Wednesday’s Headlines Are Trying to Do Our Part
While the rich pollute the air, the bike is the answer — as long as city-dwellers keep riding them. Oh, and funding transit wouldn't be a bad idea, either.
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EST on December 22, 2021
- Sen. Joe Manchin, who killed measures to fight climate change in the Build Back Better plan before spiking the bill entirely, has a long history of listening to West Virginia coal and gas interests (New York Times). The coal miners’ union, though, wants Manchin to reverse his opposition to BBB because of the green jobs and black-lung funding it contains (CNN).
- The world’s wealthiest 10 percent of people are responsible for half the carbon emissions, and that cuts across countries. Although the U.S. is a “super-emitter,” the richest people in the Middle East or Asia, for example, produce many times more emissions than the poorest in Europe. Yet solutions like a carbon tax disproportionately affect low- and middle-income people. (Grist)
- Urban residents’ recent embrace of bikes could help reduce carbon emissions, but the boom-and-bust nature of historical cycling trends makes it hard to predict. (E&E News)
- Bay Area transit agencies are facing a fiscal cliff as they burn through federal COVID cash while ridership still hasn’t recovered from the pandemic, a glaring example of the dangers of relying on fares for funding. (San Jose Mercury News)
- Portland’s TriMet transit agency received $289 million from the American Rescue Plan, but that will only stave off projected budget cuts from 2026 until 2028, and it won’t fix a driver shortage that has already led to service cutbacks. (Oregonian)
- In the hopes of improving transit efficiency, the Massachusetts DOT is letting buses drive on highway shoulders to avoid congestion. (Mass Live)
- A long-awaited South Jersey rail line is still at least six years away. (WHYY)
- A parking garage stairwell collapsed in Clearwater, Florida, killing at least one person. (WTSP)
- A Baton Rouge regional planning board is asking for feedback on a proposed bike trail winding through five Louisiana parishes. (The Advocate)
- Yes, Virginia, there is a Cycle Claus: Churches and other organizations in communities like Columbia, South Carolina (WLTX), Syracuse (CNY Central) and Virginia Beach (13 News Now) are fixing up donated bikes to give away for the holidays.
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
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