Moving toward a cleaner transportation system—the role of President-elect Obama
by Fresh Energy
By Ethan Fawley, transportation connections coordinator, Fresh Energy
Yesterday, a coalition of 29 different environmental groups presented a 391-page report to President-elect Obama’s transition team. The Transition to Green (pdf) report highlights priority environmental policy recommendations for Obama’s team to consider as they lay the groundwork for the new Administration.
Included in these recommendations are priority goals to help address the impacts of our transportation system on air pollution and global warming:
1. Clean Transportation Technologies and Fuel. The Department of Transportation (DOT) should take aggressive steps to increase automobile and heavy truck fuel efficiency, clear the way for state-initiated Clean Cars legislation, and work to reduce emissions from the aviation sector.
2. Reduce Global Warming Emissions from Fuels. The Environmental Protection Agency should implement a national low carbon fuel standard to address the global warming implications of our fuel sources.
3. Surface Transportation Policy Reform. The DOT should implement a wide-range of strategies that would better support walking, biking, and transit and reduce the need to drive.
4. Climate: Cross-Departmental Priority. The DOT needs to recognize the impact that transportation has on global warming, make transportation-related greenhouse gas emission reductions a priority, and put into place active measures to evaluate these goals over time.
To reach necessary global warming emission reduction targets, these transportation policy goals need to be implemented immediately as part of both an economic stimulus package and an upcoming reauthorization of the longer-term Federal transportation bill. The national coalition Transportation for America understands this need and is advocating for Federal transportation policies that better support transit, walking, and biking. If you agree that cleaner transportation choices should be an important part of President-elect Obama’s agenda, sign their petition today. And if you don’t think petitions matter, take a look at Obama’s response to a previous petition!
Recent reports (including this great overview from the Natural Resources Defense Council) suggest that Obama understands the important role that transportation policy must play and could help reshape Federal transportation policy. Now we must make sure that he takes the lead and delivers on the change that he has promised.
