Oklahoma ranks in the bottom tier of states for its efforts to curb carbon emissions, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council study.
NewsOK
BY JAY F. MARKS jmarks@opubco.com
Published: December 17, 2010
An environmental group ranked Oklahoma in the bottom tier of states for its effort to cut carbon emissions caused by transportation, but a state Department of Transportation official insists that doesn't mean much.
Oklahoma ranked 39th in the Natural Resources Defense Council study, which evaluated 17 policy and spending criteria that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector.
No state scored higher than 82 on the “Getting Back on Track” study's 100-point scale, with only three — California, Maryland and New Jersey — ranking in the top tier. Oklahoma headed up the bottom tier with a score of 24.
David Streb, the Transportation Department's director of engineering, said most of the states at the top of the study's list linking climate change to state transportation policy are home to large metropolitan areas lacking in Oklahoma.
Streb said lawmakers in those states also have committed more money to environmental issues, but he noted Oklahoma has done some progressive things in that arena... FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Fri, December 17, 2010
by Crystal Drwenski