I'm the Federal Transportation Policy Director for NRDC and have worked at the intersection of transportation, energy and environmental policy for 20 years. While here I have been chief strategist for advancing bipartisan oil savings legislation as well as renewal of the nation's transportation law (in 2005, and right now). Prior to my decade at NRDC I had the privilege of working, among other places, for the National Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club and Maryland's Department of Environment. I am a graduate of the University of Virginia who grew up as a foreign service kid in nations including Honduras, Panama and Niger.
Posted September 19, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Jeff Inglis and Phineas Baxandall have co-authored a new PIRG report about “highway boondoggles” in which they profile 11 large road projects costing about $13 billion. These are projects long contemplated on paper, as part of long-range transportation plans assembled...continued→
Posted September 15, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
This is another guest blog from Janie Nham (see byline at the bottom): Economic theory teaches us that when buyers or sellers lack full information and understanding about their choices in a transaction, they make suboptimal decisions. Perhaps one of the best...continued→
Posted August 27, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Folks at the online Masters in Public Administration program at the University of North Carolina created an infographic about the history, capacity and future of the nation's five largest transit systems. Of course it includes D.C.'s own Metro, where we're enjoying new stops...continued→
Posted August 12, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Maryland, like all states, is now figuring out how to cut harmful power plant emissions, and for the Old Line State and others, this presents a unique opportunity to look at ways to also help an underserved market – low-income housing, who...continued→
Posted August 7, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Heading out the door for their 5-week vacation this August, Congress wrapped up a major piece of transportation business in an all-too-familiar and depressing fashion. They passed a bill applying set of band-aids to the highway trust fund, allowing it...continued→
Posted July 23, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
This blog was penned by a colleague in our Urban Solutions Group: Dylan Anslow, a MAP Fellow and Stanford University student. ZipCar’s signature bright green stickers have become ubiquitous on America’s college campuses. On my campus, the day you check your PO Box and find your...continued→
Posted July 1, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Bikes parked outside Union Station in Washington, D.C. The following is a guest post by Janie Nham: It is clear that active transportation modes like bicycling and walking have gained momentum in the past several years. Yet even as...continued→
Posted June 24, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Maryland's beautiful state capitol building in Annapolis As readers of this blog know well, this month EPA unveiled its new Clean Power Plan, as explained by EPA Associate Assistant Administrator for Climate Joe Goffman in this cool little video....continued→
Posted June 20, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
MARC train in Odenton, Maryland. Photo courtesy of Ryan Stavely. Yes, you read that headline right. Senators Corker (R-TN) and Murphy (D-CT) are backing a 12-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax increase to shore up the nation’s highway trust fund, and getting...continued→
Posted June 16, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Riding the rails with a kid is just plain fun. I love it when my daughter joins me on my commute to work, or even better when we go downtown to see a museum with friends. Suddenly the journey...continued→
Posted May 15, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Spanning just an hour, a work session of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) held a work session this morning culminated in passage of a cornerstone piece of transportation law reauthorization. The new bill, simply titled “MAP-21 Reauthorization...continued→
Posted May 14, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Construction in Maryland, photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons by Thisisbossi Yesterday I spent part of the afternoon discussing infrastructure permitting as part of “Infrastructure Week,” at the National Association of Manufacturers, with a particular focus on Philip K. Howard’s...continued→
Posted May 7, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons, taken by Jerry Huddleston For the first time, the Obama Administration has set detailed terms for legislating by developing a blueprint for a new four-year transportation policy. Last week, Transportation Secretary Foxx rolled out the GROW...continued→
Posted April 9, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Photo by Nayu Kim, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons We are living in exciting times when it comes to the nation’s oil and energy dependence. You could call this era the age of increasing oil freedom. From the mid-1980s to...continued→
Posted April 2, 2014 by Deron Lovaas
Growth is good. Or so we've always been taught. But what if growth is poorly managed, so that it creates serious problems too? In an urban context, that's what we call sprawl. Photo courtesy of USDA Solving sprawl requires alignment of rules...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
