VMT Reduction

Grist's David Roberts attended a national conference on the future of transportation at Ohio State in early May and noticed a divide in the concluding discussion on how panelists approached the issue of sustainability in transportation.

Americans are driving less. Moreover, alternative fuels, be they electricity or biofuels, will become more common while efficiency of conventional vehicles increases. This article looks at the effect of the VMT reduction, et.al. on oil refineries.

A new report by Environment America suggests that increased ridership in 2008 reduced global warming gases significantly, and increasing ridership by 10% more could save the equivalent of all the oil we import from the Persian Gulf.

A new Transportation Research Board study examines the relationship between land use and carbon emissions - specifically reduction of vehicle miles traveled resulting from densification and the shape of new growth to come.