Energy
Basics
Republicans Have Their Own Plan to Pay for Infrastructure Jobs: Oil Drilling
President Obama has proposed a plan to pay for the American Jobs Act, the $447 billion bill to create 1.9 million jobs, including $50 billion for infrastructure. His "pay-for" plan includes limitations on itemized deductions for the wealthy and the elimination of some tax loopholes for oil and gas companies.
September 30, 2011
“Drill Baby Drill” Won’t Solve America’s Energy Problems
House Republicans are calling for offshore oil drilling as an answer to foreign oil dependency and high gas prices -- and they're not the only ones. President Obama recently announced his intention to cut oil imports by one-third by 2025, partly by increasing domestic production was the answer to the country's energy woes. In his speech announcing the plan, Obama barely mentioned transit and land use, even though more and more evidence points to these as real solutions for high gas prices.
April 11, 2011
EPA: Energy Efficiency Is About Location, Location, Location
Where we live has an enormous impact on energy use, according to new research commissioned by the EPA. The report, "Location Efficiency and Housing Type -- Boiling It Down to BTUs" finds that Americans use far less energy if they live in an apartment building in a transit-oriented neighborhood than if they live in a detached suburban house, even if that house has green building features and sports fuel-efficient cars in the driveway.
March 3, 2011
To Address Demand for Oil, We Must Focus on Transportation
Editor's note: Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) sent us this commentary on the the BP oil spill, climate change and the need for transportation reform.
June 21, 2010
APHA Tallies ‘Hidden Health Costs’ of Transportation Status Quo
The nation's transportation planning process fails to account for more
than $200 billion per year in "hidden health costs" imposed by traffic and air
pollution, according to a new report from the American Public Health
Association (APHA) that maps the nexus between infrastructure and
health care.
May 20, 2010
Transit Industry and State DOTs Agree: Senate Climate Bill Needs ‘Rewrite’
The transit industry's leading D.C. lobbying outlet today joined the umbrella group for state DOTs and two major construction groups to protest the Senate climate bill's failure to set aside all of the revenue from its proposed new fuel fees for infrastructure projects -- specifically, to the cash-strapped highway trust fund that is generally split, 80-20, between roads and transit.
May 19, 2010
Behind the Transport Industry’s Lament About the Senate Climate Bill
While transport reform advocates hailed last week's long-awaited Senate climate bill for directing an estimated $6 billion-plus towards local land use planning and green infrastructure, state DOTs and construction interests criticized the legislation -- suggesting that the measure's sponsors could face stiff resistance from the transportation industry's mainstream despite making concessions to win over all sides.
May 17, 2010
Senate Climate Bill Would Send $6B-Plus to Cleaner Transportation
Transportation would receive more than
$6 billion of the revenue generated by selling carbon emissions
permits to fuel providers under a new Senate climate bill introduced
today by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT).
May 12, 2010
Senate Climate Bill to Feature Transport Carbon Cap — But No Trading
Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) are set to roll out their long-awaited, somewhat delayed climate change bill tomorrow without onetime co-sponsor Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
May 11, 2010
GAO: Economic Recovery Benefits of ‘Cash for Clunkers’ Are ‘Uncertain’
"Cash for clunkers," the White House's much-touted program encouraging trade-ins for more fuel-efficient autos, had an "uncertain" impact on economic recovery, according to a new audit from the independent Government Accountability Office (GAO) -- largely because it remains unclear how many of the car sales it spurred would have occurred without taxpayer subsidies.
April 30, 2010