greenhouse gas emissions is on the rise.
(Photos © J. Maus)
A new study by NASA and a bill passed by the Oregon Senate yesterday have at least one thing in common. They both sound the alarm that transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions (a.k.a. too many cars and trucks on the road) are harmful to the planet and they need to be curtailed.
The NASA study analyzed emissions based on economic sectors (as opposed to the more commonly studied individual chemical causes) and found that “motor vehicles emerged as the greatest contributor to atmospheric warming now and in the near term.”
“A sizable majority of people want to live in communities that allow them to drive less often.”
— Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin), Oregon Senate Majority Leader
In an article about the study published on the NASA website, lead scientist Nadine Unger said, “Targeting on-road transportation is a win-win-win.. It’s good for the climate in the short term and long term, and it’s good for our health.” For more on the study, read a Q&A with Unger here.
In other greenhouse gas news, the Oregon Senate has passed SB 1059, a bill that directs the Oregon Transportation Commission “to adopt statewide transportation strategy on greenhouse gas emissions.” (The OTC is a five-member, governor-appointed body that sets state transportation policy.)
In a statement about the bill, Senate Democrats said SB 1059 “lays the groundwork” for a “state-level strategy to reduce greenhouse gases from transportation sources.” To do that, the bill would develop a “toolkit” to help cities tackle the issue, it would set greenhouse gas reduction targets, encourage more public education on the issue, and more.
The bill passed on a near party-line vote. The only Democrat to vote against the bill was Senator Rick Metsger who was quoted by The Oregonian as saying the bill shouldn’t pass because it doesn’t “mention anything about economic vitality,” and “We can certainly reduce greenhouse gases if nobody is working.”
On the Democrat side, one of the bill’s chief supporters, Alan Bates (Ashland) said, “We must design our cities more efficiently, everything from timing our traffic signals to increasing our ability to run errands with fewer or shorter trips in the car.”
Senate Majority Leader Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin) added that, “A sizable majority of people want to live in communities that allow them to drive less often.”
These two developments speak to growing awareness that more needs to be done to reduce the amount of unneccessary trips taken by motor vehicles in our cities. We all know this is a serious environmental, health and transportation issue, all that’s missing is the political will (and the money that follows) to do something about it. To hear these kind of statements and to see this kind of legislative action from Salem is encouraging, but real action that makes an impact is what we need.
With success in the Senate, SB 1059 now moves onto the House for further consideration.
UPDATE: SB 1059 passed the House today (2/24) and is now expected to be signed by the Governor.