States Get Dismal Grades for Emissions
The Natural Resources Defense Council and Smart Growth America performed a 50-state assessment and found few states making a decent effort to curb emissions through smarter transportation policy. Only California, Maryland and New Jersey fell into the top tier of the report’s methodology, while the majority of states got lower than a D grade.
The report essentially found what one might expect: States do little to assess how a particular policy — for instance, building new highways rather than maintaining old ones — will affect overall emissions. Examining 17 key policy options, the study authors found that there’s little concern at the state level for emissions policies.
This may sound like an environista carping, but the more greenhouse gas emissions per capita in a given state likely means the more time drivers spend sitting in traffic. It’s no coincidence that some of the solutions the authors cite such as demand-based parking fees and investing in bus and rail commuter programs are the same ideas suggested by researchers who study traffic congestion.
Find out where your state scored in the assessment by scrolling to the bottom of the page here.
Analysis Concludes That Current Transportation Policy in Most U.S. States Will Likely Worsen GHG Emission Trends in U.S. (Green Car Congress)
