Note that rail & transit figures heavily into this news:

 

ODOD ANNOUNCES DIESEL EMISSIONS REDUCTION GRANTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 29, 2008

 

Columbus, OH -- Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher today announced 10 awards through the Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant program, which puts technologies to work reducing transportation-related pollutants to achieve both economic and air quality benefits. The program was created in state budget bill H.B. 562, which earmarked $19.8 million over two years of Ohio Department of Transportation's federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds to reduce diesel emissions.

 

"We were extremely pleased with the statewide interest in this program and shared concern for the great need to manage transportation-related emissions and remove toxins from our air. Our partners around the State are working hard to mitigate pollution and are forming important public-private partnerships to take action," said Lt. Governor Fisher, who also serves as the Director of the Department of Development. "Ohioans recognize our unique opportunity to safeguard the future of our State's businesses, families, and our environment. That is why we're working proactively to prepare Ohio's economy for the transition to a carbon-constrained world, through energy efficiency, technology deployment, and policy innovation."

 

The Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant program leverages private investment in equipment with public resources to ensure that equipment has the best available technology to manage emissions and keep the State of Ohio and its many regions in compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The Ohio Department of Development worked with an inter-agency team from Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to develop the program, which was announced January 7, 2008.

 

The goals of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant program are to: provide both public and private heavy diesel equipment owners operating within Ohio's maintenance and non-attainment counties - where air pollution levels consistently exceed the national ambient air quality standards - an opportunity to control vehicle emissions through retrofit, engine replacement, vehicle/machinery replacement or anti-idling technologies; improve the air quality performance of Ohio's transportation sector, especially in non-attainment counties, by reducing barriers to acquiring emission reduction technology; advance incentives for cleaning up diesel fleets in Ohio maintenance and non-attainment counties; and encourage the use of alternative and cleaner burning fuels.

 

Grant recipients include:

 

Cleveland Heights Vehicle Replacement (Cuyahoga County)

Central Ohio Transit Authority Bus Repower and Retrofit (Franklin County)

Crestwood Local Schools Bus Retrofit (Portage County)

Toledo RTA Bus Repower (Lucas County)

Greater Dayton RTA Bus Replacement (Montgomery County)

R.J. Corman RR Locomotive Replacement (Stark County)

Wheeling & Lake Erie RR Anti-idle Equipment Purchase (Stark County)

Arcelormittal Cleveland Works Railway Anti-idle Equipment (Cuyahoga County)

Indiana & Ohio Railway Company Locomotive Replacement (Hamilton County)

Indiana & Ohio Railway Company Locomotive Anti-idle Equipment (Hamilton County)

 

Public diesel engine fleets and private diesel engine fleets with a public sponsor were eligible for consideration. Projects were required to commit at least 20 percent matching funds and to operate their updated equipment in Ohio non-attainment-and-maintenance counties at least 65 percent of the time. The Department of Development expects to announce additional awards later this year.

 

The Ohio Energy Office within the Ohio Department of Development works with individuals, communities, non-profit organizations, businesses of all sizes, industry, and government agencies to create a robust economy supported by multiple energy sources, energy efficiency, and advanced technology with added value for the quality of life for all Ohioans.

 

 

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Media contacts: Eileen Turner at (614) 728-6674 or Kelly Schlissberg at (614) 466-4133

http://www.odod.state.oh.us/newsroom/releases/1948.asp

From ODOT...

 

ODOT Small and Disadvantaged Businesses Diesel Emission Reduction Grant Program

 

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is pleased to announce the beginning of the new Small and Disadvantaged Business Diesel Emission Reduction Grant (DERG) Program. 

 

The Program will provide up to $5 million in federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds to small and/or disadvantage Ohio businesses prequalified to do business with ODOT, with a maximum award of $500,000 per project.  The goal of the DERG Program is to reduce transportation sector diesel engine emissions by helping companies to finance projects that will replace, retrofit, repower or install cleaner engines or engine parts on diesel powered  over-the-road vehicles and non-road construction vehicles/equipment used on highway construction projects.

 

To apply for the ODOT Small and Disadvantaged Business DERG Program, applicants are required to submit a completed application and must have entered into a Private-Public Partnership with a public agency sponsor. 

 

All applications must be receive no later than December 31, 2010 at 4:00 PM. 

 

For more information on DERG Program and to view the application, please see the attached program description.  Additionally, for more detailed information regarding the Program including CMAQ Program Eligibility requirements, sample PPP agreements and Emission analyses, please visit the ODOT Small and Disadvantaged Business DERG Program’s website at  http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/TransSysDev/Grants/Pages/DERG.aspx

Report: State transportation policies failing to significantly reduce emissions

By Andrew Restuccia - 12/14/10 12:28 PM ET

 

Most states are failing to develop transportation policies that can significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, a report released Tuesday says.

 

Transportation emissions are the second largest source of greenhouse-gas pollution behind power-plant emissions. While the federal government does play a key role in setting transportation policy, much of it is defined at the state level.

