Via Atlantic Cities

How do you tell the story about big agenda issues like environmental impact and emissions in a city like New York? One way to do this is by taking all the relevant data you can get and stitching it together in a graphic format that visually demonstrates the scope of the problem.  Let’ s see how its done.  Let’s start with the problem.

Carbon Visuals and the Environmental Defense Fund created an animation showing giant blue balls standing in for New York’s greenhouse-gas emissions in 2010 (the last year data were available). Each sphere represents one ton of carbon-dioxide vapor. Added up, they represent 54 million metric tons of climate-toasting chemicals, which is the amount of emissions that NYC recorded in 2010.  It is quite arresting when you visually see a huge mountain (Everest-sized) of blue balls blanketing your entire city.  Check it out.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtqSIplGXOA&hd=1′]

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(Source: AP)

It was an ironic start to legislative efforts to tackle the nation’s transportation woes.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar completely missed a news conference on innovative transit programs Thursday because his car was stuck in traffic, behind an accident in a congested commuter tunnel.

The Minnesota Democrat has another news conference scheduled Friday with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, who estimate Congress needs to spend $470 billion to get the nation’s transportation system back on track.

 That event, and Thursday’s gathering organized by the Environmental Defense Fund, are two of several being staged in coming weeks as interest groups try to influence the shape of a six-year highway and transit construction bill expected to total roughly a half-trillion dollars. Oberstar hopes to introduce the legislation in May and win swift House passage.Already lined up on both sides of this heavyweight Washington lobbying contest are the trucking and construction industries, environmentalists, “smart growth” advocates, labor unions and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. To pass a bill of the sweep and size he envisions, Oberstar said everyone involved will have to first sell the plan to the public.

There is a consensus in Congress that something major needs to be done about the transportation mess. People are spending more time in their cars trying to get to work — or anywhere, for that matter. Transit systems are carrying record numbers of riders and, in some cases, are cutting back service. Freight delays, both highway and rail, are costing industry and consumers billions of dollars. An alarming share of the nation’s highways, bridges, tunnels, and train cars have aged beyond their intended life and are in disrepair.

“It is clear we need more revenue in the system, more investment dollars, but we can’t just say to people, ‘do this, do that.’ We have to show what we’re going to do with this program, how we are going to make it more responsive to their needs,” Oberstar said in an interview. “If people see that, then they’ll support it.”