Charles Komanoff
Recent Posts
How to Stop Emissions Tampering
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Combustion vehicles invite law-breaking. Petro-masculinity is deep-seated in American culture. But California, at least, has vanquished emissions tampering. These are the takeaways from last week's report of super-spreader pickup trucks.
Downturn in U.S. Driving Led to Global CO2 Decline
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U.S. cars and trucks, the source of 5 percent of world carbon emissions, have accounted for a whopping 20 percent of this year’s global dip in carbon pollution. Can we keep that going?
Why Restaurant Patio Heaters Might Be a Net Gain for the Climate
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We asked our columnist — the nation's leading expert on carbon emissions — whether winter heat lamps will destroy or save our city. He came down on the latter.
NY Times Starts Embracing ‘Future without Cars’
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Times opinion writer Farhad Manjoo did more than just illustrate a vision for a car-free city that many of us have been championing, he did so in a way that clearly put the topic on the map for readers of the Gray Lady.
Coronavirus Will Go Away. Congestion Pricing Must Not
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All four bedrock conditions that justified congestion pricing in the first place will almost certainly remain — yes, even after COVID-19.
Tax Carbon to Hurt Saudis for Killing Khashoggi
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This story was originally published by the Carbon Tax Center. It is reprinted here with permission. It’s often said that a carbon tax is first and foremost a tax on coal. I’ve probably said it myself, and David Roberts wrote as much the other day in his useful post for Vox, “The 5 most important questions […]
A Carbon Tax Could Recoup Trump’s MPG Standards Cut
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All told, a carbon tax would suppress carbon dioxide emissions eight times as much as the mileage freeze will elevate them.
The New Climate Villain Is Cheap Oil
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Long-term climate prospects brightened somewhat in 2015. Pope Francis put climate care on the moral and political agenda. President Obama rejected the Keystone XL dirty-oil pipeline. Denialist heads of state were routed in Canada and Australia, and their brethren in the U.S. faced growing ridicule. To cap it off, nearly 200 nations signed the UN Paris […]
Safety in Bike-Share: Why Do Public Bikes Reduce Risk for All Cyclists?
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What if Yankees legend Yogi Berra had followed a season with 24 homers and 144 hits with one featuring 27 homers and 189 hits? Would the baseball scribes have declared “Yogi Power Shortage” because only one in seven hits was a homer instead of one in six? Duh, no. The headlines would have read, “Yogi […]
See a Pattern of Deadly Dump Trucks? Don’t Bother Federal Safety Officials
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Last Wednesday in Brooklyn, the driver of a private garbage truck ignored a bicyclist riding alongside and crushed him as the truck rounded a corner, according to a preliminary NYPD investigation. Police identified the victim as Eling Rivera, 51, of East New York. Photo: So Cal Metro/Flickr No definitive count is available, but Rivera’s death […]
“Black Box” Standard for New Cars Could Be Big Gain for Street Safety
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The auto safety bill working its way through Congress includes a provision with major implications for traffic enforcement and safer streets: a rule to equip new cars with "black boxes" capable of recording up to 60 seconds worth of pre-crash data. The NYPD investigation into the 2008 crash that killed cyclist Rasha Shamoon relied heavily […]
High Gas Prices Won’t Cure Gridlock
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It’s the New Math: a dollar-a-trip rise in the cost of fuel for a car trip to Manhattan is cutting traffic almost as much as Mayor Bloomberg’s eight-dollar toll plan would have done. Too good to be true, right? But that’s the slant of the front-page headline in today’s Times, "Politics Failed, but Fuel Prices […]