Thursday, May 1, 2008

"Smart" Growth respects pub-trans blackout

The carbon-auto lobby must contain the threat of public transit. They have been successful in maintaining a blackout, a gag-order, on serious discussion of public transportation outside of the transit advocacy community. We have provided examples of this blackout here and will provide more. Here is one. SmartGrowthAmerica - you would expect them to be all about public transportation... but read this quote from their website:

“Curbing emissions from cars depends on a three-legged stool: improved vehicle efficiency, cleaner fuels, and a reduction in driving,” said lead author Reid Ewing, Research Professor at the National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland. “The research shows that one of the best ways to reduce vehicle travel is to build places where people can accomplish more with less driving.”

Imagine laying out the main ways to curb auto emissions and NOT mentioning public transit. It takes a lot of education to be able to ignore the obvious.