Culture & Ethics

Health Care Reform could help the environment

As Streetsblog noted, the newly-passed health care reform contains some grant money for nonprofits, Indian Tribes, and state and local governments to promote increased physical exercise and to create “the infrastructure to support active living.” Overall, this provision could provide local governments with extra money they desperately need to create more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly land …

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Why Doesn’t Anyone Care When IPCC UNDER-Estimates Climate Impacts

A major mistake by IPCC. Why hasn’t anyone ever heard of it? Because it underestimated the seriousness of climate change!

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce adopts “grassroots” organizing tactic, redoubles attacks on climate science and law

The Los Angeles Times reported last week that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – a significant and strident voice in opposition to anything that our government might possibly do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – is using its considerable financial resources to dramatically increase its constituent base through “grass-roots organizing,” and that its influence is …

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To the left is the famous cardigan worn by Jimmy Carter in the oval office, when he urged Americans to turn down their thermostats to save energy.  In reality, the most important ways of saving energy (such as cogeneration by industry, better insulation, etc.) don’t involve any discomfort.  It turned out that the American people …

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Environment Now Releases Top So Cal Enviro Achievements

After so much bad environmental news, here’s a post that highlights some actual accomplishments just in case you fear they never occur.  Environment Now, a Southern California nonprofit group, has released its 6th Annual Top Achivements of the Environmental Community in Southern California.  The report includes the top achievements in six environmental areas; Sean Hecht …

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Cash for Transit

Jonathan proposes reinstating the vehicle license fee that Governor Schwarzenegger eliminated back in 2003. The repeal was highly successful in 1) getting Schwarzenegger elected governor and 2) contributing to the destruction of the state’s fiscal health. But even reinstating the fee is unlikely to help transit. With the state’s huge budget shortfall, that money would …

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Financing Lower Fares for Low-Income Bus Riders

Ethan, it’s obvious where the money is: just repeal the cut in the Vehicle License Fee. No, I’m not running for anything.  And that’s a very good thing…

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Increasing bus ridership by making it cheaper

Jonathan presents an interesting idea for stimulating bus ridership in Los Angeles among “choice” riders (aka affluent commuters who could drive if they wanted to).  For years, San Franciscans have enjoyed real-time data on bus and train arrivals (via nextmuni.com). It makes a huge difference when trying to catch a bus by minimizing unpleasant wait …

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Get On The Bus — Even in Los Angeles

A few days ago, Ann cited the newspaper story highlighting the supposed “miracle” of a 26-year-old white woman taking the bus in Los Angeles.   But the funny thing is that it would be actually pretty easy to increase bus ridership in LA if the MTA was just a little smart about it. I start from …

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New bill in Congress by Rockefeller (S. 3072) would delay regulation of GHGs under the Clean Air Act

As Cara and I have already discussed in detail, the Environmental Protection Agency has committed to delay the rollout of regulation of stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, and to regulate only the very largest sources. This backtracking from EPA has been a response to efforts by Senator Lisa Murkowski …

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