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Cutting emissions sensibly
Monday, March 26, 2007
Everyone so often, I read something so well thought-out that it bears repeating verbatim. This is from the Financial Times March 13 editorial, “Tied up in green tape: We need well-designed environmental policies. Anyone?” Americans should pay attention to countries like the U.K. that are ahead of us in paying attention than we are to these issues.
“The battle for the green vote in the UK grows more depressing by the day…Neither party seems to have much interest in how to tackle climate change at the lowest possible cost.
“The answer to that problem is not elusive. Either a carbon tax, or a credible emissions trading scheme that produced a predictable carbon price, would discourage wasteful activities and encourage innovation to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions.
“The Tories offer micro-management instead, with talk of a ‘Green Air Miles Allowance’ and the possibility that frequent flyers pay more…What matters is that emissions are cut where they can most easily be cut, and no government will ever know where that might be. Only a tax or trading scheme will uncover the truth. Consumers will give up what they value little and keep doing what they value most. Producers will save energy where it is easy to do so and not where it is difficult.
“Mr. Brown [Labor] is even more of a micromanager than Mr. Cameron [Tory]…stretching the tentacles of the state, presenting a list ranging from light bulbs to the standby function on television sets. He also repeated his commitment to an emissions target for 2050…[but] we need incentives to change now.
“It is best to admit that facing up to climate change is going to mean that we will have to live our lives a little differently. Yet the differences are sometimes exaggerated – for example, a tax or permit price of £25 per tonne of carbon dioxide would put about £10 on the price of a short haul flight, no more than the current air passenger duty. A sensibly designed environmental policy need not be impossibly arduous. The piecemeal approaches on offer promise to be both costly and ineffective.
“Both parties have to get away from their obsession with the distributional effects of any particular green tax…The tax system as a whole should be progressive, but not every measure needs to be. The potential pain of green taxes could be offset if politicians promised to offset them with tax cuts elsewhere. This, at least, the Tories have done. Mr. Brown should follow suit.”
Well said!
-Ross Capon
Posted by NARP
Tags:A gasoline tax increase to protect America
Saturday, March 24, 2007
On March 20, Louis Thompson, former World Bank railways advisor, told a high speed rail forum in Washington that the right climate for high speed rail development in the US would involve gasoline prices around European levels, which he said were about twice the U.S. level. Of course, a gasoline tax increase would do more than help support high speed rail development.
- It would strengthen finances of our own government, enabling it to more easily address domestic needs. The present low-tax system gives most of the riches to the producing nations.
- It would reduce U.S. vulnerability to big up ticks in world oil prices. As I wrote here March 22, a UN official told Transportation Research Board in January that, in the two years ending August 2006, the average fuel cost per year per vehicle rose $600 here but only $290 in Germany. The pump price (with taxes) increased 59% here but only 22% in Germany.
In Washington, however, we have intense discussion about raising Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency standards—and deafening silence about the gasoline tax. How much environmental good can a CAFE increase accomplish without a gasoline tax increase? Will automakers (as they claim) wind up producing lots of small cars Americans won’t buy?
On March 14, Thomas W. LaSorda, President and CEO of DaimlerChrysler Corporation, testified to the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, “Why is there a huge disparity [in fuel efficiency] between our fleets there [Europe] and here? After all, we are the same companies in Europe that we are in the U.S., with access to similar technologies. The difference is the European approach to energy and greenhouse gas policies. They’ve made some tough political choices. They’ve highly taxed gasoline, making the price three times higher than in the U.S., and they have incentives on diesel fuel. As a result of these policies, fuel economy is always high on a customer’s list, and not just when there’s a spike in fuel prices.”
Mike Jackson, chairman and CEO of AutoNation, the nation’s largest dealership chain, “said higher gasoline taxes would also help. ‘Fuel economy right now in the U.S. is right next to cup holders in consideration. You have to have a component that entices or encourages consumers to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles as it’s done in Europe. To just raise fuel economy without a consumer component will not work’” (The Washington Post, March 21).
Financial Times recently editorialized against the European Union’s proposed complex rules on carbon emissions, urging instead that the EU set a stiff price on carbon emissions and let the marketplace figure out the response. At least in the U.S., letting the marketplace figure it out is tough for political leaders to do, especially those who’ve savaged colleagues who dared talk about something as simple (but painful) as a gasoline tax—or who have watched colleagues pay dearly for suggesting such.
