Archive: Sustainability
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Infrastructure Finance for the Public Good: How Asset Recycling Can Untangle the New York MTA’s $50 Billion Debt Load
Abstract Systematic infrastructure underinvestment – a $2.6 trillion ‘gap’ – and accelerating climate change have become facts of life in the United States. Though typically attributed to politics, this Article posits the circumstances as a market disequilibrium rooted in an interplay between unique dimensions of infrastructure and distinctive features of…Preemptive Federal Legislation for EV Manufacturers to Sell Direct to Customers
This article advocates for federal legislation to implement a nationwide EV licensing system that would allow both EV manufacturers and dealers to sell and service their vehicles directly to consumers nationwide. This prospective legislation would preempt dealer franchise laws that prohibit or limit manufacturers from selling their vehicles directly to consumers. This article does not argue that direct distribution is the superior method of distribution; instead, this article argues that manufacturers should have the freedom to pursue direct distribution. As more EV companies enter the market, EV manufacturers need to have the flexibility to use a variety of distribution systems that best suit their business needs. Part II of this article provides background information on the history of dealer franchise laws and the current status of dealer franchise laws. Part III addresses the problems associated with the current car buying process and why some manufacturers prefer to sell their cars directly to consumers. Part III also addresses counterarguments from the dealer lobby. Part IV introduces potential federal legislative reform to preempt state dealer franchise laws to allow EV manufacturers to directly sell their vehicles to consumers.Transporting Goods in the Context of Luxury Resale
Talking about shipping clothing is long overdue. In the spirit of considering how we might make transporting goods and people more ethical and sustainable, I will be specifically considering the luxury resale market in this blog. First and foremost, it is worth noting that shipping is notoriously an ethical and…Promoting Micromobility Usage Through the Internal Revenue Code
Micromobility services like scooter and bikeshares provide numerous benefits to riders, local governments, and the public at large. A 2021 CBInsights report summarizes micromobility’s many upsides: “micromobility services increase access to public transportation, reduce the amount of cars on the road, lower our environmental footprint, and provide convenient methods…Electric Vehicles and Gas Tax
Across the United States an average of just over a third of all highway spending comes from a gas tax imposed by the state, with further funding being provided by a federal gas tax. It ranges across states from as low as 4.5 % of funding for highway spending in…Expanding and Modernizing Rail Infrastructure
The railway is a part of the American ethos. Without rivers to carry us from one end of the country to another, and with horses unable to travel coast to coast, the railway was king. By 1860 there were 30,000 miles of railway crisscrossing the country. By 1915 the number…Are Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles a Practical, Ethical, and Sustainable option?
The environmental impacts of the transportation industry have been at the forefront of mobility discourse for the last decade. With 27% of greenhouse gas emissions coming from transportation and a significant percentage of low-income households’ total earnings going to transportation (over 30% in some instances), the need to…Will New Electric Buses Need a Mini Bar?
Let’s talk about the stigma of the bus. Public transit in the United States is not particularly robust or well-funded compared to its European or Asian counterparts. The American bus system in particular is stigmatized; Americans associate the bus with poverty, crime, and filth. This stigma is not entirely unwarranted,…Clean Energy Credits and Electric Vehicles
This blog is the first in a series about electric vehicles (EVs) in various forms of public and private means of transportation, as well as the unanswered legal and policy questions surrounding electrification. More posts about EVs will follow. CLEAN ENERGY CREDITS The terms “clean…The Environmental Impacts of E-Scooters
Several articles have been written over the past two years regarding shared micromobility electric scooters’ environmental impact. Some of the more phenomenal headlines were hyper-critical of electric scooters: Electric Scooters Aren’t Quite As Climate-Friendly As We Thought; Sorry, Scooters Aren’t So Climate-Friendly After All; …