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Safety Last: Feds Rely Too Much on States’ Vision to Get to ‘Zero’
State DOTs play a central role in the safety and sustainability of transportation systems because states set policies. Here are two that do it poorly and two that do it well.
December 28, 2023
3,000 out of 3,001 Americans Want to Decarbonize Transportation — But Will the GOP Do It?
By a roughly 3,000-to-1 ratio during the public comment period, Americans support a key Biden administration climate initiative.
October 18, 2022
Congress and Auto Industry Move to Ban Cities From Regulating Self-Driving Cars
Automakers and tech companies are pushing a bill through Congress that would handcuff local governments' ability to regulate self-driving vehicles on city streets. Now city transportation officials are demanding a role in drafting legislation before it's too late.
August 2, 2017
Will U.S. DOT Get Serious About Climate Change? Here’s Cause for Optimism.
Last fall, national environmental advocates sat down with officials from U.S. DOT to talk about how federal transportation policy can address climate change.
June 3, 2016
Why Are State DOTs So Afraid of Accountability?
Deron Lovaas is the federal transportation policy director for NRDC. A version of this article appeared on his blog this morning.
September 13, 2013
NRDC Gives Gas Consumption Maps a Helpful Revision
The overwhelming sentiment that greeted our story on the gas consumption maps the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club put out last week went something like this: These are almost useful. Just about everyone agreed that looking at total fuel consumption per county wasn’t very informative without weighing that number against population.
October 5, 2012
NRDC Poll: Americans Support New Transit Twice as Much as New Roads
When asked what would solve traffic problems in their community, 42 percent of Americans say more transit. Only 20 percent say more roads. And 21 percent would like to see communities developed that don’t require so much driving. Two-thirds support local planning that guides new development into existing cities and near public transportation.
September 12, 2012
Despite New York’s Huge Transit Ridership, Albany Failing On Green Transpo
New York State might be home to more transit riders than any other state, but when it comes to the transportation policies on the books, we don't look quite so green.
December 14, 2010
California Leads Nation in Green Transpo Policies. How Does Your State Rank?
In the absence of strong guidance from the federal government on climate policy and carbon emissions, states are left to their own devices. And since transportation is the number two source of carbon emissions, accounting for 31 percent of the total, state-level transportation reform must play a large role in any serious effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
December 14, 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