EJToday is SEJ's selection of new and outstanding stories on environmental topics in print and on the air, updated every weekday. SEJ also offers a free e-mailed digest of the day's EJToday postings, called SEJ-beat. SEJ members are subscribed automatically, but may opt out here. Non-members may subscribe here. EJToday is also available via RSS feed. Please see Editorial Guidelines for EJToday content.
"Oregon First to Juice Up West Coast Electric Highway"
ENS, 03/20/2012"CENTRAL POINT, Ore. --- Electric vehicle drivers can now cruise along the southern Oregon stretch of Interstate 5 without range anxiety. Officials from the Oregon Department of Transportation, along with charging station partner AeroVironment and the Oregon Department of Energy, opened the first phase of the West Coast Electric Highway in a ceremony on Friday. When complete, the highway will stretch along Interstate 5 from the Canadian to Mexican borders."
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"Refiners Push EPA to Scrap Gasoline Rule That Automakers Want"
Bloomberg, 03/15/2012"Refiners are pushing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to delay tighter pollution rules for gasoline, while automakers say they need the cleaner fuel."
"Lake Michigan Town Fears Losing Historic Ferry"
AP, 03/08/2012"LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) — On many a summer evening, Jim Fay joins dozens of onlookers on this tourist town's waterfront, exchanging friendly waves with passengers and crew members as the S.S. Badger chugs into the harbor after a 60-mile voyage across Lake Michigan from Manitowoc, Wis. It's a cherished ritual in Ludington, and its days may be numbered. "
"Highway Vote Keeps Keystone Fight Alive In Senate"
Reuters, 03/07/2012"Senate Republicans' push for a vote on approval of the delayed $7 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline project gained momentum on Tuesday after Democrats failed to end debate on a major transportation bill.
Fifty-two senators, most of them Democrats, voted to move forward on the $160 billion highway bill without a proposed Republican amendment to authorize construction of the Canada-to-Texas pipeline, eight votes short of the 60 needed to end debate.
House Passes Bill Allowing $690 Million Bridge Over Scenic Minn. River
Greenwire, 03/02/2012"The House [Thursday] morning voted to allow a $690 million highway bridge over the federally protected St. Croix River, ending decades of legal and legislative wrangling and setting in motion what would be the largest bridge project in Minnesota history."
"Tough Rules Sought To Keep Invasive Species From Great Lakes"
Reuters, 02/22/2012"Ships entering the Great Lakes should be made to kill all the creatures that hitch a ride in their ballast tanks, environmental groups said on Tuesday, challenging as too lax a proposed government standard to combat invasive species."
"Big House GOP Test: $260 Billion Highway Bill Heads for Cliff"
The Hill, 02/13/2012"House Republican leaders are desperately searching for the votes to pass their $260 billion transportation bill this week."
House Republicans Field Transportation Bill Favoring Oil and Gas
New Orleans Times-Picayune, 02/02/2012"U.S. House Republican leaders proposed a $260 billion transportation spending bill Tuesday, but its prospects are slim because of controversy over provisions to allow heavier trucks and to pay for new projects with expanded oil and gas production. The bill is important for all 50 states, including Louisiana, because it sets spending parameters for transportation financing critical to repairing and upgrading roadways. The bill also is one of the federal government's biggest job-generators.
"Republican Transportation Vision: More Highways, Funded By Drilling"
Huffington Post, 02/01/2012"House Transportation Chair John Mica introduced Americans to the GOP vision for transportation on Tuesday -- more highways and more toll roads. To pay for it all, there would more offshore drilling. Democrats and environmentalists, predictably, weren't impressed."
Prius C, More Green Cars Unveiled at Detroit Auto Show
Guardian, 01/11/2012"Toyota, the biggest player in hybrid-electric cars, has launched a cut price Prius as the Japanese firm fights back following one of the worst years in its history.
Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota USA, unveiled the Prius C at the second day of the North American International Automobile Show (NAIAS) at Detroit's Cobo Center. For a second year in a row the car show has been dominated by hybrid and electric car launches, although sales have so far been disappointing.
"The Race To Dig Deeper Ports For Bigger Cargo Ships"
, 01/06/2012"In 2014, when expansion of the Panama Canal is complete, a new generation of superlarge cargo ships will begin calling on the East Coast. Cities like New York; Savannah, Ga.; and Miami are vying for the new business, as they race to deepen their ports and expand their facilities to accommodate the new ships."
"Obama Invests Nearly $1 Billion in Public Transport"
ENS, 10/20/2011"DETROIT -- Transit providers across the United States will receive a share of $928.5 million in federal funds for more than 300 public transportation projects in urban, suburban, and rural areas, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Monday."
"In The Arctic Race, The U.S. Lags Behind"
NPR, 08/19/2011"Seattle is the home of the U.S. Coast Guard's entire fleet of polar-class icebreakers.
Both of them.
Capt. George Pellissier commands both the Polar Sea and the Polar Star. He has spent much of his career on these ships, which were built in Seattle in the 1970s.
Enviros: Cut Ship Speeds To Save West Coast Whales
LA Times, 06/07/2011"A 10-knot limit off the West Coast could prevent deaths, advocates tells the U.S. Department of Commerce. Shippers oppose the limits."
NYC's Bike Lanes Are 'Homegrown Terrorism,' Say Red-Faced Opponents
Grist, 03/22/2011"'Share the Road' has one potential fatal flaw: It involves sharing, which a lot of purported adults haven't really mastered. Matthew Shaer's exhaustive history of the NYC bike lane struggle, in this week's New York magazine, shows just how much people have to mature before a community -- even Brooklyn -- can become truly bike-friendly. Step one: Stop calling bike lanes 'homegrown terrorism.'"

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