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An Oily Warning
Friday, June 11, 2010
As oil keeps billowing into the Gulf of Mexico, the nation’s attention is focused on yet another of the significant consequences of our overdependence on fossil fuels and overreliance on inefficient technologies. While we hope that the gusher can be safely plugged or diverted as quickly as possible, we have to recognize that every crisis presents an opportunity to shift our society onto a course that will minimize the chances of such devastation occurring again. The spill is a wake-up call that what’s at stake when it comes to transportation policy is the quality of our lives, and those of the ecosystems on which we depend.
Financial Times columnist Philip Stephens says President Obama must use this opportunity “to shape a new conversation about the unavoidable links between oil spills, climate change and sustainable economic growth.” “If the world’s richest nation and biggest oil consumer is not ready to curb the greenhouse emissions that cause global warming,” he cautions, “no one else, least of all China, is going to make the switch to a low carbon economy.”
As the Senate prepares to take up a major energy and climate change measure, the way for which was paved by yesterday’s vote, we need to remind Senators that the revenue generated by a carbon levy on transportation fuels ought to support the development of the most efficient, Earth-friendly form of motorized transport—passenger trains. Revenues from the transportation system should go towards programs like TIGER that use competitive bidding to steer federal dollars to where they can have the most impact in enhancing the quality, while shrinking the carbon footprint, of the US transportation system—along with direct investment in passenger rail, both through the states and through Amtrak.
The longer we wait before taking serious steps towards a saner transportation system, the more the economic, social and environmental price tag of the status quo goes up.
—Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: climate change, deepwater horizon, ecosystems, fossil fuels, gulf oil disaster, investment, oil spill, passenger trains, quality of life, tiger, transportation,Deepwater Horizon, Energy, U.S. DOT and Trains
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Quoting again from the June 11 Philip Stephens column in Financial Times, “The reason the Deepwater Horizon rig is there is because the US consumes a quarter of world oil production even though it has only one-twentieth of the population.”
A major reason that the US has such high per capita energy consumption is our high reliance on automobiles and aviation. The world has an average of 107 motorcars per 1,000 inhabitants, but the U.S. has 765 cars per 1,000 people. That compares with 516 in Europe (15 nations), 188 in the Russian Federation, 14 in China and 11 in India.
Simply raising CAFÉ (miles per gallon) standards does not address the “external” energy costs of the automobile—including pedestrian-unfriendly development and widely-spaced buildings which themselves consume energy inefficiently.
In 2007 (the most recent figures available), automobiles averaged 28% more energy consumed per passenger-mile than Amtrak. Domestic airlines averaged 19% more than Amtrak. If the nation had invested adequately in passenger trains, Amtrak’s showing would have been even better.
Secretary LaHood deserves credit for the fact that the draft U.S. DOT Strategic Plan FY 2010-FY2015 [PDF] says most of the right things. Here are some quotes from the Executive Summary, starting with its first sentence: “President Barack Obama supports a transformative U.S. transportation policy that improves public health and safety, fosters livable communities, ensures that transportation assets are maintained in a state of good repair, supports the Nation’s long-term economic competitiveness, and works to achieve environmental sustainability…In addition to the sustainable development patterns associated with livable communities, DOT will also promote the substitution of carbon intensive travel on congested highways and airways for use of more energy efficient transportation systems, including rail, water, and pipelines where feasible.”
We need the White House to connect those dots more frequently!
—Ross Capon
Posted by NARP
Tags: consumption, deepwater horizon, energy policy, obama, oil dependence, oil disaster, oil spill, ray lahood, strategic plan, transportation, us dot,Misdirected Priorities
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
The New York Times reminds us of the extent to which oil extraction is one of America’s most heavily-subsidized activities. Imagine how much the quality of our lives and our environment would improve if these perverse subsidies were eliminated and part of the savings redirected to investments in an expanded network of modern passenger trains.
—Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: deepwater horizon, energy, environment, oil subsidies, petroleum, priorities, transportation,©2010 National Association of Railroad Passengers | » NARP website
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