biased relative to getting information primarily from the websites of those companies. Also, the charts from the World Resources Institute will be useful to visually convey the problem in the argument. A professor from another class actually sent us over the source from the IPCC that you’re using to communicate the effects of global climate change. That said, good idea to incorporate that one into the list. Then, the article by Jen Monnier helps connect your solution to the problem. The EPA is a great example of a reputable government source to use in this context. Also, I am glad that you are using a peer-reviewed journal to bring the most credible type of source into the solution’s logic.
2. Do the sources acknowledge and respond to the audience’s point of view? Why or why not?
Yes, the sources are primarily from government and business websites who hold perspectives that deeply influence the Department of Transportation. The sources provide information that is detailed enough to go beyond aspects that the Department of Transportation has already considered. The source by Newman and Kenworthy aligns with the forward-thinking tone that was effective in the permission memo.
3. Are the writer’s sources relevant, reliable, credible, and valid? Why or why not?
The sources are revenant, reliable, credible and valid.
4. Are the references in correct author-date format? Why or why not?
Almost! Take a look at the formatting of all the reference entries.
For example,
Here is your version of the peer-reviewed reference entry:
Wey, Wann-Ming and Jhong-You Huang. 2018. “Urban Sustainable Transportation Planning Strategies for Livable City’s Quality of Life.” National Taipei University. Habitat International, Volume 82: 9-27. https://doi-org.du.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2018.10.002 (Links to an external site.).
My edit is:
Wey, Wann-Ming and Jhong-You Huang. 2018. “Urban Sustainable Transportation Planning Strategies for Livable City’s Quality of Life.” Habitat International 82 (December): 9-27. https://doi-org.du.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2018.10.002