Post Tagged with: "climate change"

FHWA Transportation and Climate Change Newsletter – May 2009

June 4, 2009 at 2:37 pm

(Source:  Office of Planning, Environment and Realty Federal Highway Administration)

Recent Events

House Energy and Commerce Committee Approves HR 2454. On May 21, 2009, after several days of deliberation, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved HR 2454 “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.” This includes a proposal for a cap and trade program and several provisions related to the transportation sector. It includes requirements to establish transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions goals and inclusion of a plan to achieve those goals in some metropolitan long-range transportation plans and transportation improvement programs. The legislation also calls for greenhouse gas emission standards on new vehicles including heavy duty on-road and non-road, marine, locomotive, and aircraft engines. The bill will now be referred to up to eight other House committees with jurisdiction over parts of the proposed legislation. The Senate has indicated it will take up climate legislation as well, but the timeline in the Senate is unclear.

EPA and DOT to Conduct Joint Rulemaking on GHG and CAFE Standards. EPA and DOT/NHTSA filed a joint Notice of Intent in the May 22 Federal Register to propose a coordinated greenhouse gas and fuel economy program. The program would apply to light-duty vehicles (cars, SUVs, minivans, and pickup trucks) for model years 2012-2016. Standards for model years after 2016 would be developed in a future rulemaking. EPA is considering a standard that would ramp down to an average 250 grams/mile CO2 (155 g/km) for model year 2016. Regarding fuel economy, President Obama announced on May 19 that a combined fleet average standard of 35.5 miles per gallon would apply by the 2016 model year. Preliminary analysis indicates that the combined program would lead to a reduction of approximately 890 million metric tons CO2 equivalent emissions and 1.8 billion barrels of oil for the model years covered. The Federal Register Notice is available here: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-12009.htm. A press release from the White House is available here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-National-Fuel-Efficiency-Policy/

EPA Announces 2008 Clean Air Excellence Awards. On May 13, EPA announced the recipients of its awards, including several transportation related entries. Stonyfield Farm, the yogurt maker, received an award in the category of Transportation Efficiency Innovations for strategies that led to a net 37 percent reduction of CO2 emissions in one year, despite company growth. For details on all of the 2008 award recipients see:http://www.epa.gov/air/caaac/recipients.html.

Robert Ritter Named FHWA Sustainable Transport and Climate Change Team Leader. Robert Ritter, currently a Team Leader in the FHWA Office of Planning, will be the Team Leader for FHWA’s Sustainable Transport and Climate Change Team beginning late June. Rob has been leading Phase II of the DOT Gulf Coast Study, which will further study the impacts of climate change on transportation infrastructure and operations and develop risk assessment tools. Prior to joining FHWA in 2003, Rob worked for the Eno Transportation Foundation.

State News

New York City Climate Change Risk. The New York City Panel on Climate Change released a report on climate change projections and potential risks to the city’s critical infrastructure. Global climate model projections are provided for temperature, precipitation, sea level rise, and extreme events for the New York City area. The document also includes information on the likelihood of risks associated with these impacts and their potential implications for New York City infrastructure. An appendix includes a breakdown of implications for several infrastructure categories, including transportation. The full report is available here:http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/pdf/2009/NPCC_CRI.pdf

Impacts of Climate Change in Washington State. Two studies were released discussing the impacts of climate change in Washington State. The studies were commissioned by the Washington State Legislature. The Climate Change Impacts Group at the University of Washington studied potential impacts of climate change using global climate models scaled to the Northwest, and the Climate Leadership Initiative at the University of Oregon looked at potential economic costs to Washington’s families, businesses and communities. The studies show that without action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, impacts in the state will be “profound.” For more information and links to the reports, see: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0901006.html.

