FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Don Ryan, Second Nature, 703-508-0035, dryan@secondnature.org
Paula Chrin Dibley, Transportation for America, 202-478-6138, pchrin@mrss.com

Task Force of Presidents of Colleges and Universities Urges Congress and the Obama Administration to Overhaul Transportation Policy to Make Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions a Top Priority

15-member group calls for major changes in national transportation policy to support nation’s energy, economic, security and environmental goals

Washington, D.C. – Second Nature’s National Transportation Policy Task Force of 15 college and university presidents is recommending major changes in transportation policy to advance clean energy goals, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, build healthy communities, create jobs, and assure global competitiveness.  Working closely with Transportation for America and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, the task force drew on their institutions’ recent experience as test beds for low-carbon transportation strategies to make their recommendations.

“As leaders of colleges and universities committed to sustainability, we understand the practical challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and other sources.  We think the evidence clearly shows that our nation’s transportation system does not currently have a sustainable course in any sense,” said George Dennison, president of The University of Montana, who co-chairs the task force.  “Revenues have become inadequate even to maintain our current system, price signals lead to inefficient and environmentally damaging impacts, and we spend $1 billion a day for foreign oil.  Congress must reshape national transportation policy to address these realities.” 

• Congress should make reducing greenhouse gas emissions a fundamental goal of transportation programs – on a par with mobility and safety – and establish specific performance targets, accountability systems, incentives and sanctions to ensure results.
• The U.S. needs to lead the world in technological breakthroughs to significantly improve vehicle efficiency and develop low-carbon fuels.
• Transportation financing and pricing must reinforce energy goals by incorporating carbon-based fees to send a strong price signal for both the purchase and use of vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• State and local programs must expand transportation options through multiple strategies that meet local needs, including expanded carpooling and vanpooling, walking and biking, transit and telework as well as better linkages between modes.
• Congress should make it a priority to improve the efficiency of our transportation system by improving maintenance, repairs, and operations; subjecting major new construction projects to multi-modal life-cycle analysis; and more closely coordinating transportation and land use planning.
• Congress should encourage and reward state and local innovation and increase federal funding for research, data collection and evaluation.

“National transportation policy must be restructured to take climate and energy goals into account,” said Judith Ramaley, president of Winona State University and task force co-chair.  “Congress needs to redesign how we finance transportation, send strong signals to state and local programs about the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, invest in improved technologies and encourage innovative strategies.”

Transportation for America partnered with Second Nature in launching its task force.

“Our coalition is honored to work with such an esteemed group of university and college presidents,” said James Corless, director of the Transportation for America campaign. “We agree that Congress must align national transportation policy with energy and climate goals. Reforming our national transportation policy in the next federal transportation bill offers an unprecedented opportunity to build for the future, solve huge environmental problems and create communities that will thrive for generations to come. We cannot allow it to slip away.”

In the coming months, the task force will be reaching out to other leaders in higher education to engage their support and expertise to advance the task force’s recommendations and elevate the national dialogue about transportation policy, energy and climate goals. 

“Across the country, colleges and universities are leading the nation in pursuing economic, social and environmental sustainability,” said Tony Cortese, president of Second Nature.  “These higher education leaders are now focusing attention on the policy choices facing the nation to make our transportation system support these goals.  I urge Congress and the Obama Administration to take their recommendations to heart.”

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Second Nature is a national, Boston-based non-profit organization that serves and supports senior college and university leaders in making sustainability the foundation of all learning and practice in higher education. 

Transportation for America is a broad coalition of more than 400 national, state and local organizations, focused on creating a 21st century national transportation program. The coalition’s goal is to see America build a modernized infrastructure and healthy communities where people can live, work and play by aligning national, state, and local transportation policies with an array of issues like economic opportunity, climate change, energy security, health, housing and community development.

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