Climate 411

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

This week, seven U.S. governors and four Canadian premiers – partners in the fast-growing Western Climate Initiative (WCI) – released a draft design for what would be the largest cap-and-trade market for global warming pollution in North America. The outcome of many public workshops, the draft caps emissions for utilities and industry by 2012, and adds caps for residential, commercial and transportation sources by 2015.

WCI will present the draft at a stakeholder workshop and webinar in San Diego next week. Environmental Defense Fund experts Derek Walker, Jamie Fine and Martha Roberts will be there to speak in favor of a firm, binding emissions limit that declines over time, strict standards for offsets, and to remind participants of the economic benefits of action.

This post is by Michael Replogle, Transportation Director at Environmental Defense Fund.

Today, the New York City MTA proposed another fare and toll hike to manage a projected $900 million deficit next year. To avoid service cuts, according to WNYC, MTA head Lee Sander is "going begging everywhere, to Governor Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg, the federal government, and riders."

But in many other cities across the country, service cuts due to budget shortfalls are unavoidable. Ironically, communities are cutting services just when use of public transit is at a 50-year high due to skyrocketing gasoline prices (see map).

To avoid cutting these crucially important services, public transit systems urgently need federal help.

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