Transportation
As the Planet Warms, Who Should Get to Drive?
A new study argues that “universal car access” could lift more Americans out of poverty.
On Thursday, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey released a framework for the “Green New Deal.” The much-anticipated policy package aims to eliminate U.S. carbon emissions within 10 years and create millions of jobs in the process.
One major goal outlined by the resolution: overhauling the country’s transportation systems, so that electric vehicles, public transit, and high-speed rail can replace every combustion-engine vehicle. In many ways, that’s a summation of every eco-conscious urbanist’s dreams. Transportation produces the largest share of U.S. greenhouse gases, so everything should be done to reduce the globe-cooking emissions that driving creates.