The climate crisis starts in our own driveway. | Shutterstock

It?s not just our fossil fuel dependence that needs to be addressed, it?s our car dependence Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders revealed his Green New Deal, the most ambitious climate plan of all the presidential candidates. It calls for complete decarbonization of both the energy and transportation sectors by 2030, by far the most aggressive timeline of anyone else running. An entire section of the plan is dedicated to transportation, outlining trillions of dollars worth of solutions for tackling the country?s single-largest source of carbon emissions.
It?s still not nearly enough.

Not all of the candidates have released climate plans, but few devote more than a few lines to transportation, and none have a 2030 deadline like Sanders. Beto O?Rourke?s $5 trillion plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 includes an unspecified number of ?transportation grants that cut commutes, crashes, and carbon pollution.? Former vice president Joe Biden also has a $5 trillion plan that includes an unspecified amount for pedestrian improvements, building dedicated bike infrastructure, and tackling sprawl?but also with a 2050 goal. This week, entrepreneur Andrew Yang released a plan that aims to decarbonize transportation by 2040, mostly by relying on electric vehicle adoption. The Sanders plan gets credit for correctly framing the scope of this climate challenge, noting that transportation accounts for 29 percent of do...