Reminders

DOE Funding Available for Transportation Projects that Conserve Energy. The America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 appropriated $3.2 billion for The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. Transportation strategies are eligible for funding. Applications for the funding must come from states, Indian tribes, or local governments. Grant application deadlines are May 26 for states and June 25 for local governments and tribes. For more information, contact Diane Turchetta at 202-493-0158 or Diane.Turchetta@dot.gov, or see: http://www.eecbg.energy.gov.

2009 Transportation, Planning, Land Use and Air Quality Conference to focus on Climate Change. The conference, sponsored by the Transportation Research Board, FHWA, and others, will explore the latest research in the coordination of transportation, land use and air quality with a specific focus on climate change strategies. The conference will be held in Denver, CO July 28 and 29, 2009. For more information, see:http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/tpluaq/home.html.

If you have any suggestions for inclusion in future issues of Transportation and Climate Change News, or if you would like to receive it directly in the future, please send your suggestions or request to Becky Lupes at Rebecca.Lupes@dot.gov.

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America 2050 Forum: “Rebuilding and Renewing America — Infrastructure Strategies for the Southwest Megaregion” – June 19, 2009 @ Los Angeles, CA

May 28, 2009 at 6:22 pm

On Friday, June 19, America 2050 will be co-hosting the next “Rebuilding and Renewing America” forum, focused on infrastructure strategies for the Southwest Megaregion, encompassing Southern California, the Las Vegas metropolitan area and Baja California.    The forum will aim to build support for a national infrastructure plan needed for America to respond to the big challenges of rapid population growth, our dependence on foreign oil, climate change, global competitiveness, and deteriorating infrastructure, and identify the major transportation, energy and water infrastructure priorities in the Southwest Megaregion that are issues of national significance. 

Likewise, we hope to find common ground among metropolitan areas in the Southwest Megaregion on programs and policies that would help regions and subregions meet their core infrastructure challenges.  The forum marks the first major convening of the west coast office of America 2050, housed at the USC Bedrosian Center. The forum aims to establish a network of business, civic, government and academic organizations through the America 2050 west coast office who will continue to work on building the Southwest Megaregion and pushing its collective agenda.    

The forum will take place at the Davidson Conference Center on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles on Friday, June 19 from 8:00am to 3:30pm. There is a fee of $25.00 to attend.  Register online here.

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Statutory Warning! British Labour MP says cars should carry climate health warnings

May 6, 2009 at 12:06 pm
(Source: Autobloggreen & Guardian)

Way back in 1965, the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act required cigarette manufacturers to place those little blurbs warning smokers of the dangers of using their products. Might a similar label be placed on advertisement from the auto industry? Don’t laugh – if Colin Challen, chair of the all-party climate change group in the UK, gets his wish, just such a thing might happen. He says:  

You maybe have 25 or 35% of the space of any promotional material given over to a health warning. These warnings would be graded depending on the emissions from the vehicle, with the worst gas-guzzlers carrying the most severe warnings. It would have to counter the impression given by some manufacturers that their vehicles are greener.

In his column on Guardian, Colin writes:  “So why can’t we do more to encourage immediate, low-tech behavioural changes? If there were a conspiracy theory as to why a government that has recently committed itself to a massive renewal of the nuclear power industry would want to promote the idea of electric vehicles, then the cynical explanation is obvious. Alternatively, without spending a penny the government could introduce tobacco advertising-style health warnings on all car promotional material. That might introduce some honesty into the green claims made by manufacturers. I discovered that the motor industry before the recession spent £800m a year on advertising in the UK alone. In the three-year period of the government’sActOnCO2 campaign, which cost £12m, the competition will have spent £2.4bn. It’s no contest and wholly counter-intuitive to expect people to change their behaviour when most of the daily messages they receive tell them it’s business as usual.

We are in a four-stage process of addressing the challenge of climate change, as Britain was in a four-stage process meeting the challenge of Adolf Hitler: denial, appeasement, phoney war then total war. I believe we are staggering between appeasement and phoney war at the present time. Our effort is improving, but in dribs and drabs, suggesting that we’ve not entirely convinced ourselves that the threat is real. It is as if we have grasped that the scientific debate has been settled but the hard, practical choices still have to pass through a multitude of sceptical arguments.”

