Think Tank Responds to Report on Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels: Yawn
The National Academy of Science’s new report on the hidden health costs of U.S. reliance on fossil fuels has generated high-profile media coverage around the country, most of it focusing on the $62 billion annual estimate for coal rather than the $56 billion projection for vehicles. (Photo: SILive.com) But Greenwire’s write-up is particularly interesting, if … Continued
October 20, 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 today, 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
Transport Debate Still Stalled As Oberstar Decries ‘Lack of Political Will’
Halfway through the extra month
that Congress gave itself to resolve a long-simmering dispute over
funding the nation's transportation system, Democratic leaders remain
deadlocked over whether -- and how long -- to wait before debating a
broad reform of federal infrastructure policy.
October 16, 2009
The Oversight Gap in Team Obama’s High-Speed Rail Plan
The White House's economic stimulus law included several large new spending programs, from $4 billion for broadband to $2.4 billion for electric car batteries. But nothing has aroused so much interest -- and criticism -- as the $8 billion for American high-speed rail.
October 15, 2009
Obama Ally Breaks With White House on Timing of New Transport Bill
Sen. Dick Durbin (IL), the No. 2 Democratic leader in the upper
chamber of Congress and a close ally of the president, broke with the
White House yesterday and called for a new long-term transportation
bill to pass by early next year -- not after the Obama administration's
preferred 18-month delay.
October 13, 2009
Senate Climate Bill Delayed Yet Again As Obama Takes Nobel
As my colleague Ryan wrote earlier, the congressional climate change bill no represents the most meaningful path for urbanists, and advocates for clean transportation in general, to make their voices heard in the national debate. President Obama, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize today. (Photo: AP) So it bears repeating that the bill is losing momentum, … Continued
October 9, 2009
Streetsblog Q&A: Bush DOT Chief Backs Transport Tech Funding
Former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, who served for eight
years in George W. Bush's DOT, sat down with Streetsblog Capitol Hill
yesterday to urge that Congress add a dedicated funding stream of $1
billion each year for transportation technology to the next long-term
infrastructure bill.
October 9, 2009
Obama’s Engaged With Transit More in 9 Months than Bush Did in 8 Years
The Obama administration has brought both good news and bad news to transit riders. But here’s a positive sign you haven’t heard before, straight from Federal Transit Administration (FTA) chief Peter Rogoff: In the nine months of the new presidency, the FTA has fielded more requests for information “directly from the White House” than in … Continued
October 7, 2009
Is a Bigger Transportation Bill — This Year — Back on the Table?
That's the suggestion that an anonymous "Senate aide" made to Bloomberg News
this morning, recounting a possible White House change of heart as
mounting job losses stoke new debate over a second stimulus bill:
October 6, 2009
LaHood’s Twelve-Word Definition of ‘Livability’
The White House's effort to promote sustainable communities has prompted serious (and inadvertently humorous) hand-wringing
from conservative pundits who fear the concept of livability will
translate into governmental edicts on lifestyle choices. What's the
best way to counter such tactics?
October 5, 2009