URBAN LAND INSTITUTE
In 2013, ULI published a national survey of Americans’ preferences and priorities regarding their communities, housing, and transportation. America in 2013 found that Americans were mostly satisfied with the quality of life in their communities and uncovered a strong desire for compact and mixed-use communities. America in 2015 expands upon the 2013 survey approach with new questions exploring priorities for and barriers around healthy communities and lifestyles.
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.
TRIP
Despite the lack of recent increases in state or federal transportation revenues, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has been able to boost annual spending on roads, highways and bridges over the last four years through operational improvements and the use of bonds backed by the Ohio Turnpike. This increased investment has allowed Ohio to keep state-maintained roads, highways and bridges largely in acceptable condition. However, it has not been adequate to close a shortfall in needed transportation improvements in the state.
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.”
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.
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.
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Actions can be taken now to reduce GHG emissions and avoid many of the adverse impacts of climate change. Quantifying the benefits of reducing GHG emissions (i.e., how GHG mitigation reduces or avoids impacts) requires comparing projections of climate change impacts and damages in a future with policy actions and a future without policy actions. Looking across a large number of sectors, this report communicates estimates of these benefits to the U.S. associated with global action on climate change.
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.
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.
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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