Investing in a more Sustainable Infrastructure

Democratic leadership is negotiating with President Trump over a $2 trillion-dollar infrastructure bill, but exactly what makes it into the bill will have a tremendous impact on the environment and the country's ability to maintain its transportation resources. While those negotiations have again stalled, the eventual outcome of this bill will have a huge impact. "The country must prioritize measures that shift commuters toward transit while fixing decaying bridges and essential roadways that are a public safety risk if neglected any longer, said the authors of the U.S. PIRG Education Fund study," Aaron Short reports.

The authors of that study write that rather than focusing on expensive to build and maintain auto infrastructure, the country must spend on more cycling, transit and walking. "In the past, lawmakers didn’t worry that building an interstate highway system could lead to sprawling neighborhoods, polluted air that triggers asthma attacks, and a dependency on fossil fuels that we’ve been unable to kick for more than a half century," Short argues. Beyond active transit the author’s of the study argue for a greater focus on water infrastructure, arguing that the issue's importance is only likely to grow.