California has been a leader in passing laws designed to limit transportation emissions, but implementation delays have frustrated environmentalists.
Photographer: Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Can States Hit the Brakes on Runaway Roadbuilding?
A few state transportation departments have pledged to limit highway expansions to reduce emissions. Can they convince drivers that adding lanes doesn’t fix gridlock?
At the start of Minnesota’s 2023 legislative session, Democrats controlled the governor’s office, the state senate and house of representatives — a trifecta that presented an opportunity for all kinds of progressive reforms.
Larry Kraft, then beginning his first year as a representative in the Minnesota legislature after building a political career on climate policy in a Minneapolis suburb, used the moment to tackle one of the state’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases: transportation. Minnesota has the fourth most road lane miles of any US state, despite having a population that comes in at 22nd place.