Today’s Headlines

  • White House to change the way it counts jobs "created or saved" by last year’s $787 billion stimulus … though not necessarily in a more transparent fashion (ProPublica)
  • LaHood: "You see no criticism of ‘cash for clunkers’ in America" (Motor Trend)
  • States expressing skepticism about EPA’s plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in the absence of congressional action (WSJ)
  • Why China’s trains are performing so technologically well (TNR’s The Vine)
  • Obama administration and congressional officials greeted by protests and tough bailout questions at the Detroit auto show (Reuters, AnnArbor.com)
  • The auto show also brings a $10m competition to build a 100-mpg car — does this mean GM’s claim to triple-digit fuel efficiency is officially debunked? (Det News)
  • Minneapolis area wracked by suburban-urban clash over transport funding (Star Trib)
  • On the lighter side, a roundup of coverage of this weekend’s "No Pants" transit-riding experiment (USAT, AP, SunBreak, WSJ Blog)

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Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
New joblessness figures are raising pressure on the White House for job-creation action, with Oberstar still pressing more infrastructure funding as a solution (WSJ) Illinois area lawmakers pitching a rail tourism corridor (Tribune) Is America headed for a canal trolley-boat comeback? (TNR’s The Vine) In Washington D.C., every locality wants to play host to Northrup […]

Pelosi: Gas Tax Hike Doesn’t Have Majority Support in Congress

By Elana Schor |
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? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) […]

New Study Shows $56 Billion in Hidden Health Damage from Autos

By Elana Schor |
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. (Photo: MetroDCLiving.com) In […]

Automakers Oppose Congressional Bid to Bar EPA From Limiting Emissions

By Elana Schor |
The auto industry today aligned with the White House in the debate over a congressional bid to block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating carbon emissions while lawmakers work to pass a climate bill, warning that such an attempt to yank EPA authority "would collapse" last year’s agreement to raise fuel-efficiency standards. (Photo: TreeHugger) […]

2008: Year of the Bicycle?

By Jason Varone |
Ahead of this week’s National Bike Summit in Washington, DC, syndicated columnist Neal Peirce wonders if 2008 will be "bicycling’s best year since the start of the auto age." He writes about developments promoting the bicycle as a legitimate form of transportation around the world, many of which have been featured right here on Streetsblog: […]

Fact Check: Congestion Pricing is Not a “Regressive Tax”

By Aaron Naparstek |
One of the most oft-repeated slams against congestion pricing we heard at this week’s Congestion Mitigation Committee hearings is that congestion pricing would be a "regressive tax," an unfair burden to poorer New Yorkers. Is congestion pricing regressive? The data suggests otherwise. As the chart above shows, even in Brooklyn Council member Lew Fidler’s heavily […]