Climate Cities
All Stories
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Country House, City House
Once upon a time, the Russian dacha, or country house, was the domain of the wealthy few, those who could afford to escape the grime and grit of Moscow and St. Petersburg for wooded lawns and rural vistas. But since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia’s mushrooming business class has poured millions […]
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Driving Reign
Seventy-five percent of U.S. workers drive alone to their jobs, according to data from the 2000 U.S. Census, while only 4.7 percent get to work via public transportation and 0.4 percent commute by bicycle. Ridership on mass transit has increased 22 percent since 1996, says the American Public Transit Association, but highway driving has increased […]
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Idle Trucks Are the Devil’s Playthings
New gadgetry at truck stops could help slash pollution from idling big rigs. Most truck drivers across the U.S. leave their vehicles’ engines running all night while they’re parked at truck stops because it’s the only way to keep the heating or air conditioning on while they get some shuteye. Between 840 million and 2 […]
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Invasion of the Habitat Snatchers
Roads have long been considered the enemy of the environment, creating (literal) avenues for deforestation and development. Now, it seems, they are also to blame for another major environmental woe: invasive species. According to a pair of recent studies conducted at the University of California at Davis, new roads are one of the quickest ways […]
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Light on Their Fleet
The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear a case about whether the Los Angeles area can go beyond the federal Clean Air Act to impose strict anti-pollution rules on buses, taxis, garbage trucks, airport shuttles, and other vehicle fleets. Oil companies and engine manufacturers challenged a rule issued in 2000 by the South Coast Air […]
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Tunnel at the End of the Tunnel
A coalition that includes the Sierra Club, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and the Abyssinian Baptist Church is backing a project to build a new tunnel under New York Harbor to reduce truck traffic in the city. The proposed rail freight tunnel would divert almost a million truck-trips per year away from the George Washington […]
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Ford Gored
The Sierra Club hopes to embarrass Ford Motor Co. with ads slated to run in the New York Times and BusinessWeek pointing out that the company’s vehicles are less fuel-efficient now than when Ford got its start 100 years ago. The Model T got 25 miles to the gallon; Ford’s fleet now averages 22.6 miles […]
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Can We Get There From Here?
The U.S. transportation sector generates more carbon dioxide emissions than the entire economy of any other country in the world with the exception of China, according to a study released yesterday by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. The study, “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Transportation,” also found that transportation accounts for almost […]
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Take This Job and SUV It
Golden State senators will no longer be allowed to use SUVs to tool around their districts, if the president pro tem of the California senate gets his way. Most lawmakers in California lease their vehicles at the state’s expense; now, Sen. John Burton (D) wants to ban the lease of SUVs to protect the environment […]
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Advice on driving vs. flying
Hi Umbra, I’m wondering if you have any numbers comparing the fuel efficiency of flying versus driving the average car for the same distance. Also, how does carbon dioxide production compare for the same trip? SteveLoomis, Calif. Dearest Steve, Flight blight? Here’s what I can find so far, courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Institute in […]
