Green Dividend in Reverse?

Posted by Kristian Buschmann on July 28, 2008

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Americans have reduced their VMT (vehicle miles traveled) by 40 billion in the last seven months, with high gas prices to blame.  The article is framed as a crisis due to lost gas tax revenue and the resulting drop in funding for highway projects.  While there are certainly some alarming statistics to consider here (About 25% of bridges in the U.S. are either "functionally obsolete" or "structurally deficient...." for one), I would like to see how the loss in highway funding adds up against the gain in local spending and carbon savings.  Full article here.