PORTLAND
- Two Maine environmental groups unveiled a report Tuesday that
suggests 20 ways that state government can cut gasoline costs and
reduce global warming pollution.
Released
by the Natural Resources Council of Maine and Environment Maine, the
report offers a range of recommendations, including several that could
hit consumers in the wallet.
One
goal of the proposed policies is to make individuals pay the full costs
of driving - costs, the groups say, that are today subsidized or passed
on to others in the form of pollution and congestion. Another is to
take into account global warming pollution when thinking about
transportation.
Among
the ideas is to place stricter controls on new development and growth,
provide incentives for more fuel-efficient vehicles, increase the cost
of parking, require high-mileage tires and calculate auto insurance
rates by the number of miles driven, which would act like a higher gas
tax and discourage people from driving.
"The
recent surge in gas prices underscores that we have an unsustainable
transportation system," said Jennifer Andersen of the Natural Resources
Council of Maine. "We can't afford the price at the pump, and we can't
afford the price on the planet."
She called the region's transportation system unsustainable.
Positioned
strategically alongside a covered bus stop on Congress Street in
Portland, speakers used the passing buses as a moving backdrop to make
their case for more transportation alternatives.
"Now
we're siphoning off General Fund money to deal with highway
maintenance," said Matthew Davis, an advocate with Environment Maine.
"If we had a sustainable system such that gas taxes paid for highways
in full, people would be paying the true cost of driving."
According
to the report, "Shifting Gears: 20 Tools for Reducing Global Warming
Pollution from New England's Transportation System," the transportation
sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gas pollution in the state.
In 2001, it produced almost 72 million metric tons of carbon dioxide,
more than all the homes, businesses and industrial facilities combined.
Most of that pollution comes from gasoline burned in cars, trucks and
SUVs.
Joining
in the release of the report was Peter Cavanaugh, the operations
director for the Greater Portland Transit District or METRO, and Carey
Kish, manager of GoMaine Commuter Connections.
The
speakers called on increased support for mass transit, including rail
and bus lines, as well as the use of new technologies to reduce
pollution and smart-growth policies that fight sprawl.
METRO
has put into service 13 new compressed natural gas buses that will
reduce emissions compared to diesel and the system has opened its first
compressed natural gas fueling station, which is open to anyone,
Cavanaugh said.
GoMaine,
which coordinates car pools and van pools around the state, has seen a
23 percent increase in people registered with its ride-share program in
the past six months, Kish said. And $400,000 has been committed to the
program to double the size of the state's van-pool program.
"Car
pooling helps commuters fill in where there is no transit service,"
Kish said. "It gives commuters an immediate 50 percent reduction in
their commuting costs, just by riding with one person."
The
report envisions a world less dependent on individual automobiles, with
communities more interconnected and with more opportunities for walking
and bicycling.
"We
are seeing the effects of global warming already," Davis said. "We need
to make sure we're making the smart decisions about the way we grow and
the way we move people and goods in this state so that we're not
contributing anymore than we already are to global warming and air
pollution problems."
