Transportation is responsible for over a third of all U.S. global warming pollution. In California alone, transportation accounts for nearly 40% of the State's greenhouse gas emissions. Friends of the Earth is actively fighting for long-term, sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based modes of transportation.
In the short-term, we are working to bring ultra-efficient, plug-in electric vehicles to the market and develop networks of solar-powered charging stations for these vehicles to charge from renewable energy for zero emissions driving.
We are also working to increase access to public transportation, passenger rail and other clean transportation options, including walking and biking. In fact, a key focus of our campaign is also to give people options to drive less altogether. Find out more about our work to reduce "vehicle miles traveled" by clicking here.
Read the latest news and updates from our Transportation campaigns:
Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) unveiled a draft of their long-awaited cap and trade bill, the "American Power Act."
Unfortunately, it's as bad as we feared. Summaries of the proposal (pdf) released this morning indicate they would eliminate critical tools needed to stabilize climate chaos while handing out billions in giveaways to some of the worst industrial polluters in the country.
Chrysler, the recipient of $15.3 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout money -- granted in part because of its promise to invest in electric vehicle technology -- has just announced it is scrapping its plans for producing large volumes of electric cars.
Friends of the Earth has long promoted plug-in electric vehicles as a way to dramatically reduce pollution from transportation, especially in states like California where the electric grid contains a significant percentage of renewable power. Plug-in electric vehicles received a major boost—over $10 billion in funds—through the recent federal Stimulus Package. Funding is now available for charging infrastructure development, expanded tax credits for consumers who purchase plug-ins, federal fleet purchases of plug-ins, seed money for battery manufacturers, and vehicle production tax credits.
By increasing funding for efficient and affordable transportation options like public transit and high-speed passenger rail, President Obama’s budget proposal for the Department of Transportation would serve as a down payment on a more efficient, lower-carbon transportation system. We were pleased to see the Administration plans to continue this process with a commitment to work with Congress to fundamentally reform our nation’s transportation policy, which is both economically and environmentally unsustainable.
Image provided by GreaterGreaterWashington.org
Friends of the Earth hosted dozens of environmental groups for a teach-in and strategy session on transportation infrastructure policy. This two day event, which concluded yesterday, focused on introducing the broader environmental community to the transportation policy debate, especially with regards to global warming. Next year, federal transportation policy will be debated in Congress. The transportation bill, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, is traditionally focused on road building. We are organizing the environmental community to shift the debate and focus the bill away from car-centric highways and toward sustainable alternatives, such as transit, biking, walking and smart growth development, that will help fight global warming.
Record high gas prices have working families suffering across the U.S. These prices are NOT caused by a shortage of oil drilling options, as some would have you believe. Rather, the problem is the result of decades of bad energy and transportation policy that has been commandeered by Big Oil and the Highway Lobby. Friends of the Earth is working to break their stranglehold on our energy and transportation policy.
If we want to solve global warming, we will have to reduce CO2 emissions from the transportation sector. Investing in public transportation -– light rail, streetcars, subways, commuter rail, and buses -- is one of the best ways to do this. In addition to driving down our carbon footprints, investments like these can also help drive down gasoline bills. Typical transit riders consume about 50 percent less gasoline on average than people with no access to transit, meaning they also spend 50 percent less on gasoline. Unfortunately, too few American families have access to quality, convenient public transportation, keeping people in the cars, CO2 emissions up, and gasoline bills high.
Coalition of environmental groups, states and regional governments filed petitions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, urging the agency to address the effects of vast amounts of global warming pollution from the world's aircraft fleet. The petitions are the first step in a process that requires the EPA to evaluate the current impacts of aircraft emissions, seek public comment and develop rules to reduce aircraft emissions or explain why it will not act. Earthjustice filed the environmental groups' petition on behalf of Friends of the Earth, Oceana and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Plug-In Hybrid Electric vehicles represent one of the most immediate, dramatic, and affordable solutions for reducing petroleum use and global warming pollution from vehicles.
