Take Action: The Road to Nowhere

Friends of the Earth’s “New Roads = New Pollution” campaign is calling for President-elect Obama to focus his infrastructure plan on clean endeavors instead of new road construction

[Creative Commons photo by Tobias Pro User]

Pollution from motor vehicles is responsible for 72% of nitrogen oxides and 52% of reactive hydrocarbons (principal components of smog). Cars and trucks are not the only culprits - road construction causes greenhouse gas emissions both during and after the work is done. A Sightline Institute analysis (pdf) found that building 10 miles of new four-lane highway construction is the equivalent of putting 46,700 Hummers on the road, once you account for factors like materials, maintenance, congestion, and new traffic.

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Friends of the Earth does not oppose the infrastructure project as a whole. They take issue with the money going to fund new highway construction rather than repairing our existing infrastructure, improving public transportation to get folks out of their cars, and green energy initiatives.

They’ve teamed up with 17 environmental groups to publish Economic Recovery through Investments in our Environment, Energy System and Heritage, a list of 80 projects and proposals to help stimulate the economy, protect the environment, and create new jobs:

According to the report, as many as 3.6 million jobs could be created by investing in renewable technologies, energy efficiency, water resources and infrastructure, green transportation, national parks and other public lands, and national and community service.

Ready to take action? Friends of the Earth is sending a message to Congress. They’re aiming to collect 10,000 signatures on their online petition. Bloggers can help spread the word by writing about the campaign or adding a Road to Nowhere badge or banner to their sites.

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