 

Two groups — the Natural Resources Defense Council and Smart Growth America — ranked states’ transportation policies based on a number of criteria, including infrastructure investment and incentives for cleaner vehicles. Based on their analysis, no state — even those ranked at the top, like California, Maryland and New Jersey — received better than a 'B-', and most states scored well below a ‘D.’

 

Read more at: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/133539-report-state-transportation-policies-failing-to-significantly-reduce-emissions

New report: State transportation decisions could save money and reduce carbon emissions

 

http://smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/getting-back-on-track.pdf

 

Note: Ohio ranks 38th out of 50 states.

 

And as Ohio's 3C passenger rail $$$ go off to other states....the paper-of-record in our State Capitol (the same one that editorialized against passenger rail) reports on how it will take years to reduce air pollution...

 

It will take years to get control of nitrogen dioxide

Thursday, December 16, 2010  02:54 AM

By Wesley Lowery

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

It will be July 2012 before Ohio environmental officials send a proposal to the feds on how the state plans to meet new, more-stringent limits on nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant from cars, factories and power plants.

 

The state won't install monitors in at least four Ohio cities until January 2013 to keep tabs on nitrogen-dioxide levels.

 

And it will be 2016 before the state knows if it meets the new federal standards introduced this year to reduce nitrogen dioxide, which can irritate lung tissue and trigger breathing problems such as asthma.

 

Read more at: http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/12/16/copy/it-will-take-years-to-get-control-of-nitrogen-dioxide.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

And on a completely different subtopic under this topic:

 

http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/07/freeway-air-pollution-linked-to-brain-damage-in-mice/

 

Freeway Air Pollution Linked to Brain Damage in Mice

 

It's no secret that air pollution — besides damaging the pulmonary system and blackening the skies — can also lead to cardiovascular problems and even heart attacks. But a new study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) indicates that the kind of pollution we're exposed to when we sit in gridlock could impact another important body part: the brain.

 

The researchers, led by USC neurobiologist Caleb Finch, exposed both live mice and mice brain cells in vitro to a sample of air you might end up breathing on the 405 outside Los Angeles — a mix of particles from burning fossil fuels and bits of car parts and weathered pavements. (The innovative method for replicating freeway air in a liquid suspension came from USC engineer Constantinos Sioutas, which made it possible to test both brain cells in a test tube and live mice.) Both the in vitro brain cells and the neurons in the live mice showed similar problems, including signs of inflammation associated with Alzheimer's disease and damage to cells associated with learning and memory.

 

^ That study was done by California intellectuals and reported by Time. Clearly, it's leftist propaganda. My friend has pet mice, and he lives right by a freeway. Guess what, his mice don't have cancer. Refuted!

Yes, I prefer to believe studies conducted by California dumb-asses instead....  :roll:

I prefer my dumb-asses from Real America.

And where is that located?

Alaska and Texas. But not Austin, and not where natives or Latinos make up a majority.

OK....

You can feel free to laugh now, Ken...the whole exchange was satire, from my side.

Like I said in the Cincinnati Streetcar thread, my sense of humor isn't what it used to be. I have come to expect the worst in people these days, and sadly my expectations are often met.

CSX Introduces Improved Carbon Calculator

 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - November 29, 2011 - As millions of Americans head to stores or make online purchases, CSX has launched an improved Carbon Calculator aimed at helping consumers and businesses better understand the key role freight rail plays in a sustainable supply chain.

 

"CSX's online Carbon Calculator not only helps our customers make smart supply chain decisions, it also helps educate consumers about the path items take to get to store shelves or their front door," said Carl Gerhardstein, assistant vice president, environmental systems and sustainability. "This tool demonstrates our commitment to responsible business and helps consumers understand how freight rail positively affects the life-cycle of the goods they buy."

 

To demonstrate the efficiencies of CSX's network, the calculator compares the carbon emissions generated by freight rail to those of long-haul trucks over similar routes. Consumers are able to choose from a number of variables - from the type and volume of goods transported to the length of the route - to estimate the average carbon emissions reduced by shipping via rail.

 

The tool also plays an important role for businesses, helping them optimize their supply chains as they bring goods to market more sustainably than ever before. The calculator provides shippers an opportunity to better understand the environmental benefits of shipping their goods via rail.  The tool shows how intermodal shipments - combining both truck and rail transport to maximize efficiency - can drastically reduce carbon emissions.

 

Check out CSX's enhanced carbon calculator on www.CSX.com to learn how freight rail can reduce the environmental footprint of businesses and consumers alike. 

 

About CSX

 

CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation's leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia. CSX's network connects more than 240 short line and regional railroads and more than 70 ocean, river, and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at www.csx.com. Follow CSX on Twitter (http://twitter.com/CSX) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/OfficialCSX).

 

Contact:

 

Lauren Rueger

1 (877) TELL-CSX