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Extreme Makeover in Norway? Considering a ban on all cars powered by fossil fuels

April 27, 2009 at 5:53 pm

 (Source: Autobloggreen & Reuters)

We first heard about a proposal to ban cars powered solely by fossil fuels way back in 2007. According to Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen, the plan “is much more realistic than people think when they first hear about” it and is still very much in the works. Still, it’s highly unlikely that the proposal would come to fruition due to opposition from current Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Under the proposal, no automaker could sell a new vehicle from 2015 onward in Norway that has no provisions for the use of biofuels, electricity or hydrogen. Hybrid vehicles that share propulsion duties between an electric motor and a gasoline or diesel engine would be allowed, as would flex-fuel vehicles. Older cars and trucks that were sold prior to 2015 wouldn’t be affected by this legislation.

“The financial crisis also means that a lot of those car producers that now have big problems … know that they have to develop their technology because we also have to solve the climate crisis when this financial crisis is over,” she said.

“That is why we would like a ban from 2015,” she said, during an exhibition in Oslo of electric and biofuel-powered cars during which she raced a red and white Mitsubishi electric car around a course against several other politicians.

Halvorsen’s party is a junior member of Norway’s three-party coalition led by the Labor Party. The 2015 proposal is unlikely to be adopted by the cabinet because it is opposed, among others, by Labor Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Still, Halvorsen said she knew of no other finance minister in the world who was even arguing for such a goal.

“I haven’t heard about any ministers. I’m not surprised. We are often a party that puts forward new proposals first,” she said. A 2015 ban had backing from many environmental groups around the world as a way of cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

UNDERMINE OIL?

Halvorsen denied that her proposal would undermine the economy — Norway is the world’s number six oil exporter.

“Not at all … we know that the world will be dependent on oil and gas for many decades ahead but we have to introduce new technologies and this is a proposal to support that,” she said.

Asked what she would say if she met the head of a big car producer such as General Motors, she said: “develop new and more environmentally friendly cars. And I know they are working on that question.”

Click here to read the entire article.

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Good news, Earthlings – A California engineer makes a $100-million bet on mass producing fuel from trash

April 22, 2009 at 2:02 pm

(Source: Los Angeles Times)

As the state moves to reduce the carbon footprint of fuel, an engineer hopes to build a plant in Lancaster that will convert garbage into an alcohol-based mixture.

Arnold Klann has a green dream.
It began 16 years ago in a sprawling laboratory in Anaheim. This year, he hopes, it will culminate at a Lancaster garbage dump.  There, in the high desert of the Antelope Valley, Klann’s company, BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, plans to build a $100-million plant to convert raw trash into an alcohol-based fuel that will help power the cars and trucks of the future.

It’s just the sort of improbable concoction that California is now demanding. On Thursday, the state is expected to adopt the world’s first regulation to reduce the carbon footprint of fuel. And, just as California created the first market for catalytic converters decades ago, this rule, a likely model for national and even global calculations, could jump-start a huge demand for new technologies.

Fuel is a critical front in the battle against global warming. Nearly a quarter of the man-made greenhouse gases that the United States spews into the atmosphere comes from transportation. And although cars have reduced unhealthy pollutants such as nitrogen oxides by 99% in recent decades, the gasoline they burn emits as much carbon dioxide as it did a century ago.

California’s proposal “is the first time anyone has attempted, for environmental purposes, to change the content of what goes into cars and trucks,” says Mary D. Nichols, state Air Resources Board chairwoman. “It would revolutionize transportation fuel.”
 
President Obama has also called for a low-carbon standard for the nation’s $400-billion transportation fuel market. A version similar to California’s is incorporated in climate legislation pending before Congress.

