Should highways and/or roadways for buses/trucks and autos be separated?

I think trying to determine whether separate thoroughfares – be these primary or secondary vehicle-traveled ways – for buses and trucks apart from that for automobiles would make for an excellent case study. And, one of the locations where an old railroad corridor could serve as a proving ground is in Santa Cruz County, California, … Read more

California GHG in the plus column. Emissions-reduction steps state can take to get back on track

California has been a leader when it comes to climate-change-correction work, meaning efforts by the state to reduce annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions output have been working. But the most recent numbers tell a slightly different tale. This is reflected in the latest (2018) California GHG emissions inventory. Compared to annual Golden State GHG output … Read more

Pacific Harbor Line to demonstrate battery-electric locomotive at Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles sites

The below Nov. 13, 2020 press release is from Progress Rail. Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, has reached an agreement with Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) to supply its new EMD® Joule battery electric locomotive for a demonstration project operating in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. The new, six-axle locomotive will feature … Read more

Fuel-cell technology used to power food distribution center in Stockton, Calif.

The below Oct. 27, 2020 press release is from KeHE Distributors. As part of the company’s quadruple bottom line, focusing on people, purpose, planet and profit, KeHE Distributors announced today it will power its food distribution center in Stockton, California with Bloom Energy Servers to provide clean and reliable electricity. By adding Bloom Energy fuel … Read more

LRT vs BRT for value, utilization, emissions-savings: Could the two modes be any different?

BRT or bus rapid transit has been described as light rail transit or LRT on the cheap. If that is true then would this not be the same as saying LRT is nothing more than enhanced BRT? What say we further investigate? On Jan. 11, 2014 an investigation was done regarding passenger rail in general … Read more

Climate change question asked during last night’s debate sparked charged responses from presidential candidates

I tuned into Thursday (Oct. 22, 2020) evening’s (6 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time starting time) presidential candidates’ debate (full disclosure: This one had the look, feel and sound of an actual debate) and I watched and listened quite attentively to its content as presented by both candidates, particularly as it had to do with the … Read more

Doing double duty creating energy, cutting emissions: A unique organic waste-conversion concept

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is big business. But being big business doesn’t necessarily ensure profitability. The recycling industry as a whole, meanwhile, after holding its own for several decades at least, today the outlook, truth be told, appears less rosy. Whether recyclable or non-recyclable material like MSW, finding alternative uses for such refuse can not … Read more

Valley Link project receives $400 million in reallocated BART funds

The below Sept. 25, 2020 news release is from the Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority. In an action at their September 24 meeting, the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) approved a request from the Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority to reallocate $400 million in Measure BB funds that had … Read more

Side by side the mode that fares better emissions-reduction-wise: Trains or motor transport?

Astounding it is how on a gallon of diesel a ton of railroad-hauled freight on average can be transported a distance of approximately 470 miles. Pretty remarkable stuff! Even more remarkable, substituting diesel with electric propulsion and the fuel-efficiency numbers for train-hauled freight (and passengers) look even better, and even more impressive still, when that … Read more

The climate change exchange: ‘Back-up’ plan

Whether we are talking about atmospheric normalization or global warming’s and/or climate change’s causation, “balance” is the word. That’s right, balance. So in a kind of holistic air-healing sense or maybe more precisely, a holistic air-remedying context, what does being balanced mean exactly? From physics, we know that if an object exerts a force opposite … Read more