Energy
Streetsblog Basics
Billionaire Oil Driller Serving as Romney Energy Advisor
When it comes to transportation and energy policy, it's tough to tell exactly where Mitt Romney stands, but there's a lot to be learned by watching whom he's keeping close.
August 14, 2012
To Address Demand for Oil, We Must Focus on Transportation
Editor's note: Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) sent us this commentary on the the BP oil spill, climate change, and the need for transportation reform.
June 21, 2010
The Moral Imperative of the BP Oil Spill: Drive 20 Percent Less
Editor's note: This is an essay from Jason Henderson, a Geography Professor at San Francisco State
University. He was born and raised in New Orleans and spent many years
exploring Louisiana's wetlands. He is currently writing a book about
the politics of mobility, and frequently advocates for reduced car
parking and improved bicycle space in San Francisco.
June 14, 2010
Transit Industry and State DOTs Agree: Senate Climate Bill Needs ‘Rewrite’
The transit industry's leading D.C. lobbying outlet today joined the umbrella group for state DOTs and two major construction groups to protest the Senate climate bill's failure to set aside all of the revenue from its proposed new fuel fees for infrastructure projects -- specifically, to the cash-strapped highway trust fund that is generally split, 80-20, between roads and transit.
May 19, 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
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
New Study Shows $56 Billion in Hidden Health Damage From Autos
Transportation's effects on public health are rarely discussed by policy-makers, but they remain very real -- and the National Research Council (NRC) put a number on them Monday, reporting that cars and trucks have about $56 billion in "hidden" health costs that are not reflected in the price of oil or electricity.
October 20, 2009
Senate Climate Bill Released With Much Fanfare, Little Focus on Transport
Includes Provision That Would Allow NYC Hybrid Taxi Fleet
September 30, 2009
Report: 10 Percent Transit Growth Would Help Meet House Climate Target
A 10 percent annual increase in U.S. transit ridership would reduce CO2 emissions by 180 million tons each year, taking the nation halfway to the target set by the House climate change bill within three years, according to a report [PDF] released today by Environment America and the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
September 22, 2009
The House Is Debating Its Climate Legislation Right Now [Updated]
Kate Sheppard from Grist is Tweeting the heck out of the climate bill debate on the floor of the House of Representatives today (218 votes and counting). Barbara Boxer, who is working on the Senate version of this bill, yesterday reminded sustainable transport advocates that this is probably going to be their only chance in the next 18 months to get something done in Congress.
June 26, 2009