skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Government shutdown looms after Trump-backed bill fails; Environmental groups sue CA Air Resources Board over biogas credits; NY elected officials work to electrify municipal buildings; Need a mental health boost? Talking hot dog is here.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President-elect Trump repeats his threats to jail Jan. 6th committee members, while also putting a stop-gap spending plan in jeopardy. A court removes Fani Willis from Trump's Georgia election interference case. The FAA restricts drones in New Jersey, and a Federal Reserve rate cut shakes markets.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Ohio Considers How to Spend VW Settlement Money

play audio
Play

Friday, December 29, 2017   

COLUMBUS, Ohio – In the new year, Ohioans can weigh in on how the state can best spend $75 million from the Volkswagen settlement to clean up its transportation sector. The car-maker admitted to cheating on emissions tests, and the money will be used to help mitigate the damage caused by excess vehicle emissions.

Three public meetings on the state's Draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plan will be held in January.

Nathan Alley, transportation policy coordinator for the Sierra Club's Ohio Chapter, says it's a unique opportunity for environmental groups, transit agencies, legislators, industry and the public to work together.

"We're all looking for the same outcomes and benefits here - for projects that will reduce emissions, help improve both the local and statewide economies," he explains. "It's really just a matter of what's the most efficient and effective ways to do it, for the long-run and for the environment - and of course, human health."

The Sierra Club is among the groups calling for investing the money in zero-emissions technology, such as infrastructure for electric vehicles, and transitioning to electric vehicles for transit fleets.

Dr. Christine Curran, associate professor of biological sciences at Northern Kentucky University, says extensive research shows that nitrogen oxide NoX) emissions from vehicles are major contributors to climate change and air pollution, with direct effects on folks who suffer from asthma and other breathing ailments. And she notes the impact is greater on Ohioans in lower-income communities where major interstates intersect.

"Almost every major city has a 'malfunction junction' of sorts, and it's a mess," she laments. "So, you're funneling traffic through neighborhoods and it slows down. You have heavy truck traffic just belching black smoke, and the people living near those highways have high exposure."

Curran adds the health benefits of renewable technologies, like electric vehicles, can't be underestimated.

"If you invest in green transportation, you get a benefit not just in terms of people feeling better - and their weight goes down because they walk a little more - but you can look at the health-care costs, which we all know are going up, up, up, and it gives you a great return on investment," says Curran.

Ohio's draft mitigation plan suggests up to half the settlement money be spent on on-road fleet and equipment projects; 20 percent on transit bus replacement; and 20 percent on school bus replacement.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A survey from the American Heart Association revealed 79% of respondents neglect their health during the holidays. Many say they find this time of year more stressful than income tax season.
(deagreez/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Holiday travel is in full swing and for many, so is the stress. The American Heart Association of Missouri has health tips for anyone with heart …


Health and Wellness

play sound

By Amy Felegy for Arts Midwest.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Minnesota News Connection reporting for the Arts Midwest-Public News Service Collabo…

Health and Wellness

play sound

With Christmas less than a week away, experts are giving advice on how seniors and the community can fight against social isolation. A United Health …


Environment

play sound

Three environmental nonprofits filed suit Wednesday against the California Air Resources Board to oppose the expansion of a program allowing oil and g…

Ithaca, New York, is the first city in the world to commit to electrifying all its buildings. The city is aiming to accomplish the goal by 2030. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

New York lawmakers are focusing on electrifying municipal buildings. Buildings statewide make up 32% of New York's greenhouse gas emissions and …

Social Issues

play sound

North Dakota is expected to rejoin the debate over whether all school children, regardless of their family income, should have access to no-cost …

Social Issues

play sound

This month, an Arizona grand jury indicted two out-of-state residents for cheating the state's Empowerment Scholarship Account program out of more …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021