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Archive for the ‘National’ Category

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2015 State of the Cities Report

Thursday, July 16th, 2015
Table 3: Key research findings

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES
Mayors are the leaders who shoulder many of our nation’s most critical problems and from whom solutions can arise. NLC stands ready to support city leaders in their efforts to help mend the nation, and through this annual analysis of mayoral priorities, spotlight challenges, opportunities, and progress in our cities. Whether through their roles in economic development, public safety or education, this year’s report highlights ways local governments are providing the leadership needed to create more equitable communities.

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Posted in Aging Infrastructure, Infra Views, National, Smart Growth, Sustainability, Technology, Urban Planning

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A Lasting Solution to the Transportation Funding Crisis

Monday, July 13th, 2015

Innovation Newsbriefs
Vol. 26, No. 6
Trust Fund spending could be curtailed by progressively shifting funding responsibilities for local transportation to the States and localities and limiting Trust Fund expenditures to projects and programs that represent core federal responsibilities or are of truly strategic or national significance.

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Posted in Bipartisan, Funding, Guest Post, Innovation Newsbriefs, National, Policy, Republican, Tax, The Infra Blog

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Clean Power Plan: Markets Drive Innovation

Monday, July 13th, 2015
Figure 1. Lead Permits Traded as Percent of All Lead Emissions, 1983-1987

ADVANCED ENERGY ECONOMY INSTITUTE (AEE INSTITUTE)
On June 2, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the Clean Power Plan (CPP) to implement section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). While the proposed rule does not mandate a market-based approach to compliance, ample evidence from previous CAA rules suggests that market-based mechanisms are likely to develop under the CPP, and that these mechanisms will spark an industry response that will make available a wide array of cost-effective compliance options.

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Posted in Clean Air, Energy, Environment, Infra Views, National, Private Investment, Sustainability, Technology

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2015 U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index

Thursday, July 9th, 2015
2015 TOP 10 STATES (INCLUDING HISTORICAL RANKINGS)

CLEAN EDGE
The United States has seen a significant shift in its energy landscape since Clean Edge began publishing its clean-tech leadership index five years ago. The transition to a clean tech and energy efficiency-based economy, based on the many indicators we track, is well underway. Solar and wind power, along with natural gas and energy efficiency, are now the mainstream choices for meeting the nation’s electricity needs; coal-fired and nuclear power, the dominant choices of the 20th century, have become the marginalized “alternatives.”

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Posted in Clean Air, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Infra Views, National, Pollution, Sustainability, Technology

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How a Gas Tax Increase Affects the Retail Pump Price

Wednesday, July 8th, 2015
Weekly Change in U.S. Gasoline Prices, 2005 to 2014

AMERICAN ROAD & TRANSPORTATION BUILDERS ASSOCIATION (ARTBA)
Based on these findings, it is projected that a 15 cents-per-gallon gas tax increase at the federal level would likely result in a 5.9 cents-per-gallon increase in the pump price the week of enactment plus an additional 2.4 cents-per-gallon within four weeks of enactment. Thereafter, it would be a relatively insignificant pricing factor. In fact, the impact of a 15 cent increase in the federal gas tax would likely be “lost” in the week-to-week price fluctuation that has occurred at the gas pump for the last 10 years.

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Posted in Funding, Infra Views, Local, National, Policy, Tax

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Options for Paying for Highway Spending

Tuesday, July 7th, 2015
Spending for Highways and Transit, by Level of Government, 1956 to 2014

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
…with its current revenue sources, the Highway Trust Fund cannot support spending at the current rate. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that spending in fiscal year 2015 for highways and transit programs funded from the Highway Trust Fund will be $44 billion and $8 billion, respectively, whereas revenues collected for those purposes are projected to be $34 billion and $5 billion, respectively. By CBO’s estimate, at the end of fiscal year 2015, the balance in the trust fund’s highway account will fall to about $2 billion and the balance in its transit account will be about $1 billion.

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Posted in Funding, Infra Views, National, Policy

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Results of a Six-Year Transportation Funding Survey

Friday, July 3rd, 2015
Figure 1. Supporta Levels for the Tax Options Surveyed in 2015

MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE
This report contributes to the understanding of current public sentiment about increasing transportation taxes by presenting the results from the sixth year of an annual telephone survey investigating public opinion about a variety of transportation tax options at the federal level. The specific taxes tested were ten variations on raising the federal gas tax rate or creating a new mileage tax, as well as one option for creating a new federal sales tax.

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Posted in Infra Views, National, Public Opinion, Tax

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Guest on The Infra Blog: Phineas Baxandall, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. PIRG

Thursday, July 2nd, 2015
Phineas Baxandall on The Infra Blog

Phineas Baxandall is a Senior Policy Analyst at U.S. PIRG and directs program on tax and budget issues as well as transportation. He often presents at conferences and has given invited testimony and public comment to state legislatures, Congress, and the U.S. Department of Transportation. His blogs appear on the National Journal Transportation Expert blog, Huffington Post and StreetsBlog. At U.S. PIRG, he has authored or co-authored dozens of reports, including a series examining the end of America’s driving boom, a series on infrastructure privatization, and a series on state government spending transparency.

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Posted in Funding, Guests on The Infra Blog, Highway, Local, National, Policy, Roads, Tax, The Infra Blog

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Tolling in the United States

Wednesday, July 1st, 2015
HIGHWAY TRUST FUND RECEIPTS: 1970 - 2009

INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE, TUNNEL AND TURNPIKE ASSOCIATION (IBTTA)
Q: Why do we need tolls to pay for roads and crossings?
A: No matter how you slice it, federal and state fuel taxes are insufficient to support America’s highway infrastructure. Tolls provide a valuable source of revenue both to build new roads and maintain existing roads.

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Posted in Congestion, Funding, Highway, Infra Views, National, Roads

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Adapting To Climate Change in Coastal Parks

Tuesday, June 30th, 2015
2 Figure 1. Location of all 40 NPS units analyzed as part of the WCU/NPS sea-level rise study.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Over the next century, warming global temperatures will present many challenges for the National Park Service (NPS) and public land managers. Rising sea level will be one of the most obvious and most challenging impacts of this warming. Even a minor increase in sea level will have significant effects on coastal hazards, natural resources and assets within national parks. To begin addressing these issues, the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines (PSDS) at Western Carolina University (WCU) has partnered with NPS to begin an assessment of the level of exposure that park owned assets will face during a period of rising sea level.

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Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Infra Views, National, Public Parks & Recreation

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