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Kamala Harris is Vice President Unveiled a series measuresMonday’s announcement by the Biden administration outlined the steps it is taking to reduce pollution and the greenhouse gas emission that are causing climate change. The White House hosted Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, along with Michael Regan, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. They announced two sets of actions, including investments in low-emission, zero-emission buses for school districts and public transit systems, and new rules by the EPA to reduce truck pollution.
“Our transportation sector has reached a turning point,” Harris said. “We have the technology to transition to a zero-emission fleet. To make this possible, our administration is working together. We can address the climate crisis and grow our economy at the same time.”
The Bipartisan infrastructure Law, which President Biden signed last autumn, requires that the Department of Transportation spend $1.1billion in funding this fiscal year to assist state and local governments in purchasing U.S.-built transit buses and other cleaner models.
“In our economy, transportation is the biggest contributor to climate change,” Buttigieg noted on Monday. “So that also means transportation has to be a part of the solution to the climate crisis. Public transit is one of the best ways to do it … and transit is even better when it’s clean transit.”
Administration officials stressed that hydrogen- and electric-powered trucks and buses would not only reduce climate change but also drastically reduce local air polluting, especially in areas where there is a large concentration of vehicle exhaust from roads and garages. These areas are typically lower-income and more likely to be communities with minorities.
“There are many communities … where pollution from heavy-duty trucks and buses has made the air poisonous,” Harris said. “Imagine that they produced zero emissions.”
The EPA also issued a proposal rule Monday on Monday to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy duty vehicles. It also establishes stronger greenhouse gas emission standards for certain heavy-duty-vehicle types. The agency projects that the rule will save approximately 2,000 lives annually and prevent 18,000 cases in childhood asthma if fully implemented.
The EPA has also granted $17 million to help fund electric zero-emission, low-emission school buses in existing programs. However this is a small amount compared to the $5Billion for cleaner school buses that will be available from the infrastructure law later in the year.
“EPA’s two announcements today are about seizing the opp that tech presents in driving towards a cleaner, healthier, more just future,” Regan said.
Transportation accounts for 29 percentU.S. greenhouse gases emissions. Next is electricity generation at 25%.
It is important to note, however, the role of public transit in American transportation patterns is very limited. Even before the pandemic, there was still a lot to do. Mass transit ridershipMore than 80 percentPrivate vehicles were used for many commutes throughout the country.
Global temperatures have been rising for decades. Look at the data to see how climate change is occurring.
