A new report offers a roadmap to a carbon-free future Once a sci-fi fantasy, automated vehicles have now become a regular news item, with thrilling daily reports on the exponential speed of innovation. Tesla, Uber, Google, Otto, and the entire car industry seem to be racing towards a sophisticated, efficient, and high-tech future.
It?s exciting to see the way we travel and commute to work seemingly change in front of our eyes, but adapting driverless technology isn?t the only technological shift we need to make. Transportation needs to go green fast to help combat climate change, according to a new report by the Frontier Group, ?50 Steps Toward Carbon- Free Transportation: Rethinking U.S. Transportation Policy to Fight Global Warming.?
Author Tony Dutzik spells it out in the introduction: the U.S. has the tools to make a carbon-free transportation system a reality. But currently, our national priorities, exemplified by our laws and regulations, are working at cross-purposes with attempts to fashion a greener future: climate analysis isn?t even a factor in planning. Here?s what?s wrong, and some of the steps government can take to move forward.
How bad is our current transportation policy" Pretty bad
The report doesn?t soft pedal the situation: ?America?s transportation system has emerged as Climate Enemy #1.? Our cars, trucks, and vehicles represent the largest source of carbon pollution in the nation, and Americans produce more carbon pollution per capita t...