In addition, the hub structures of logistical systems result in a land take that is exceptional. Airports, seaports and rail terminals are among the largest consumers of land in urban areas. For many airports and seaports the costs of development are so large that they require subsidies from local, regional and national governments. The dredging of channels in ports, the provision of sites, and operating expenses are rarely completely reflected in user costs. In the United States, for example local dredging costs, were nominally to come out of a Barbour improvement tax but this has been ruled unconstitutional and channel maintenance remains under the authority of the US Corps of Army Engineers. In Europe, national and regional government subsidies are used to assist infrastructure and superstructure provision. The
trend in logistics towards hub formation is clearly not green. The actors involved in logistical operations have a strong bias to perceive green logistics as a mean to internalize cost savings, while avoiding the issue of external costs. As underlined
earlier, a survey among the managers of logistical activities pointed out that the top environmental priority is reducing packaging and waste (Murphy et al 1994). Managers were also strongly against any type of governmental regulation pertaining to the environmental impacts of logistics. These observations support the paradoxical relationship between logistics and the environment that reducing costs does not necessarily reduce environmental
impacts.