Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell, a Republican, will not put forward a transportation plan this year, saying “we’re not going to go into a session and fail. That’s a waste of taxpayers’ money.” (WP) In Georgia, the Governor proposed a temporary bond package for transportation and said voters should decide on a sales tax hike in 2012. (AP) Following months of safety lapses and oversight shuffles, Washington DC Metro General Manager John Catoe Jr. announced he will step down in April. (WP) Pro high-speed rail Floridians are upping...
Millions of people around the world who belong to indigenous communities continue to face discrimination and abuse at the hands of authorities and private business concerns, says a new U.N. report released here Thursday. Popularity: 23% [?] Read More →
Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $37 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support high-efficiency solid-state lighting projects. Popularity: 21% [?] Read More →
A new study by Duke University illuminates the fact that thousands of green jobs are waiting to be tapped in transit bus manufacturing — if the federal government will make a sustained commitment to investing in public transportation. The Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness released a new report this morning during a briefing at the Natural Resources Defense Council that evaluated the many U.S. job opportunities that can reduce carbon emissions in public transit buses. Jobs in and related to public transportation are...
TriMet MAX on the Transit Mall Originally uploaded by paulkimo90 From the Transportation for America Flickr group. Following through on a policy change hinted at for much of 2009, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced this morning that federal transit officials would begin considering expanded criteria as they select which transit projects to fund, bringing a new focus on improving livability and sustainability. At the Transportation Research Board’s annual conference this morning, Secretary LaHood made it clear that a wider range...
KOLKATA, India, Jan 14 (IPS) - An ambitious plan to establish a chemical industry complex in an ecologically fragile coastal zone of India’s eastern state, West Bengal, has snowballed into a debate, with the ruling communists facing resistance from environmental groups and political rivals over the project. Popularity: 24% [?] Read More →
Drawing on funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, President Obama has awarded $2.3 billion in tax credits to 183 clean energy enterprises in 43 states. The move benefits manufacturers of components and systems relating to renewable energy and energy efficiency. Popularity: 21% [?] Read More →
WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (IPS) - The last 50 years have seen an unprecedented and unsustainable spike in consumption, driven by a culture of consumerism that has emerged over that period, says a report released Tuesday by the Worldwatch Institute. Popularity: 24% [?] Read More →
The U.S. Department of Labor has allocated $155 million in Recovery Act funds to boost green job training. The initiative is designed to prepare job seekers for a range of clean energy careers, and to help agencies share information about the clean energy labor market. Popularity: 23% [?] Read More →
Being able to bike or walk safely can help keep people healthy. Photo by Dan Burden, walkable.org Our transportation decisions have a huge impact — positive or negative — on the health and well-being of all Americans. This idea that health and transportation are connected is gaining traction all across the country due in large part to groups (and T4 America partners) like the American Public Health Association, Prevention Institute, Partnership for Prevention and Health by Design. They’ve started asking important questions that need to...
BERLIN, Jan 12 (IPS) - Less than a month after the world’s heads of governments failed to sign an international treaty to address climate change at Copenhagen, they are back at making pious speeches, this time in favour of protecting biodiversity, endangered by global warming and other causes. Popularity: 23% [?] Read More →
Last Friday’s jobs report keeps employment on the forefront, with House Transportation Committee Chair James Oberstar continuing to push for infrastructure spending. (WSJ) Senate Democrats are molding a jobs bill that could include more transit assistance than the House version. (The Hill) Meg Whitman, the Republican frontrunner for Governor of California, promised to suspend the state’s landmark climate change law if elected. (LAT) Painful cuts to public transit will likely hinder the San Francisco Bay Area’s economic recovery. (SJ Mercury...
BUCHAREST, Jan 11 (IPS) - “It is important that we all come together, the Green Party, NGOs and citizens, on major issues such as pollution in big cities or deforestation,” says Remus Cernea, the new executive president of the Romanian Green Party. “And we have to use all means, from public protests and working with the media to judicial action and party politics, in order to achieve our goals.” Popularity: 23% [?] Read More →
DORON-BAGA and KANO, Nigeria, Jan 8 (IPS) - The fittest are fleeing the shores of Lake Chad: Adamu Modu, a young fisherman, is joining a stream of able-bodied men heading south to find work in the southern part of the country. Popularity: 24% [?] Read More →
DORON-BAGA and KANO, Nigeria, Jan 8 (IPS) - The fittest are fleeing the shores of Lake Chad: Adamu Modu, a young fisherman, is joining a stream of able-bodied men heading south to find work in the southern part of the country. Popularity: 24% [?] Read More →
