The BP and Enbridge oil spill disasters reminded everyone of the dangers from our addiction to oil.  Most Americans are looking for cleaner and safer ways to power our cars and heat our homes.  The good news is that shifting to cleaner cars and trucks can create new jobs, improve the environment and boost our economy at the same time.

Advancing cleaner cars provides an opportunity for new manufacturing jobs and product lines in the Midwest industrial states as automakers develop innovative technologies and better pollution controls.  Parts of the federal economic stimulus package are spurring the growth of the electric vehicle industry in the Midwest.  Let’s look at some of these new opportunities:

• On July 15th, President Obama attended groundbreaking ceremonies at Compact Power in Holland, Michigan, which is one of nine new advanced battery factories supported by $2.4 billion in Recovery Act funds.  This new factory will produce battery cells for 53,000 Chevy Volts annually and is expected to create hundreds of local jobs.

• Delphi Automotive Systems in Kokomo, Indiana gained a federal economic stimulus grant of $89.3 million to support building a $178.6 million manufacturing facility.  This plant will produce power electronics components for about 200,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2012 and help ensure that automakers have a globally competitive U.S. source for these components.  The project has thus far created/saved 60 jobs thus far and is expected to create/save 190 jobs at full production in 2014. 

• Dow Kokam announced that it will use $161 million in stimulus money to develop an 80,000 square-foot battery manufacturing facility near its Midland, Michigan headquarters.  This new plant will employ about 1,000 construction workers and then 800 people when complete.

• In Elkhart, Indiana, some hard-pressed gas-guzzling RV builders now plan to be manufacturing about 20,000 electric vehicles by 2013 for Norwegian-based Think motors.  Think plans to invest $43.5 million improving and equipping its Elkhart plant, and expects to create more than 400 jobs in the area.

• Indianapolis-based EnerDel Inc. says that $118.5 million in federal stimulus money will enable it to double the size of its headquarters on the city’s northeast side.  EnerDel will also soon employ up to 1,400 people manufacturing lithium-ion battery systems for electric and hybrid vehicles in Greenfield, Indiana.  EnerDel and Ener1 Inc. plan to grow from 300 jobs today to 3,000 jobs or more by 2015.

• On July 26th, EnVision Motor Company announced its plans to produce electric vehicles at a new assembly plant in Webster City, Iowa. The EnVision model will use foreign-produced car bodies and American-made electrical parts. The new Webster City plant is expected to employ 300 people.

• Ford Motor announced its plans to invest $135 million, including $62.7 million in federal stimulus funds, for design, engineering and production of next-generation electric vehicles. Ford plans to relocate battery assembly work from Mexico to its Rawsonville, Michigan plant, and electric-drive transaxle production from Japan to its Van Dyke plant, resulting in 170 manufacturing jobs in Michigan.

The Midwest’s pool of highly skilled workers should be building the cleaner new cars and components. These good manufacturing jobs are the “green jobs” for our future.

Under federal clean car standards finalized this spring, the average fuel economy for passenger cars will improve by almost 40 percent — from 27.5 mpg in 2009, to 37.8 mpg by 2016. The new innovative technologies are expected to save up to 11.6 billion gallons of gasoline annually by 2016. That’s equivalent to cutting U.S. oil imports from Saudi Arabia in half.

Building cleaner, more fuel efficient cars will save consumers $35 billion annually at the pump (at $3/gallon gas prices), and they will reduce lifetime greenhouse gas pollution from vehicles produced between 2012 and 2016 by more than 655 million tons. That’s a big step forward.

The transition to cleaner cars of the future should be accompanied by deploying modern technologies to clean up the electricity generating sources. Driving an electric car doesn’t help the environment as much if it’s charged by electricity generated from older, highly-polluting coal plants.  We can and should use clean power to charge electric vehicles.  Let’s build charging stations powered mostly by solar and wind energy 

Solar energy is most available on the hot, sunny afternoons when power market prices are highest and the power is needed most. Wind power is plentiful at night and provides “no pollution, no fuel cost” energy.  If electric vehicle charging stations are powered by solar and wind energy, the pollution equation works well. The state Public Utilities Commissions and our state legislatures should strengthen “net metering” rates and standards for the charging stations to sell valuable solar-generated power back into the grid when it is not fully used for charging cars.  Likewise, the Commissions should create discounted night-time charging rates for electric vehicles to reflect the lower power market prices and available wind power generation.

