Climate Change
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Mayor’s Office: Electric Cars Must Comply With PlaNYC Goal of Fewer Cars
New York City is not looking to create infrastructure for charging cars on city streets. Image: theqsqueaks via Flickr. “Electric vehicles are here. They’re coming, and they won’t stop.” Last night, DOT Deputy Commissioner Bruce Schaller opened a panel discussion on electric car adoption in New York City with an implicit message: We should be … Continued
February 12, 2010
PlaNYC Report Takes a Restrained Approach to Promoting Electric Cars
Last week, the Mayor's Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability released its newest report, "Exploring Electric Vehicle Adoption in New York City" [PDF]. In a breezy 22 pages, it lays out some strategies to maximize electric vehicle purchases by so-called early adopters in the next five years.
January 29, 2010
The MA Senate Race: Consequences for Transport and Climate Policy
Democrats awoke this morning to find their worst fears realized, as lackluster Senate hopeful Martha Coakley (D-MA) was upset by Republican Scott Brown. Voters, lawmakers, and advocates are left to wonder what becomes of their issues in a year already marked by political upheaval.
January 20, 2010
Pollution Pricing? NY Among 11 States to Back Low-Carbon Fuel Rules
While many in Washington spent their holiday breaks wondering if Senate Democratic opposition would deal a major blow to progress on a climate change bill, eleven northeastern governors were agreeing on a deal that suggests otherwise.
January 4, 2010
Senate Climate Bill Invests Big in Transit, Reaps Big Deficit Reduction
As the Copenhagen climate talks reach a turning point, congressional negotiations over emissions cuts are taking a back seat to global debate. But some undeniably good news on the domestic front came late yesterday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
December 17, 2009
Jan Gehl on Sustainable Transport in Copenhagen and NYC
While in Copenhagen to film the Danish capital's world-beating bike infrastructure, Streetfilms' Elizabeth Press caught up with urban planner extraordinaire Jan Gehl for a brief, canal-side chat. In this clip, Gehl explains how cycling and transit fit within the city's sustainability agenda, and why "unnecessary transportation" threatens the global climate.
December 15, 2009
Streetfilms: Copenhagen’s Climate-Friendly, Bike-Friendly Streets
Tens of thousands of people from nearly every nation on earth have descended on Copenhagen this month for the UN climate summit. As the delegates try to piece together a framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they're also absorbing lessons from one of the world's leading cities in sustainable transportation. In Copenhagen, fully 37 percent of commute trips are made by bike, and mode share among city residents alone is even higher.
December 14, 2009
A Message from Copenhagen: Climate Plan Must Include Walkable Urbanism
At a panel discussion yesterday at the Copenhagen climate summit, American policymakers and transit experts delivered a clear message: Walkable urban development must be part of any effective plan to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to the magic of live webcasts, I can relay a few highlights for Streetsblog readers.
December 9, 2009
The Climate Pitfalls of Denmark’s Electric Car Parking Perk
Outside of China, only two cities of more than a million people are known to have a bicycling mode-share over 30 percent: Amsterdam and Copenhagen. As Rutgers urban expert John Pucher has documented, cycling's vibrantly high percentage of urban trips throughout Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany was not the product of amorphous cultural factors. Rather, it came about through public policies that not only made cycling safe and convenient but also made driving costly and cumbersome.
December 4, 2009
Boxer Okays Senate Climate Bill, Without Amendments or GOP
The Senate environment committee approved its climate change bill today on a 10-1 vote, shrugging off a boycott by all of the panel's Republicans but missing out on the chance to consider amendments to the lengthy legislation.
November 5, 2009