But by measuring the “cradle-to-grave” effect of various fuels, the new rule would favor ethanol such as Klann’s, made from non-food sources. Even “low-carbon” corn ethanol — such as the kind produced in California using gas-fired electricity and efficient machinery — has a far higher carbon footprint than so-called cellulosic fuel from landfill waste, trees, switchgrass or sugar cane.

“This is fantastic for us,” said Klann, who uses recycled sulfuric acid to transform paper, construction debris and grass clippings into ethanol. “The paradigm is changing from oil to sustainable fuels. The ones with the lowest carbon footprint will be the winners.”

By 2020, the air board estimates, new-technology fuels along with electricity to power hybrid and electric cars would replace a quarter of the gasoline supply. And that is a critical element of the state’s sweeping plan to reduce its global warming emissions. 

Battered corn ethanol investors have mounted an intense lobbying effort against California’s proposal. Several, including Pacific Ethanol, California’s biggest, had planned to diversify from corn into cellulosic ethanol. They argue that by diminishing the value of their existing plants, the new rule also would cripple their advanced biofuel efforts. 

At issue is the Air Resources Board’s complex modeling, which would calculate each fuel’s carbon footprint not only by its “direct” emissions from drilling or planting to refining to burning, but also “indirect” emissions caused by clearing forests or fields to compensate for food crops such as corn or soy that are diverted to fuel. Opponents say the science behind the indirect modeling is inaccurate. 

Among entrepreneurs like Klann, the mood has never been more hopeful. In an Anaheim lab, the 57-year-old electrical engineer guides a visitor through a maze of pipes, filters, heat exchangers, fermentation tanks and vats of acid like a small boy showing off a chemistry set. “We’re in the forefront of this industry,” he said of his patented “concentrated acid hydrolysis” process. “We expect to have the first plant to produce cellulosic ethanol on a commercial scale.”  

Financing for his Lancaster plant, which recently obtained its final permits, has been delayed by the credit crunch. But if it comes through, the facility will process 170 tons of garbage a day to produce 3.7 million gallons of ethanol a year. Estimated cost per gallon: about $2, Klann says.  

He already has plans for 20 more facilities across the country. Next on the block: a plant outside Palm Springs, partly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, that would produce 19 million gallons annually. 

Click here to read th entire article.  For interested readers, here is a TransportGooru article on California’s ambitious new fuel regulation standards. 

Tightening the “Green” Screw! California regulators consider instituting first-in-the nation low-carbon fuel standards

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New report from The Brookings Institute: Transportation and Climate Change: The Perfect Storm

April 22, 2009 at 10:52 am

(Source: The Brookings Institute)

As Vice President Biden’s Earth Day speech at a Washington area subway station makes clear, the connections between transportation and climate change are undeniable. Therefore, exactly how our metropolitan areas grow—and what type of transportation people use to get from place to place—will have a great impact not only on the economy, but also on global environmental sustainability.

Brookings fellow, Robert Puentes, argues in a new report that we need to change, in a systemic way, how we think about, design and implement transportation policies. Beyond more fuel efficient and alternatively powered vehicles, we need to act to reduce demand for driving by linking housing, land use, and economic development.

Report Excerpts:

Transportation is the single largest contributor to the nation’s carbon footprint, causing more damage than industry, homes or commercial buildings. More than four-fifths of transportation emissions come from the tailpipes of our cars, trucks and buses.  

Three factors affect the amount of carbon released into the air from transportation: the type of fuel we use, the fuel efficiency of the automobiles we drive and the amount of driving we do. Some improvements are being made on the first two legs of this stool with the push for hybrid/electric vehicles and tighter fuel economy standards.

Progress is much slower on the third leg: curbing the demand to drive. Though driving is down now because of our economic malaise, studies show that even small increases will spew out so much carbon that they will wipe out the benefits of fuel-efficient cars and the expansion of clean-fuel alternatives.  Take the Washington metropolitan area. This region is projected to grow from 7.6 million people in 2000 to 10.6 million in 2030. Employment could grow from 4.4 million to 6.4 million workers, and non-residential development from 3.6 billion square feet to 5.2 billion. That means about 60 percent of the buildings that will be here in 2030 will have been built after 2000.

