Energy
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.
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 19, 2009
Transportation Allowances in the Climate Bill: A Tale of Two Modes
To understand why the climate change bill is a top priority for urbanists, it's crucial to understand the emissions allowances that the legislation distributes. The allowances essentially put the "trade" in "cap-and-trade" -- whichever industry or state government holds them can benefit from their monetary value or use them to emit pollution under the "cap."
October 16, 2009
California Cities Lead Nation in Reducing Emissions from Streetlights
PG&E workers installing an LED streetlight. Photo: PG&E
October 16, 2009
Electrification in the Climate Bill: Thinking Bigger Than a Car
At today's Senate energy committee hearing on climate change, there was much talk about electricity -- how it could be generated under a cap-and-trade system and how prices could remain within consumers' reach even as the nation begins to put a price on carbon.
October 14, 2009
Senate Climate Bill Released With Much Fanfare, Little Focus on Transport
Flanked by fellow Democrats, members of the military, and a crowd hoisting signs with buzzwords like "clean energy" and "green jobs," Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) today released the first draft of their legislation to curb U.S. emissions and combat climate change.
September 30, 2009
LaHood Praises NYC But Shrugs at Transport Reform to Empower Cities
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood praised the New York City area's clean-transportation strategy today in a speech to the region's metropolitan planning organization (MPO), promising a stronger focus on urban priorities even as he all but ruled out two reforms long sought by the nation's cities.
September 24, 2009
New Report: 10% Transit Growth Would Help Meet House Climate Target
A 10 percent annual increase in U.S. transit ridership would reduce CO2 emissions by 180 million tons each year, taking the nation halfway to the target set by the House climate change bill within three years, according to a report [PDF] released today by Environment America and the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
September 22, 2009
Fly on the Wall Alert: Obama, LaHood, and Tom Friedman Tee Off
In yesterday's New York Times, columnist Tom Friedman published an impassioned plea for American policy-makers to reconsider their knee-jerk opposition to raising the federal gas tax or debating a carbon tax to set a more appropriate price for energy use. Friedman writes:
September 21, 2009
The New White House Fuel Efficiency Rule: Count the Loopholes
The final fuel-efficiency rule released by the Obama administration this morning includes what some lobbyists have nicknamed "the German provision," giving automakers that sell less than 400,000 vehicles in the U.S. an exemption for 25 percent of their fleet.
September 15, 2009