Back on the Train Gang
By Michael Dukakis. Dukakis is a former governor of Massachusetts and served on Amtrak’s board of directors. He thinks we need to use Detroit factories to manufacture trains.
After years of delay, during which both Europe and Asia enjoyed the benefits of modern trains that run at speeds of 200 miles... 
In July, America’s “Cash for Clunkers” program became a front-page news story. Championed by environmental groups, progressive think tanks, and the auto industry, the program, which gave consumers up to $4,500 when they exchanged an old gas guzzler for a new, fuel-efficient car, proved to be so popular that it exhausted its... 
Leading the Charge
A fleet of electric vehicles may seem like a remote reality right now, but if the corporate world is betting right, it is closer than we think. Besides the various car companies now falling over themselves to get electric cars into the market, other major American corporations are starting to get ready for... 
We Want to Ride Our Bicycles…
Bikes have been around for about a century and a half, and they’re still awesome.
Because we dig the calluses on the palms of our hands. Because we actually kind of like when our legs feel like Jell-O. Because we crave the brisk wind on our cheeks. Because we recall with... 
Tesla
As evidenced by the flashy concept renderings all over the internet, every established car company out there, from Ford to Rolls-Royce, has a plug-in vehicle “in development.” But the $109,000 Tesla Roadster is still the only highway-capable plug-in you can actually buy, fully assembled, in America. In July, Tesla... 
The Hottest Thing on Wheels (or Rails)
As the new transportation secretary, Ray LaHood has been tasked with remaking our transportation infrastructure into one that focuses more on sustainability than widening highways. It’s a tall order but, so far, we’re impressed with his approach.
1. For supporting high-speed... 
Finding a Better Way to Fight
It’s pretty much unanimous, at this point: The war on drugs has sucked us all down with it. Each year it accounts for more than a million arrests and costs the United States tens of billions of dollars. The impact of the war’s failed policies can be seen everywhere: There are... 
Share Your Meat with All Your Friends
Because buying in bulk is always better
by Tamar Adler
Adler is the director of the Bay Area Meat CSA and Meatshare.org, which help hungry people buy wholesale meat directly from local farmers.
Optimizing a whole animal’s value by buying all of its cuts isn’t... 
Blockade Parade
How closing streets can actually reduce traffic
As the city of Vancouver prepared to convert a car lane on the busy Burrard Bridge into a bike path last summer, some imagined impending anarchy. At the time, one cabbie, Jatinder Nijjar, predicted, “It is going to be chaos.” In fact, the... 
Portland vs. San Francisco
Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco seem locked in an ongoing battle to become the left coast’s left-most city. To stoke the competition, the blog Gas2.0 has launched a website to track each city’s progress toward building an infrastructure for electric cars. We asked the mayors of... 
