Oran Viriyincy, Flickr, Creative Commons.
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The energy bill that was introduced to the U.S. Senate a couple of days ago (there's a PDF of the text here) is flawed for many reasons, and pundits on all sides will gladly explain you why. But there's one omission that doesn't get nearly enough press, and it is the fact that the bill doesn't contain any money for public transportation and the improved urban planning that goes with it.
If there's one thing that could improve energy use in the U.S., it's fast and modern public transportation (f.ex. more than 90% of trips are made using transit in Hong Kong). So much energy is wasted by commuters who are crawling in huge traffic jams every weekday morning and evening, not to mention all the time and money that are wasted.
Photo: Flickr, Creative commons.
It's good for the government to try to encourage "sexy" technologies like solar panels, plug-in cars, etc. But it must not forget that there are less photogenic solutions that have shown their worth time and time again. Sadly, the U.S. has a lot of catching up to do, after decades of under-investment in things like Bus Rapid Transit, Light-Rail, High-Speed Rail, etc. New urbanism principles need to be incorporated into new developments, and old ones need to be adapted to be made more sustainable; ways to get around that aren't the automobile need to be offered to everybody.
Via DC StreetsBlog
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