How we accommodate this growing population and economy – whether we break the pattern of “sprawl as usual” – will significantly influence whether we secure our energy independence and forge solutions to global warming and climate change.

Click here to read the entire report.

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USDOT Transportation and Climate Change Newsletter – March 2009

April 21, 2009 at 6:28 pm

(Source: USDOT – Office of Planning, Environment and Realty, Federal Highway Administration)

Recent Events

 Secretary LaHood Announces Recovery Act Funding for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction. On March 24, USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood announced the availability of $100 million in federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 2009, for the Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction grant program. Projects will compete for a portion of the funds on the basis of how much their proposed capital investment is expected to reduce either energy consumption or greenhouse gases, or both, among other measures. FTA will post application instructions and additional information on its website atwww.fta.dot.gov.CLEAN TEA Bills Introduced to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions. On March 11, US Senators Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) and Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) with several co-sponsors, introduced legislation that would establish a low greenhouse gas transportation fund (S. 575 and H.R. 1329). The Clean Low-Emissions Affordable New Transportation Equity Act, or CLEAN TEA, would be funded by 10 percent of the money generated from the auction of greenhouse gas emissions allowances in a climate change bill. For more information, see the text of H.R. 1329.

EPA Seeks Comment on Annual U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory. On March 4, EPA released a draft of their annual inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2007. The report indicates that CO2 emissions from transportation sources were 0.34 percent higher in 2007 than in 2006. The draft report will be open for public comment through April 9.

Reps. Waxman and Markey Release Draft of Joint Energy and Climate Legislation. The draft of “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009,” released on March 31, includes a proposal for a cap and trade program and several provisions related to the transportation sector. It includes requirements to establish transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions goals and inclusion of a plan to achieve those goals in some metropolitan long-range transportation plans and transportation improvement programs. The legislation also calls for greenhouse gas emission standards on new vehicles including heavy duty on-road and non-road, marine, locomotive, and aircraft engines. Full text of the proposed legislation is available here

State News

CaliforniaReleases Proposed Regulations for Low Carbon Fuel Standard. On March 5, 2009, the California Air Resources Board released proposed regulations for a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which would require transportation fuel providers to lower the life-cycle carbon intensity of their fuels over the next decade. For more information, see CARB’s website for the rulemaking.

Pew Center for Global Climate Change – State Climate Action Plans. The Pew Center keeps a database of comprehensive Climate Action Plans which have been completed by many states. For more information, see the Pew Center’s State Climate Action Plans Clickable Map.

Announcements

DOE Funding Available for Transportation Projects that Conserve Energy. The America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 appropriated $3.2 billion for The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. Transportation strategies are eligible for funding. Eligible transportation projects include, but are not limited to:

  • Employee flex time programs;
  • Promoting use of satellite work centers;
  • Development and promotion of zoning guidelines or requirements that promote energy efficient development;
  • Development of infrastructure such as bike lanes and pathways and pedestrian walkways;
  • Synchronization of traffic signals;
  • State/locals/regional integrated planning activities (i.e. transportation, housing, environmental, energy, land use) with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled;
  • Incentive programs to reduce commutes by single occupancy vehicles;
  • Improvements in operational and system efficiency of the transportation system such as implementation of intelligent transportation system (ITS) strategies;
  • Idle-reduction technologies and/or facilities to conserve energy, reduce harmful air pollutants, and greenhouse gas emissions from freight movement; and
  • Installation of solar panels on interstate rights-of-way to conserve energy in highway operations and maintenance activities.

For more information about the funding, including deadlines and how to apply, see DOE’s EECBG Homepage.

