Elana Schor
Recent Posts
How Bus Transit Can Help the Auto Industry
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A map of the companies involved in the supply chain for U.S. transit buses. (Image: EDF) When Vice President Joe Biden visited Minnesota’s New Flyer bus company to tout the economic stimulus law’s $8.4 billion investment in transit, hopes were high for a boom in cleaner-burning vehicle production — which made for some bad press […]
GOP Senators Protest Evaluating the Climate Impacts of Transport Projects
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The 40-year-old National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), which requires the federal government to evaluate the environmental consequences of future projects, is a valuable tool for local residents and green groups that work to defeat highway expansions — but as Streetsblog L.A. noted earlier this year, NEPA can be an equally valuable tool for opponents of […]
Senate Climate Bill Triples the House’s Investments in Clean Transportation
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The Senate environment committee released new details of its climate change legislation over the weekend, including the share of "emissions allowances" — the revenue generated by regulating carbon in a cap-and-trade system — that the bill would reserve for various sectors of the American economy. Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the climate […]
Senate Signals 6-Month Delay for Transport Bill — But Will the House Agree?
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The Senate is leaning towards abandoning the Obama administration’s push for an 18-month delay of the next long-term transportation bill and now plans to pursue a six-month extension of existing federal infrastructure law, according to a report from CQ this afternoon: Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN) (Photo: Capitol Chatter) An industry official said the senators realized […]
Obama: Climate Pessimism More Dangerous Than Climate Deniers
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In a speech much anticipated by those tracking the D.C. environmental debate, President Obama today took on opponents of congressional action on climate change, decrying "naysayers" who "make cynical claims" that ignore scientific evidence of the harm caused by emissions. (Photo: BusinessWeek) But "far more dangerous" than the rhetoric of climate deniers or skeptics, Obama […]
Transit Creates As Many Jobs As Roads — But it Could Do Even Better
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Members of Congress remain intensely focused on health care this fall, but as the unemployment rate hits double digits in more states, their No. 2 priority is best summed up in three words: Jobs, jobs, jobs. House Democrats held a job-creation powwow yesterday that gave transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) an opening to press […]
The ‘Infrastructure Condo’ That Could Help Make High-Speed Rail Happen
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As the Obama administration prepares to roll out its ambitious new investment in high-speed rail (HSR), right-of-way — primary control over a stretch of train track, whether existing or envisioned — has become a major consideration for states that want to jumpstart local networks. (Image: CA HSR Authority) In California, freight railroad Union Pacific is […]
Seeking Stimulus Money For Bike Sharing, D.C. Looks Beyond Cutting CO2
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The Transportation Planning Board (TPB), the Washington D.C. area’s metropolitan planning organization (MPO), recently made a pitch to the U.S. DOT for a share of the economic stimulus law’s $1.5 billion in innovative transport grants. Among the suggested projects was $13 million for bike sharing, enough to expand the D.C. program into a regional network […]
GOPers Re-Name the Climate Bill Again: Now It’s a ‘Gas Tax’!
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Seven months after first trying to re-brand congressional climate change legislation as an "energy tax," Senate Republicans were back at it today with a new report and op-ed that attempts to expose the climate bill as a "$3.6 trillion gas tax." Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) (Photo: GOP Lounge) Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and […]
The Top 10 States for Energy Efficiency — And Some Surprising Achievers
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As Congress continues to debate climate change legislation that would include energy efficiency measures, states are already making progress in reducing the consumption of vehicles, utilities, and other fuel users. Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, where new building energy efficiency codes were recently adopted. (Photo: About.com) The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) singled out the […]
16 Cities That Are Leading the Way in the Climate Change Fight
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Long before Congress started to take the threat of climate change seriously, American mayors were already recognizing the need to decrease fossil-fuel consumption, promote efficiency, and generally create more livable places. Scott Smith of Mesa, AZ, the 1000th U.S. mayor to endorse emissions-reduction targets. (Photo: East Valley Trib) Scott Smith, the mayor of Mesa, Arizona, […]
The Political Climate That Makes Transportation Reform Run
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When House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) recently accused his colleagues of lacking the "political will" to pursue long-term reform of infrastructure policy, he wasn’t simply employing a D.C. rhetorical flourish. To understand what Oberstar meant, let’s travel to Berlin for a moment. A German-made high-speed rail car. (Photo: Spiegel) Colby Itkowitz, CQ’s crack […]