—Ross Capon
Posted by NARP
Tags:Europe vs. USA, VMT vs. GDP, and the Surface Commission
Thursday, March 22, 2007
When testifying March 19 before the National Surface Transportation Policy & Revenue Commission, I used some of my time to rebut claims by a previous witness (representing the American Highway Users Alliance) that:
- VMT (highway vehicle miles traveled) and economic growth (GDP) are inextricably linked,
- London is uniquely suited to center city highway tolling, and
- “Europe is becoming more like us rather than the other way around.”
GDP might roughly track with total travel, but certainly not highway travel alone. Consider this release, under the headline “IBM helps city of Stockholm reduce road traffic by 25% in one month: Following the January launch of the Stockholm Congestion Charging Scheme, initial data indicates that the pilot has successfully reduced traffic by 25 percent [100,000 vehicle passengers per day]; increased public transport usage by 40,000 users per day; and dramatically cut peak-time road congestion.” The full release is on IBM’s website. By the way, Stockholm is not London! One hopes that, if center city tolling becomes commonplace in Europe, the US will not bury its head in the sand and say, “Europe is uniquely suited…”
Our December 21 hotline reported that VMT in the U.S. rose only 0.9% from 2004 to 2005. At the same time, it turns out, U.S. GDP rose 6.3% in current dollars and 3.2% in “chained 2000 dollars”—and transit trips rose 2.5%.
As for Europe vs. the US, a presentation at Transportation Research Board here in January was revealing. Lewis M. Fulton, of the United Nations Environmental Program (based in Kenya), reported that the average U.S. vehicle travels 42% more miles than the average car in Germany. The average U.S. vehicle consumes 112.5% more fuel than its German counterpart (2,040 gallons vs. 960), and even 21.4% more than a Canadian car (1,680 gallons).
Fulton also illustrated U.S. vulnerability to swings in the world market price of oil. In the two years ending August 2006, the average fuel cost per year per vehicle rose $600 here but only $290 in Germany. The pump price (with taxes) increased 59% here but only 22% in Germany.
A more detailed report on my presentation to the Commission is under news releases over on the regular NARP website. Prepared statements of all the witnesses are on the Commission’s website (click on Information Central, then the March 19 hearing); be sure also to check submissions by Anne Canby of Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and David L. Greene of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Dr. Greene notes that we could sustain business as usual “through mid-century and beyond” with environmentally problematic “unconventional fossil hydrocarbon and carbon resources, in the form of oil sands, extra-heavy oil, coal and oil shale [which] can be converted to conventional transportation fuels at costs comparable to oil prices seen over the last three years.” He cautions that major scientific breakthroughs are needed for “climate-friendly” solutions to work. Although he refers ominously to the “unconventional…resources” as “the path of least resistance,” he expresses optimism that “we will decide to reduce the threat of dangerous climate change by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions” and says “surface transportation will have to make a serious and sustained effort to increase its energy efficiency and reduce the carbon intensity of its energy sources.”
Most encouraging was the response by Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson to the question, “What one recommendation would you want us to make to Congress?” Peterson, representing the National League of Cities, said, “We must have greater respect for transit. [This would let us] lower the cost per passenger in our transportation system.” He also said, “I cannot go a day without someone telling me how wonderful our old interurban system was…this is the year” for the Indianapolis region to make a decision about rail transit and he expects it will be a positive one.
—Ross Capon
Posted by NARP
Tags:Some Good News on Union Pacific and from Amtrak
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
My trip from San Antonio to Los Angeles, departing Thursday morning, March 15, suggests that Union Pacific dispatchers are doing a good job for Amtrak. We left San Antonio about three hours late, delays east of there having been caused by high water warnings, as well as signal and locomotive problems. We passed siding after siding with freights in the hole waiting for us. I think we only went into a siding twice between San Antonio and El Paso…both without slowing below perhaps 30 mph, first to meet the eastbound Sunset and later to go around a big freight near El Paso. We got down to 2:21 late departing El Paso (after condensing a 45 minute scheduled dwell time to 15 minutes), but a disabled freight problem further west put us back slightly over three hours.
Bottom line—on the strength of this trip, I give the dispatchers high marks. Talking with an official of another major railroad, I think Kummant is likewise getting high marks for reaching out to the railroads.