The Midwest is America’s auto industry center and should be the leader in gaining the jobs of the future by building the cleaner cars that increase our energy independence, reduce pollution, save us money at the pump and grow our economy.  Getting cleaner, more efficient cars on the roads is a key step forward for reducing our oil dependence. As the BP and Enbridge oil spills unfortunately showed us, business as usual is not the right path for our economy or environment.  Let’s be smarter and do better.

The BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has awakened many Americans to the dangers of our addiction to oil. The latest polls show that most Americans want to find cleaner and safer ways to power their cars and heat their homes. The good news is that a shift to more fuel efficient cars and trucks will both improve the environment and boost our economy.

Under the new federal greenhouse gas reduction and fuel economy standards that were finalized in Spring, the average fuel economy for passenger cars will increase from 27.5 mpg in 2009 to 37.8 mpg by 2016 – an improvement of almost 40 percent. Building cleaner cars will reduce lifetime greenhouse gas pollution from vehicles produced between 2012 and 2016 by more than 655 million tons. That’s a big step forward.

The shift toward cleaner cars provides an opportunity for new manufacturing centers and product lines in Indiana, as automakers develop more efficient technologies and better pollution controls. In Elkhart, for example, former RV builders will now be manufacturing electric vehicles for Think motors.  Think is planning to produce about 20,000 vehicles annually in Elkhart by 2013.  Likewise, just outside of Indianapolis, EnerDel will soon employ up to 1,400 people manufacturing batteries for electric vehicle.

Indiana’s pool of highly trained autoworkers will be building the cars – and the economy – of the future.  These good manufacturing jobs are “green jobs” for our future.

The new federal technology-forcing and innovation-encouraging standards for the cars of the future are expected to save as much as 11.6 billion gallons of gasoline per year by 2016. That’s equivalent to half the oil that the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia each year. That reduction in gasoline purchases will save consumers around $35 billion annually at the pump if gas costs $3 per gallon.

The transition to cleaner cars should be accompanied by deploying modern technologies to clean up and diversify our electricity generating sources. Driving an electric car doesn’t help clean up the environment as much if it’s charged by electricity generated by older, highly-polluting coal plants.  We can and should use clean power to charge plug-in hybrids and other electric vehicles.  Let’s build charging stations powered mostly by wind and solar energy

Solar energy is most available on the hot, sunny afternoons when power market prices are highest and the power is needed most. If electric vehicle charging stations are powered by solar, the pollution equation works well. Let’s try to locate charging stations in places where there is good solar access. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the Legislature should also adopt robust “net metering” rates and standards for the charging stations to sell valuable solar-generated power back into the grid when it is not fully used for charging cars.

Indiana can and should be a leader in gaining the jobs of the future from building new, cleaner cars that increase our energy independence, reduce pollution and save us money at the pump. Getting cleaner, more efficient cars on the roads is a key step forward for reducing our oil dependence. As the BP oil spill disaster unfortunately reminds us daily, business as usual is not the right path for our economy and environment.  Let’s be smarter and do better.

“Burning tires is clearly not clean energy, and we commend the legislators who rejected this cynical ploy to contort state laws designed to promote renewable energy,” said Howard A. Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center.  “The public is angry about being asked to bailout money-losing banks and, this time, to subsidize an unprofitable tire burner that has consistently violated the environmental pollution and public health laws.  Enough is enough,” said Learner.

###

“The US EPA is stepping up to protect children’s health, the Great Lakes and our environment by reducing toxic mercury pollution from major sources,” said Howard A. Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Mercury is a neurotoxin that can pass through a pregnant woman’s placenta and harm fetal brain development. Coal plants and these industrial smokestacks are the largest sources of mercury pollution.  Today’s announcement leads the way to better protection for children’s health and the environment.”

Many of us are excited by the new plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) coming into the market later this year.  They’re cool, high-tech and use less gasoline from countries that don’t like us very much and threaten America’s national security.  They’re a big winner for reducing pollution in the Northern Illinois market.  What’s not to like about cars with environmentally-friendly names like the Nissan Leaf, or charged-up names like the Chevy Volt?

The devil is in the details, however, when it comes to whether driving and charging the PHEVs will lead to less, instead of more, pollution compared with “conventional” hybrid gas-electric vehicles (HEVs) that are available to consumers today.  As my real estate friends say, it’s about “location, location, location.”  It’s also about what time you’re charging the PHEV.  Whether the mix of electricity generating sources used for charging are high-CO2 or low-CO2 depends a lot on the location and the time of day.  In short, if the charging source is electricity generated by old highly-polluting coal plants, on balance, that may hurt the environment more than it helps in some cases.

