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  3. On the surface, shopping online seems environmentally friendly: it eliminates

On the surface, shopping online seems environmentally friendly: it eliminates

游客2025-03-26  21
问题    On the surface, shopping online seems environmentally friendly: it eliminates car trips and carbon emissions. But what about the emissions from fleets of delivery vehicles bringing orders to houses? Delivery trucks also contribute substantially to the burden of PM2.5, which is associated with many effects on human health.
   Researchers recently conducted a survey of downtown Newark residents’ shopping habits and preferences to calculate the quantity of goods purchased online. They also used the information from delivery companies about the number of trucks on the road and the number of packages per truck to determine how many delivery trucks are required to distribute home shopping purchases. Finally, the researchers used transportation simulation software and data from local transportation authorities to determine the effect of delivery trucks on the transportation network, focusing on an area of downtown Newark that includes a portion of the university’s campus. They conducted similar analyses in 2001, at the dawn of the online shopping era, and again in 2008.
   Curiously, the 2008 data suggested that home shopping in Newark had grown by only 14.8% since 2001. That’s much less than the researchers predicted in their earlier study. It also contrasts with data from other researchers showing that Internet shopping increased six-fold between 2001 and 2011.
   This is an unexpected finding. However, a large proportion of their survey respondents were university students, and the convenience of Internet shopping may appeal more to people who are running a household. Also, the researchers’ latest data are from 2008, which suggests that their study underestimates the effect of home shopping on the transportation network.
   In any case, the researchers found that even though home shopping by residents of Newark grew more slowly than anticipated, traffic in 2008 was worse than they had predicted, for more home shopping purchases increase travel time, traffic delays, and vehicle emissions of the transportation network.
   While some previous studies suggest that e-commerce is associated with lower carbon emissions than traditional retail, other researchers have warned of a "rebound effect, " which occurs when gains in efficiency merely stimulate new consumption. Something similar may be going on in Newark, the results suggest.
   "We found that the total number of vehicles miles travelled hasn’t decreased at all with the growth of online shopping, " says study leader Arde Faghri. "This suggests that people are using the time saved by Internet shopping to do things like eating out at restaurants, going to the movies, or visiting friends." [br] The researchers might have come to the conclusion that______.
选项 A、online shopping has decreased the emission of greenhouse gases
B、people are cutting down on driving thanks to online shopping
C、the popularity of online shopping should be discouraged
D、online shopping fails to reduce traffic jam and carbon emissions
答案 D
解析 文章第五段说明，2008年的交通状况比预期的要差，网上购物量的增加导致出行时间增多、交通堵塞加剧和汽车尾气排放量的上升。
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