Transportation
Weakening Vehicle Standards Ignores Decades of Successful Innovation in Emissions Control
EPA appears poised to abdicate their responsibility to protect public health
As my colleague Ann Carlson explained, the EPA is expected to announce a catastrophic rollback this week to freeze national vehicle emission and fuel economy standards and challenge California’s authority to set their own, more stringent standards. The Trump EPA’s decision to weaken the vehicle standards despite thorough midterm reviews by both the Obama-era EPA and California that …
CONTINUE READINGWheeler EPA Looking to Freeze Auto Standards, Revoke California Waiver
Lawsuits will follow
According to a Bloomberg report this morning, the Trump Administration, under new EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, will release a proposal later this week to freeze greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards at 2020 levels. The effect is that automakers will face standards of about 35 miles per gallon rather than seeing the standards increase …
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CONTINUE READINGGetting to Zero Fatalities
Eliminating traffic deaths and vehicle emissions by 2050? Not as crazy as you might think.
Could we have a transportation system with zero deaths from car crashed and zero emissions? That seems utopian but it’s not as crazy as it sounds. Even if we don’t get all the way to zero, we could get much closer than you might think. In The Road to Zero, RAND researchers provide a roadmap …
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CONTINUE READINGScenarios
We live in an uncertain world. Scenario planning can help.
When Shell Oil produced a sophisticated scenario of the path to a carbon neutral world in 2070, a lot people took notice. Shell concluded that the “relevant transformations in the energy and natural systems require concurrent climate policy action and the deployment of disruptive new technologies at mass scale within government policy environments that strongly …
CONTINUE READINGAutomation Leads To Efficiency Gains But Job Losses At Southern California Port
Controversial issue to be discussed at upcoming UCLA conference on zero-emission freight at Southern California’s ports
Automation threatens to eliminate many manufacturing jobs around the world, as robots now perform factory line tasks that used to be done by humans. Now the technology is starting to be deployed through self-driving vehicles in places like ports, with similar results. It’s an issue we’ll discuss at the upcoming free UCLA/Berkeley Law conference on …
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CONTINUE READINGRegister Now: Toward Zero-Emission Freight At Southern California’s Ports
Free daylong conference at UCLA on Friday, June 8th will examine the prospects, pitfalls & policy needs
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach bring more goods into the U.S. than any other ports in the country. Yet together the ports are the single largest source of air pollution in Southern California. Harbor commissioners have adopted an ambitious plan to transition to cleaner fuels for goods movement in and around the …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy California gets to write its own auto emissions standards: 5 questions answered
Authored by Nicholas Bryner and Meredith Hankins
Rush hour on the Hollywood Freeway, Los Angeles, September 9, 2016. AP Photo/Richard Vogel This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Editor’s note: On April 2, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the Trump administration plans to revise tailpipe emissions standards negotiated by the Obama administration for motor …
CONTINUE READINGNew Report Shows How California’s Freight System Can Achieve Sustainability Goals
Berkeley Law report stems from two-day discussion with state regulators, industry and environmental groups
California’s freight system is massive. Nearly 1/3 of all jobs in the state are in freight-related fields, and nearly 40% of all cargo moved throughout the United States enters or originates in California. The state’s seaports, airports, international border crossings and thousands of miles of rails and roads are integral to not just the state …
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CONTINUE READINGAchieving Sustainable Freight in California — Free Webinar On Law & Policy Solutions
Berkeley Law event on Thursday, March 29, 10-11am will feature new report from a recent symposium
California’s freight system contributes to one-third of the state’s economy. But it is also responsible for some of its most significant emissions challenges, including toxic air pollution and greenhouse gases. To discuss solutions, the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) at UC Berkeley Law is hosting a free webinar this Thursday at 10am …
CONTINUE READINGWill Pruitt join Sessions In Expanding the Federal Government’s Attack on California?
California Vehicle Emissions Standards At Stake
It’s no secret that the Trump Administration has it out for California. Attorney General Jeff Sessions just sued the state for its refusal to aid Immigration and Customs Enforcement in detaining undocumented immigrants. Donald Trump just claimed that highly popular Governor Jerry Brown is doing a terrible job, despite Brown leading California out of a …
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