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Rich Kassel's Blog

Issues: The Media and the Environment

High diesel prices...

June 23, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
aaa, diesel, dieselprices, dieseltechnologyforum, gasprices, truck

With all of the stories being written about the increase in gasoline prices lately, it’s only a matter of time before reporters and producers start writing and taping stories about the increase in diesel prices and what that means for...

Click to read more about biking in NYC during National Bike Month

May 27, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
bicycling, bikecommuting, bikemonthnyc, biketoworkday, gothamgazette, nationalbikemonth, nycdot, sustainablestreets

Just a short note today…my monthly Gotham Gazette column has my latest thoughts on biking in New York City during this great National Bike Month. A quick preview:  4 reasons why this is a good time to write about bicycling to...

Happy Bike to Work Day!

May 16, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
bikecommuting, bikemonthnyc, biketoworkday, davidbyrne, newyorktimes, robertrauschenberg, times

Happy Bike to Work Day!Sorry that I haven’t kept up with this series.  I thought I’d have time to write about biking in the City every few days during this “bike month,” but work has gotten in the way. And the...

Happy Bike Month!

May 1, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
bicycling, bikecommuting, bikelane, bikemonthnyc, bikeway, diesel, hudsonriverpark, newyorkcity, NYC

Happy Bike Month, Switchboard readers!Today starts Bike Month in NYC.  So, for the next few weeks, I will be writing about biking issues every few days.  How come?First of all, biking is part of how I got involved and interested...

Cleaner diesel fuel - at no extra cost

April 24, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Green Enterprise , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
diesel, EPA, ulsd

Recently, a good friend asked me about last year’s transition to ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). fuel.  More specifically, he wondered about the price differential between ULSD and the prior low-sulfur diesel fuel (yes, in the jargon of the policy world that...

Congestion pricing fails, but the goal of sustainable transportation remains

April 10, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
congestion, congestionpricing, mta, trafficcongestion, transit, transportation

By now, of course, anybody who has followed the saga of congestion pricing in New York knows the outcome:  on Monday, the New York State Assembly failed to vote on the congestion pricing program, ensuring that it won’t go forward,...

NY City Council Passes Congestion Pricing!

April 2, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
bloomberg, congestion, congestionpricing, dailypolitics, elizabethbenjamin, newyorkcity, quinn, trafficcongestion, transit, transportation

On Monday, the New York City Council passed, by a margin of 30-20, the congestion pricing bill, kicking off an intense week of lobbying for its passage in Albany.This was a huge victory for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council...

Gov. Paterson supports congestion pricing!

March 21, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
congestion, congestionpricing, crains, dailypolitics, governorpaterson, newyorkcity, NYC

Awesome news! Governor David A. Paterson just announced that he’s presenting a program bill to the New York State Legislature to implement congestion pricing in the City.   Here’s what Governor Paterson said: “Congestion pricing addresses two urgent concerns of the residents...

Residential Parking Permits for NYC: A Key Step on the Path to Congestion Pricing

March 12, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
congestion, congestionpricing, dot, NYC, nycdot, transportation

Mayor Bloomberg announced a new residential parking permit program today that responds directly to one of the concerns raised by opponents of congestion pricing.  Here’s the issue:  would some car commuters try to avoid the Manhattan congestion charge by parking in...

Congestion Pricing Update: Yesterday in Albany, and What's Next?

March 12, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
congestion, congestionpricing, mta, mtacapitalplan, newyork, NYC, paterson, spitzer

So everything is now up in the air.  Governor Elliot Spitzer just resigned a moment ago, and Lieutenant Governor David Paterson is preparing to be New York’s 55th Governor.  Governor-to-be Paterson is a well-liked, smart public official, with a long resume...

Most New Yorkers Support Congestion Pricing

March 7, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
cityroom, cityroomblog, congestion, congestionpricing, dotearth, dotearthblog, manhattan, mta, newyorkcity, newyorktimes, NYC, times, transit

Over at the Times' City Room blog and Andy Revkin's dotearth blog, there’s some lively debate about a recent poll that showed that more than two-thirds of New York City residents think that, over the next fifty years, parts of...

Where's the rule?

February 12, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
boat, diesel, emissions, EPA, locomotive, marine, pollution, ship, train

Where’s the rule?  Unlike my colleagues who have worked on power plant and climate issues over the past eight years, I have developed the habit of welcoming new EPA rules on my diesel issues.  After all, there have been no...

A Greener Corvette?

January 22, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
carbonfootprint, chevrolet, corvette, detroitautoshow, fueleconomy, generalmotors

When you read that the next step for the Corvette is better fuel economy, you know that many things have changed in Detroit.Here's the news that struck my eye today:  At the Detroit Auto Show, where automakers come to show...

Thoughts about the Tata Nano, Andy Revkin's blog, and BRT

January 11, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
andrewrevkin, BRT, busrapidtransit, delhi, dotearth, india, latinamerica, mexicocity, nano, newyorktimes, tata

The New York Times has been all over the story of the $2,500 car, soon to be sold in India.  Besides the news story, Andy Revkin's blog, dotEarth, has generated a great conversation by asking whether there are alternative ways to increase...

NYC Transit buys 850 hybrid buses: Bravo!

November 5, 2007

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
diesel, hybrid-electric, hybridbus, media, NYC, nyctransit, particulatepollution

Late last month, while the NYC tabloids were debating a possible fare hike and the latest news about Joe Torre and A-Rod, they missed an important environmental investment decision at the nation’s largest transit fleet.   Here's the news: On October...

Rich Kassel
Rich Kassel
Senior Attorney and Director, Clean Fuels and Vehicles Project
New York City
I came to NRDC in 1991 on a three-year grant, and never left.  Over the...
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