Cars
GM and Chrysler Get 6,666% Return on 2009 Lobbying Investment
Washington lobbyists' 2009 spending levels became final today, and the Detroit Free Press was the first to tally auto industry data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
February 12, 2010
Report: White House Budget Office Helped Weaken EPA Pollution Rule
Pensacola, Florida. Springfield, Missouri. Fort Wayne, Indiana. All three of those metropolitan areas have populations between 350,000 and 500,000, and all three would have been required to install nitrogen dioxide monitoring stations near major roadways under a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule cracking down on the pollutant.
February 8, 2010
How Can Transit Backers Sway Conservatives? Oberstar Joins the Debate
In the years before partisan warfare became the norm in Washington, transportation tended to unite both ends of the ideological spectrum. Can rationality return to infrastructure policy debates that have become subsumed by culture clashes between cyclists and drivers, urbanists and suburbanites -- and, of course, Democrats and Republicans?
February 2, 2010
New Report Links Homeowners’ Auto Dependence With Foreclosure Risk
Homeowners in car-dependent areas without access to alternative transportation are at greater risk of foreclosure, according to a report released yesterday by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) that calls for mortgage underwriting standards to begin taking so-called "location-efficiency" into account.
January 28, 2010
EPA Strengthens Nitrogen Dioxide Rules for First Time in 35 Years
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a new "one-hour standard" aimed at limiting Americans' short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a pollutant created by cars, power plants, and other industrial sources.
January 25, 2010
For D.C. Area Residents, a Worthy Take on the Year in Transport
When the Washington Post devoted an entire transportation column to the "best and worst" of 2009 -- its content written by interest groups with a stake in adding more lanes for more cars -- Streetsblog Network member blog Greater Greater Washington (GGW) took the initiative and sent in its own retrospective.
January 19, 2010
EPA Air Chief: We Need to Do More to Reduce VMT
Obama administration officials "need to align together" to work on reducing the nation's total vehicle miles traveled -- work that should go beyond a pending congressional climate bill -- the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) air-quality chief said today.
January 14, 2010
Pelosi: Gas Tax Hike Doesn’t Have Majority Support in Congress
After touring the Detroit Auto Show yesterday with fellow lawmakers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) took one question yesterday: Why are Democrats not pursuing a federal gas tax hike, given its potential to cut carbon emissions and its support from auto industry players aiming to stoke demand for efficient cars?
January 12, 2010
Should a Climate Bill Even Try to Fight Sprawl?
The potential for a cap-and-trade climate bill to set aside significant amounts of money for reforming local land use and transportation planning is often touted by Democrats, environmental groups, and this particular Streetsblogger.
January 11, 2010