2009 Transportation, Planning, Land Use and Air Quality Conference to focus on Climate Change. The conference, sponsored by the Transportation Research Board, FHWA, and others, will explore the latest research in the coordination of transportation, land use and air quality with a specific focus on climate change strategies. The conference will be held in Denver, CO July 28 and 29, 2009. For more information, visit theconference website.

Asset Management and Adapting to Climate Change Webinar, April 23. FHWA’s Office of Asset Management in cooperation with AASHTO is conducting a webinar that will provide an overview of climate change and management of highway infrastructure and will focus on the issue of adapting transportation infrastructure to the effects of climate change. This is one in a series of free webinars that FHWA and AASHTO conduct quarterly to provide support to transportation agencies as they develop and implement asset management programs. The webinar will be held 1:00-2:30 Eastern Time. To connect, click here and dial 1-800-988-0375, code CCW for the audio.

Job Opening: FHWA Sustainable Transport and Climate Change Team Leader. FHWA is seeking a GS-15 Team Leader to head our recently formed Sustainable Transportation and Climate Change Team. The position is open to all applicants and closes April 7. For more information and to apply, see the OPM job announcement number FHWA.HEP-2009-0007.

Reminders

U.S. DOT Launches Web-Based Clearinghouse of Transportation, Climate Change Resources. The USDOT has launched a new, web-based clearinghouse of information on transportation and climate change. The site provides an introduction to climate change and transportation and related information on greenhouse gas inventories and forecasts, methodologies for analyzing greenhouse gases from transportation, climate change and adaptation, and federal, state and local actions on transportation and climate change. The site also includes a calendar of events and will soon be enhanced to provide an opportunity for users to post and respond to discussions and receive updates by email. To access the site, go to: http://climate.dot.gov.

Transportation Research Board Starts a New Climate Change website. Transportation Research Board (TRB) has a new website offering information on TRB activities and products addressing transportation and climate change. To access the site, go to: http://tris.trb.org/climatechange/.

If you have any suggestions for inclusion in future issues of Transportation and Climate Change News, or if someone forwarded this newsletter to you and you would like to receive it directly in the future, please send your suggestions or request to Becky Lupes at Rebecca.Lupes@dot.gov.

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Denmark turns to green transport in runup to climate summit

April 5, 2009 at 1:43 pm

(Source: Deutsche Welle)

Denmark is a leader in climate policy, but the Danes are also among the highest per capita users of energy in the world. The government in Copenhagen is now trying to change that.

When Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen came to power in 2001, he didn’t seem at all interested in the environment and climate protection.

But with every Dane pumping out 5 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, Copenhagen could find itself in a tricky position as the host of a giant climate summit at the end of this year, when delegates from all over the world get together to set new global targets on emissions ahead of the 2012 expiry of the Kyoto agreement.

That’s why today a different message is heard coming from Copenhagen and the vision of green economic growth is sprinkled throughout just about every speech Rasmussen gives.

The prime minister is now openly advocating “a society in which we are completely independent from fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas” and a future in which renewable wind, solar and biomass energy sources will make it possible to live in “houses that produce more energy than they use.”

 

Currently there are only about 200 climate-friendly autos on the nation’s streets, but that should grow to 100,000 within two years.

 The Danish energy corporation DONG and the American company Better Place are planning to invest 100 million euros ($135 million) to build up infrastructure in the country for electric cars. The idea is to make it just as fast to charge up a battery as it is to fill up a tank of gas.

 The head of the Danish electric auto association, Per Moeller, is very pleased with that plan, and confident that Denmark can become a pioneer in this sector.

 “We have really good conditions for it here: no extreme climate changes and a flat landscape,” he said. “Denmark is certainly one of the countries in which it would be the easiest to introduce electric cars.”

The batteries to run these cars of the future have another advantage. They can be charged during the night when energy from wind turbines is available but isn’t being used much, essentially turning them into important energy storage devices.

“I don’t think we can leave it to the politicians to solve the problems with climate change,” said Jens Moberg, CEO of the Danish branch of Better Place. “Consumers and companies need to take an active role in the process.”

