Climate Change
Talking Headways Podcast: Uber and the Case of the Hidden Gas Tax
Uber is celebrating. DC passed an Uber-legalization law that Uber thinks cities the world over should follow. The problem is, most cities have much more tightly regulated taxi industries than DC, with a far higher cost of entry. In those cases, letting Uber get away with providing taxi services while complying with none of the rules is unfair. The taxi companies have been screaming about this for a while now. Uber's response is something like, "Catch me if you can, old geezer." DC's contribution to that conversation strengthens Uber's position.
November 11, 2014
Sustainable Transportation Could Save the World (and Save $100 Trillion)
Dramatically expanding transit and active transportation over the next few decades could reduce carbon emissions from urban transport 40 percent more than following a car-centric trajectory. And it could also save the world economy $100 trillion.
September 23, 2014
Transit Union and Sierra Club Join Forces for Earth Day and Beyond
Earth Day is a week from tomorrow. How many people will drive to their local environmental festival without even a second thought to how they got there?
April 15, 2014
DC Region’s New Long-Range Plan Fails to Meet Its Own Climate Goals
If sea levels rise just one foot in the Washington, DC, area, nearly 1,700 homes could be lost. Is the region’s transportation planning agency doing enough to stop that from happening? Several environmental and smart-growth organizations in the region are saying no. Seventeen groups have signed on to a letter, being delivered today, urging the agency to take action. The comment period on the agency's latest long-range transportation plan closes tomorrow.
April 11, 2014
What Will Our Future Be Like If We Don’t Change How We Get Around?
How will Americans get around in the year 2030? A recent report from the RAND Corporation lays out two "plausible futures" developed though a "scenario analysis" and vetted by outside experts. While RAND takes a decidedly agnostic stance toward the implications of each scenario, the choice that emerges is still pretty stark.
December 5, 2013
“Bike-Washing” the Keystone Pipeline [Updated]
Houston-based architecture firm SWA Group has heads spinning today: Is their proposal to build a bikeway next to the Keystone Pipeline pure satire or a serious attempt to "bike-wash" the most reviled fossil fuel distribution project of our day?
October 29, 2013
Obama’s Climate Speech: Mostly Mum on Transportation
President Obama announced a sweeping package of measures to address climate change today. But with a couple of exceptions, he was largely silent on the 27 percent of carbon emissions that come from the transportation sector.
June 25, 2013
Will Big Highway Projects Have to Consider Climate Change?
Since 1970, the National Environmental Protection Act has required federal agencies to consider the impacts of their projects on air, water, and soil pollution -- but not on climate change.
March 21, 2013
Will Driverless Cars Add Another Color to Australia’s Heat Maps?
Here's the big news of the day: Autonomous cars are making a big splash at the Consumer Electronics Show right now. Audi is testing its self-driving cars on Nevada roads. Google's already done it in California. Toyota and Lexus are getting ready too.
January 10, 2013
Weathering the Next 108-Year Storm
Deron Lovaas is the Federal Transportation Policy Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. This article is cross-posted from his blog on Switchboard.
November 2, 2012