Horse demand famously peaked when cars were just 3 percent of their number, and gas lighting demand peaked when electric lighting was just 2 percent of supply. The consequence of peaking demand for fossil fuels has been playing out for a number of years now, in sector after sector. Peak demand for coal meant lower prices for US coal and …
Post-Pandemic World and Just Transition Measures
Excerpt from Sharan Burrow, March 2020 The post-pandemic world will need Just Transition measures if people are to have hope and to trust governments can manage a future with: secure pensions income support and skills training in the face of jobs transition or displacement prevailing wage rates in new jobs investment and renewal in affected communities to secure vital jobs. …
Approaches Cities Are Taking and Law on Municipal Gas Bans
The bans in California and Massachusetts rely on different sources of authority. Many of the California bans are structured as amendments to the local building codes. In that state, municipalities are permitted to adopt building energy code provisions that are more stringent than the state code with California Energy Commission approval. San Jose, Menlo Park, San Mateo, West Hollywood and …
Large cities may cut emissions by a third based on improvements in housing density alone. Reducing driving is essential
Patrick Sisson at Curbed pointed out recently that some studies have estimated that large global cities could cut their emissions by a third based on improvements in housing density alone. We have to start talking about these solutions and making them part of mainstream environmental policy, Hankins says. Time is running out. “We can’t afford to ignore significant climate mitigation measures just …
Car bans are the future in vehicle clogged cities
“It might feel odd to stroll across a crosswalk and not have the grill of a car, waiting to turn right, breathing on your leg. Vehicles have taken over our streets, so people assume vehicles have the right of way,” said Kaufman. Car bans aren’t just about getting places faster. Urban dwellers don’t have to tolerate car-choked streets where pedestrian …
Why we need fare-free transit: A system largely supported by debt is inherently dysfunctional
Whatever the method, nearly every single current subway and bus rider would save money on transportation if mass transit were funded through taxes rather than fares. And riders would benefit from the most well-funded MTA since its inception. New York subways and buses are inherent to our identity as they’re the vital circulatory force that gives our city life — …
Minimum business shifts: Science-based targets, climate-related financial disclosures and common info and stakeholder not shareholder orientation
GreenBiz, Jan 22, 2020, excerpt – Fix Capitalism Peter Bakker argued in his earlier “Garbage in, garbage out: systems transformation in a capitalist world” blog that the conversation needs to focus on how to truly accelerate the required transformations. The fix is relatively simple and I would call it the Triangle of Stakeholder Capitalism: Science-Based Targets (SBTs): The SBTs for climate and biodiversity …
City green transport planning: Promote shared-use EVs, create a robust system of multiple efficient modes, & ensure smart, optimized use of public space
Shruti Vaidyanathan, GreenBiz, Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Autonomous vehicles could help cities address their climate goals, if they start planning now Cities need to lay the groundwork now for the arrival of autonomous vehicles (AVs) to ensure that AVs contribute to rather than detract from their transportation and climate objectives. An ACEEE toolkit highlights fundamental strategies that cities can pursue and gives …
‘The streets are more alive’: Ghent readers on a car-free city centre
We asked locals in the Belgian city to tell us how things have changed since the shake-up Guardian readers and Rachel Obordom The Guardian, Mon 20 Jan 2020 ‘Teaching my son to cycle has been a fun and relatively stress-free experience’ The city has become a pedestrians and cyclists’ joy, especially for people like me who live in the city centre and …
LA seeking to regulate Uber and Lyft, require electric vehicles and data-sharing
Los Angeles Looks to Require Ride Share Companies to Use Electric Cars. The Financial Times is reporting that Los Angeles wants to require Uber and Lyft to use electric cars. Mayor Garcetti said: “We have the power to regulate car share. We can mandate and are looking closely at mandating that any of those vehicles in the future be electric.” …