Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Energy

CBO Echoes Obama’s Candor on the Pitfalls of ‘Shovel-Readiness’

By Elana Schor | Jan 19, 2010 | 2 Comments

During last month’s White House jobs summit, President Obama carved out some common ground with critics of his first stimulus law’s $47 billion in infrastructure spending — which was distributed mainly by the book through state DOTs. "The term "shovel-ready," let’s be honest here, doesn’t always live up to its billing," he acknowledged. The CBO […]

Could a Green Bank Hitch a Ride on the Jobs Bill?

By Elana Schor | Jan 15, 2010 | No Comments

Fans of a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) that would help leverage private-sector funding for transportation projects are still hoping for Hill action after the House declined to add the idea to its $154 billion jobs bill. But the NIB isn’t the only new financing strategy on the table, as Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) reminded […]

EPA Air Chief: We Need to Do More to Reduce VMT

By Elana Schor | Jan 14, 2010 | 7 Comments

Obama administration officials "need to align together" to work on reducing the nation’s total vehicle miles traveled — work that should go beyond a pending congressional climate bill — the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) air-quality chief said today. Gina McCarthy, EPA’s top air pollution regulator. (Photo: CECE) Gina McCarthy, EPA’s assistant administrator for air and […]

The Big Trouble With ‘Miles Per Gallon’

By Elana Schor | Jan 14, 2010 | 2 Comments

(Photo: snoweyes via Flickr) Can you answer this riddle? A town maintains a fleet of vehicles for town employee use. It has two types of vehicles. Type A gets 15 miles per gallon. Type B gets 30 miles per gallon. The town has 100 Type A vehicles and 100 Type B vehicles. Each car in […]

Should a Climate Bill Even Try to Fight Sprawl?

By Elana Schor | Jan 11, 2010 | 4 Comments

The potential for a cap-and-trade climate bill to set aside significant amounts of money for reforming local land use and transportation planning is often touted by Democrats, environmental groups, and this particular Streetsblogger. Should the approach California used in SB 375 (being signed into law above) be applied to a congressional cap-and-trade climate bill? (Photo: […]

Democratic Lawmaker Blasts Salazar For Calling Big Oil ‘Kings of the World’

By Elana Schor | Jan 7, 2010 | No Comments

When Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced yesterday that his department would conduct stricter environmental reviews before leasing federal land to oil and gas producers, he added a comment that few in the Democratic party might contest: Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK) (Photo: NewsGroper) In the prior administration the oil and gas industry were the kings of […]

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