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Transportation and Climate Change Newsletter – February 2009

April 3, 2009 at 11:54 am

(Source: Office of Planning, Environment and Realty Federal Highway Administration)

Recent Events

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer Announces Principles for Global Warming Legislation. On February 3, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced her intent to move quickly on global warming legislation and issued principles that she would like to see included. These include setting short and long term emissions targets that are certain and enforceable, using a carbon market to fund various efforts to reduce GHG emissions, and ensuring a level global playing field so that countries contribute their fair share to GHG emissions reductions. For more information including a link to Sen. Boxer’s Principles, see the Committee’s press release.

House Subcommittee Receives Testimony on Surface Transportation Energy Reduction.On January 27, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit heard from nationally recognized transportation experts and a panel of industry representatives about ways to reduce energy consumption and promote sustainability in the surface transportation sector.  Video of the proceedings and written testimonies (scroll down) are available on the Subcommittee website.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Holds Meeting on Maritime Transport and the Climate Change Challenge. On February 17, FHWA’s Mike Savonis presented (via videoconference) results from USDOT’s Gulf Coast Study Phase I to an international audience in Geneva.  Additional information and presentations from the three-day event are available on the meeting website.

U.C. Davis Provides Congressional Briefing on Low-Carbon Transportation Policies & Strategies. On January 12, 2009, the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) Institute of Transportation Studies provided a briefing to Congressional staffers on the future of low-carbon transportation. More information about UC Davis climate change activities is available on the UC Davis ITS website. (TransportGooru is proud to share a video of UC Davis’s Dan Sperling Talk about the current Transportation system and its effect on Climate change. See below)

 House Subcommittee Conducts Hearing on Monitoring GHG Emissions.  On February 24, the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment conducted a hearing on how to monitor, report and verify greenhouse gas emissions.  The purpose of the hearing was to determine the federal role in the funding of research and development of monitoring technologies as well as models to support reliable baseline data for GHG emissions.  The subcommittee heard testimony from businesses, government agencies, and localities on procedures and methods that can be used to monitor, report, and verify greenhouse gas emissions.  More information can be found on the Committee’s website at: http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2359

State News

Oregon Governor Introduces VMT Fee Legislation. Following a study on charging a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) fee in place of a state gas tax, the Governor of Oregon introduced legislation that could move the state closer to adopting a per mile road user fee in place of the 24-cent per gallon gas tax. Governor Kulongoski’s Jobs and Transportation Act of 2009 requires the Oregon DOT to develop VMT fee collection technology that could be used to replace the gas tax.  The Act also directs Oregon DOT to further study gas tax alternatives.

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Enters First Compliance Period. The ten signatory states to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) began their first compliance period on January 1, 2009 and the period ends in December 2011. At that time the ten Mid-Atlantic and New England states will be required to submit emissions allowances equivalent to their carbon dioxide emissions. For more information on the program, see the Pew Climate Center RGGI website.

Announcements

New Energy and Climate Change Database for Planners.  The American Planning Association has launched a new database of energy and climate change activities in planning.  You can search the database by a variety of criteria such as state, topic, planning tool, timeframe, or geographic scale.  The database includes many examples relating to transportation.  The database website iswww.planning.org/research/energy/database.

Summit on America’s Climate Choices, March 30-31 in Washington, D.C. Congress has tasked the National Academies with setting the stage for national action on climate change. In response, the Academies have launched America’s Climate Choices, a suite of activities that will provide policy advice, based on science, to guide the nation’s response to climate change. Experts representing various levels of government, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and research and academic institutions have been selected to serve on four panels and an overarching committee.    The Summit on America’s Climate Choices provides an opportunity for study participants to interact with major thought leaders and key constituencies to frame the questions and issues that the study will address.  Registration and webcast information are available on the Summit website.  In addition to the summit, NAS is soliciting public input on the questions and content to be considered by the America’s Climate Choices Committee through the America’s Climate Choices website through April 17. 

