Planes...
CNN (10/15/19) reports: "Air miles programs should be banned and a levy on frequent flyers implemented in order to reduce carbon emissions from aviation, according to new research. The measure is one of a number of recommendations from Richard Carmichael at Imperial College London, who published a report Thursday on how the UK can meet its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Carmichael carried out his report for the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), an independent body that advises the UK government, which has previously said the country needed to become carbon-neutral by 2050 in order to fulfill its obligations under the Paris Agreement on climate change. The UK later became the first major economy to legally commit to the target. This report does not represent CCC's recommendations. 'Flying is a uniquely high-impact activity and is the quickest and cheapest way for a consumer to increase their carbon footprint,' the report says. Air miles programs encourage people to take extra flights to keep up their 'privileged traveler status' and should be banned, according to the report. So-called 'mileage runs' are a common way for travelers to top up their points in order to maintain access to perks such as priority boarding. An air miles levy would be based on the number of miles flown by each passenger, penalizing those who fly the most while leaving the majority of people unaffected."
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Trains...
Reuters (10/15/19) reports: " Climate change activists, including one of the founders of Extinction Rebellion, defied a police order to end protests on Tuesday after a week of disruption in London, targeting Britain’s transport ministry and security agency MI5. Gail Bradbrook, one of the founders of the group that is half way through two weeks of actions around the world, climbed onto the top of the entrance of the transport ministry to protest at a high-speed rail project known as HS2. 'This is nature defending herself,' Bradbrook said, as civil servants looked on from a gallery inside the building and police cordoned the street. 'I’m doing this for your children.' Invoking the example of women’s suffrage activist Emmeline Pankhurst, Bradbrook tried to smash one of the ministry’s windows with a hammer and screwdriver before she was brought down by a police climber in a cherry-picker and arrested...The activists oppose plans to run the HS2 rail project through ancient woodlands. The ministry says the rail line will slash journey times between central and northern England and the capital and be much more efficient in carbon terms than driving...Extinction Rebellion said HS2 would damage or destroy 108 ancient woodlands in the largest single act of deforestation in Britain since World War One."
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Automobiles...
CBS News (10/14/19) reports: "Drive-thru windows at fast-food restaurants, banks and other businesses have long represented the convenience for which American businesses are renowned. But the ease of idling in a vehicle while waiting for your order is now associated with another development: climate change. As a result, some communities across the U.S. are banning drive-thrus, citing the additional carbon emissions that are released. Minneapolis this summer banned construction of new drive-thrus, while officials in Long Beach, California, have imposed a six-month ban on new drive-thrus while they study the issue. Similar ordinances restricting or prohibiting fast-food windows have also been adopted in communities including Creve Coeur, Missouri; Fair Haven, New Jersey; and Orchard Park, New York...Most of the bans are intended to curtail emissions, cut down on litter and make it easier to walk around business areas, while some towns are motivated by a desire to improve the aesthetics of a community. At other times, such bans have been touted as a means of fighting obesity by discouraging fast-food consumption. There's conflicting research on whether banning drive-thru windows improves health, however."
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