Energy
Electric Cars Got a Bigger U.S. Bet in 6 Months Than Transit Gets All Year
Vice President Joe Biden will return to his home state of Delaware today to announce that California car company Fisker Automotive will reopen a shuttered General Motors plant to build a moderately priced plug-in hybrid that goes by the code name Project NINA.
October 27, 2009
How Bus Transit Can Help the Auto Industry
When Vice President Joe Biden visited Minnesota's New Flyer bus company to tout the economic stimulus law's $8.4 billion investment in transit, hopes were high for a boom in cleaner-burning vehicle production -- which made for some bad press when the nationwide transit funding crunch forced New Flyer to lay off 13 percent of its workers.
October 26, 2009
Senate Climate Bill Triples the House’s Investments in Clean Transport
The Senate environment committee released new details of its climate change legislation over the weekend, including the share of "emissions allowances" -- the revenue generated by regulating carbon in a cap-and-trade system -- that the bill would reserve for various sectors of the American economy.
October 26, 2009
Obama: Climate Pessimism More Dangerous Than Climate Deniers
In a speech much anticipated by those tracking the D.C. environmental debate, President Obama today took on opponents of congressional action on climate change, decrying "naysayers" who "make cynical claims" that ignore scientific evidence of the harm caused by emissions.
October 23, 2009
Deeds Wants More Money for Transportation — But Not From a Climate Bill?
Earlier this week, Ryan noted Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Creigh Deeds' (D) willingness to endorse tax increases to pay for more efficient transportation -- without fully explaining what the benefits of that extra transport spending would be. Ryan wrote:
October 23, 2009
The ‘Infrastructure Condo’ That Could Help Make High-Speed Rail Happen
As the Obama administration prepares to roll out its ambitious new investment in high-speed rail (HSR), right-of-way -- primary control over a stretch of train track, whether existing or envisioned -- has become a major consideration for states that want to jumpstart local networks.
October 22, 2009
Seeking Stimulus Money For Bike Sharing, D.C. Looks Beyond Cutting CO2
The Transportation Planning Board (TPB), the Washington D.C. area's metropolitan planning organization (MPO), recently made a pitch to the U.S. DOT for a share of the economic stimulus law's $1.5 billion in innovative transport grants. Among the suggested projects was $13 million for bike sharing, enough to expand the D.C. program into a regional network that would use wi-fi internet to guide travelers.
October 22, 2009
Takeaway From Today’s EPA Hearing: Fuel Efficiency is a Money-Maker
A major step towards more fuel-efficient U.S. vehicles is being taken today in Detroit, where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. DOT are holding their first in a series of public hearings on the new emissions standards the Obama administration released in May.
October 21, 2009
GOPers Re-Name the Climate Bill Again: Now It’s a ‘Gas Tax’!
Seven months after first trying to re-brand congressional climate change legislation as an "energy tax," Senate Republicans were back at it today with a new report and op-ed that attempts to expose the climate bill as a "$3.6 trillion gas tax."
October 21, 2009
The Top 10 States for Energy Efficiency — And Some Surprising Achievers
As Congress continues to debate climate change legislation that would include energy efficiency measures, states are already making progress in reducing the consumption of vehicles, utilities, and other fuel users.
October 21, 2009