Reminders

Washington State Department of Transportation Climate Change Weekly Digest, The Washington State DOT has an extensive Climate Change program and the Climate Change Team issues a weekly digest on climate change issues. For more information on WSDOT’s climate change activities see WSDOT’s climate change website. To be put on the email list to receive the weekly digest, please send a note to:StarkS@wsdot.wa.gov.

U.S. DOT Launches Web-Based Clearinghouse of Transportation, Climate Change Resources. The USDOT has launched a new, web-based clearinghouse of information on transportation and climate change. The site provides an introduction to climate change and transportation and related information on greenhouse gas inventories and forecasts, methodologies for analyzing greenhouse gases from transportation, climate change and adaptation, and federal, state and local actions on transportation and climate change. The site also includes a calendar of events and will soon be enhanced to provide an opportunity for users to post and respond to discussions and receive updates by email. To access the site, go to: http://climate.dot.gov. 

Transportation Research Board Starts a New Climate Change website. Transportation Research Board (TRB) has a new website offering information on TRB activities and products addressing transportation and climate change.

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Interesting insights from the Congressional testimony “The Role of Research in Addressing Climate Change in Transportation Infrastructure”

April 1, 2009 at 5:28 pm

(Source: SUBCOMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES)

Witnesses testify before the Subcommittee

(From L to R): Mr. David Matsuda, Ms. Catherine Ciarlo, Dr. Laurence Rilett, Mr. Steven Winkelman, and Mr. Mike Acott

On Tuesday, March 31, 2009, the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation convened a hearing to address the research agenda required to mitigate the environmental impact of the transportation infrastructure on the environment, with an emphasis on climate change. Witnesses will address the components of such an agenda and possible implementation strategies.

This was the third in a series of hearings that the Subcommittee has convened on the impact of our transportation system on the environment. The first addressed regulatory barriers to the utilization of green technologies that mitigate surface water runoff from our roadways and parking areas. As a result, the Subcommittee reported H.R. 5161, the Green Transportation Infrastructure Research and Development Act, in the 110th Congress to address this issue.

The second hearing explored the R&D agenda required to improve energy efficiency and lessen the environmental impact of the pavements used in our transportation infrastructure.  The focus of today’s hearing was to examine the R&D that is required to help mitigate the impact of our transportation infrastructure on the climate.

The press release from the event outlines the DOT’s efforts.  The Department of Transportation (DOT) funds research on strategies to reduce the impact of the transportation sector on the environment, but the interest in addressing climate change is relatively new. The following research categories would support the reduction of carbon emissions from transportation:

• Forecasting and analytical tools to support state and local global warming studies;
• Tools to assess system performance;
• Travel behavior;
• Demand management;
• Congestion; and
• Energy use in materials.

“We need to think about improving the energy efficiency of our transportation system, not just the cars and trucks on it,” added  Chariman David Wu. “For example, what are the modeling tools that would help communities develop an effective mixed-use transportation system of cars, buses, light rail, trolleys, and bikes like we have in Portland? If we are serious about congestion mitigation and traffic management, what’s required to realize these goals?”

Throughout the 111th Congress the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee will continue its work to decrease the impact of our transportations systems on the environment. In May 2007, the Subcommittee held a hearing to address the regulatory barriers preventing the utilization of green technologies. This hearing resulted in creation of H.R. 5161, the Green Transportation Infrastructure Research and Technology Transfer Act. In June of 2008, the Subcommittee held a hearing to review sustainable, energy-efficient transportation infrastructure.

Witness Statements (click the names below to access the respective witness’ testimony)

The testimony of U.S. Department of Transportation Acting Assistant Secretary for Transportation, Mr. David Wu, is in PDF viewer below and also available for download at the subcommittee website alongside the Chairman’s (David Wu) remarks and other witness testimonies.

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