It is perhaps significant that, in introducing Richard Phelps as Amtrak’s new Vice President—Transportation, Kummant told the NARP Region 12-RailPAC joint Annual Meeting audience in Los Angeles last Saturday that Phelps is respected both by his peers at Amtrak and by the freight railroads. Kummant also referred to Phelps’ long history with Amtrak and his institutional knowledge, which balances out some of Amtrak’s other new hires from outside the company and the industry. Phelps’ appointment is viewed by many advocates as a positive, because of his long and respected tenure as Amtrak’s Southwest Division General Superintendent.
—Ross Capon
Posted by NARP
Tags:Heavily Used Trains and Smart Growth
Friday, March 16, 2007
I’ve just completed a cross-country trip on Amtrak: I took the Capitol Limited to Chicago then the Empire Builder to Portland. As I’m writing this, I’m completing my trip to Tacoma, Washington with a ride on the Cascades service.
It was a great trip—the ride, the Amtrak employees, my fellow passengers—it was truly enjoyable. Here are a couple of pictures I took along the way. Who says that long distance trains are lightly used? These are from Minot and Whitefish Wednesday on the westbound Empire Builder.
I also took this picture at Shelby. Wouldn’t you love to be driving in this weather?
I took advantage of my layover in Portland to ride the MAX light rail and streetcar network. What a great system! And its not just the trains themselves…Portland has fully bought into the concept of smart growth and dense urban planning to create some really wonderful new urban areas. He’s my favorite picture; I’m in a coffee shop at Beaverton Center station shooting out towards the MAX station (red colored train in the distance). It’s all part of a major mixed-use residential and commercial development.
I heard more people than I could count today talk about how they’ve either gotten rid of or severely curtailed the use of their cars since moving to Portland. The city is truly a model for others to follow!
—Dave Johnson
Posted by NARP
Tags:Attend your NARP Regional Meeting!
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Regional meetings for NARP members begin this weekend. These meetings are a great way to meet other rail advocates, hear informative speakers, and also meet NARP staff, officers and directors. Here’s a schedule of upcoming NARP membership meetings, with confirmed speakers. Full details on each meeting can be found on the Events Calendar on the main NARP website.
March 10
NARP Region 2 (New York State): Schenectady, NY
Ross Capon, Executive Director - NARP, Rick Harnish, Executive Director – Midwest High Speed Rail Association, Emmett Fremaux - Amtrak Vice President, Marketing and Product Management
March 17
NARP Region 12 (California, Nevada, and Hawaii): Los Angeles, CA
NARP Executive Director Ross Capon, Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant, Michael Dukakis, former Governor of Massachusetts & former Amtrak Board Member, Dan Leavitt, Assistant Executive Director, California High Speed Rail Authority
NARP Region 4 (Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, D.C.): Baltimore, MD
George Chilson, NARP President; Bob Stewart, NARP Vice President-Southeast; Emmett Fremaux, Amtrak Vice President, Marketing and Product Management; Jim Hoover, Director, MARC Train/MTA Commuter Bus Services; Dennis Larson, Director of Railway and Equipment Services, VRE; and Webb Smedley, Chairman, Coalition to Build the Purple Line
NARP Region 8 (Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana): Tacoma, WA
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (invited), Jonathan Hutchison, Amtrak Government Affairs Director-West, Scott Witt, Freight Multimodal Manager, WashDOT, NARP Assistant Director David Johnson
March 24
NARP Region 6 and 7 (Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Minnesota): Chicago, IL
NARP President George Chilson, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership President Anne Canby, Alfred Runte will be signing copies of his book: “Allies of the Earth.”
March 31
NARP Region 5 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and the Virgin Islands): Nashville, TN
NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon
NARP Region 10 (Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming): Council Bluffs, IA (Omaha, NE)
George Chilson, NARP President
NARP Region 1 (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusettes, Rhode Island, and Connecticut): Boston, MA
Congressman Steven F. Lynch (D-9, MA) (Invited), David Johnson, Assistant Director, NARP, Wayne Davis, Vice President, NARP, Reports from around New England from each of the other NARP Regional Directors.
April 21
NARP Region 9 (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas): Galveston, TX
May 12
NARP Region 3 (Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey): Harrisburg, PA
NARP Assistant Director David Johnson
Posted by NARP
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