Climate 411

This post is by Andy Darrell, vice president of the Living Cities Program at Environmental Defense Fund.

Yesterday, the New York State Legislature failed to pass congestion pricing for New York City (see NY1 report), thus forgoing $354 million in federal funds.

Today more than ever, New York and America’s other big cities need solutions for clean air and better transit – our health, climate and economy depend on it. Over the past year, an extraordinary majority of New Yorkers came together to support congestion pricing, and of course today’s setback is very disappointing. But I believe that New York will continue to strive for innovative solutions, and Environmental Defense Fund is dedicated to working with leaders from across the state to help make those solutions real.

This post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

Congestion pricing – an antidote to urban gridlock and tailpipe pollution used in cities around the world – advanced another step towards passage in New York City yesterday. After almost a year of research, debate, public dialogue and fine-tuning, the New York City Council voted "yes" to congestion pricing.

Next stop: Albany. If state legislators approve the plan, New York City will soon enjoy less traffic, better mass transit, cleaner air, and tens of thousands of new construction jobs – good news in a sagging economy.

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

Oil is over $100 a barrel now – an all-time high. Even if burning gasoline weren’t a major cause of global warming, a price that high is motivation to conserve.

But we don’t seem to be trying very hard.

Here are some numbers that make the point from Earth: The Sequel, the new book by EDF President Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn. (All profits from book sales support our global warming work.)

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

John DeCicco, Ph.D. is Senior Fellow, Automotive Strategies at Environmental Defense.

The American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) just announced its eleventh annual ratings for the greenest and "meanest" vehicles. Natural gas and hybrid vehicles do best – no surprise there. But the meanest (dirtiest) list is dominated by diesels, despite their higher fuel efficiency, because they spew out high levels of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.

I spoke about this with our resident car expert John DeCicco, who was the original creator of ACEEE’s Green Book when he worked for that organization. "I do have my morbid moments", John said, "but no need to give up hope yet!"

More from John below…

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

New York City suffers from some of the worst traffic congestion in the country, costing workers and businesses billions of dollars a year in lost time, and heavily contributing to New York’s nearly worst-in-the-nation air quality. One in eight New Yorkers suffer from asthma. And New York is expected to add one million residents by 2030.

New York State charged a commission of elected officials, and environmental and planning experts with solving New York City’s traffic crisis. Andy Darrell, Regional Director for Living Cities at Environmental Defense, was one of the commissioners. Today the commission voted to approve an historic plan to protect New Yorkers’ health.

A key element of the plan is congestion pricing, where an electronically-collected fee system charges drivers more for using the most congested roads at the most congested times. This encourages drivers to instead use mass transit or to reschedule their trip. Cities around the world are successfully using congestion pricing to reduce traffic and pollution from vehicle exhausts.

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