That’s the conclusion of a 2009 study by the National Research Council of the National Academies and a 2007 study issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.  When coal plants supply more than 50% of the power mix, the equation is not favorable for PHEVs compared to HEVs when it comes to the CO2 pollution (global warming) and SO2 (acid rain-causing) pollution; for other pollutants the data varies.  HEVs work better for the environment in these places.

PHEVs are an important emerging technology — where the cleaner energy power sources are used to charge their batteries.  Let’s compare and contrast among markets.  In Indiana, about 95% of the electricity is supplied by coal plants.  It’s not a good place to look for PHEVs as a pollution solution.  However, in Northern Illinois, most of the power supplied at the margin at night is from low/no-CO2 wind power and nuclear power plants.  Much better.

Peak power prices are very high on hot summer afternoons when the most highly polluting plants tend to be running on the margin to meet soaring electricity demand from cranked-up air conditioners and fans.  However, at night, the Northern Illinois power market has so much surplus nuclear and wind power available that prices are very low.  Indeed, during some night-time hours, as supply exceeds demand, the prices are so low that the can’t-easily-be-shut-down (so-called “must run”) nuclear plants and wind turbines are “running negative” They make money selling power during the day, but are essentially giving it away at night.

Here are three policies and actions help make the PHEV pollution equation work favorably:

1. Location Matters – Let’s Pick Our Places for PHEVs vs. Conventional HEVs: Let’s push for PHEVs and favorable policies in those places where wind power, solar power, hydro power and nuclear power supply more than half of the power mix.  Northern Illinois (nuclear and wind power) is a good market.  South Dakota, too (hydro and wind power).  Coal-heavy Indiana and Southern Illinois are not.  Sorry.  In many places, HEVs work better for the environment.

2. Time Matters – Discount Off-Peak Electric Rates for PHEV Charging: In most Midwestern states, electricity rates are flat, while power market prices are not.  On a hot summer day, consumers may be paying less then the market price per kw of electricity, but on that same summer night, the utility may be charging much more than the power, transmission and delivery actually cost.  Therefore, utilities have an incentive to encourage PHEV owners to charge their cars during off-peak night times, rather than during high-price peak power day times.  Time of use rates are economically justified, but complicated for many social, practical and equity reasons to implement on an across the board basis.  However, there are steps that we can take in a sensible direction.

Offering discounted off-peak rates that incentivize PHEV owners to charge their cars in their garages at night, instead of during the day, is a win-win-win-win when the location is right as discussed above.  The wind power, nuclear power and hydro power generating companies gain new, more profitable sales.  The utilities gain profitable electricity sales, rather than losing money by selling peak-priced power at lower flat rates on hot summer days.  Consumers who charge their PHEVs at night save money (about $150 – $175 per year in Northern Illinois) through the discounted off-peak rates.  All of us gain environmental quality benefits from PHEV charging when the energy mix equation results in less pollution instead of more.

Let’s bring environmental groups, consumer groups, auto companies, utilities, nuclear plant owners and wind power owners and developers together to petition the state public utility commissions to authorize pilot programs of discounted off-peak rates for PHEV charging.  New meters will be required, but those costs can be amortized through the rate savings over time.

3. Time Matters – Solar Power Works Well for PHEV Charging: Solar energy is most available on hot, sunny afternoon when power market prices are highest and the power is needed most.  So, if PHEV charging stations are powered by solar, the pollution equation works well.  How can we encourage that to happen?  First, by using planning, zoning and electric utility regulatory laws and policies to encourage location of charging stations in places where there is good solar access.  Second, authorizing favorable “net metering” rates for charging stations to sell solar-generated power back into the grid when it is not fully used for charging cars.

The Northern Illinois Plug-In Hybrid Opportunity: President Obama stated his national goal of 1 million PHEVs on the road by 2015. Let’s look at the opportunities in his Northern Illinois home area of, which is one of the best places in the country for PHEVs to accelerate:

• Large market of car buyers and users in third largest metro area in the U.S.
• Large amount of auto manufacturing and suppliers, including two existing plants that could potentially be retooled – the Ford plant on the southeast side of Chicago, and the Chrysler plant in Belvedere.
• Surplus, zero marginal cost, no-greenhouse gas wind power on-line and under development.  Some of this excess wind power supply is now being sold out-of-state.
• Surplus, low marginal cost, no-direct greenhouse gas nuclear power generation.
• Precedent for setting pilot program time-of-use rates, which would offer low off-peak electricity rates for charging PHEV batteries at night.

In short, the markets, policies and players are aligned in Northern Illinois for this PHEV strategy to succeed.  This is a win-win-win-win for more transportation efficiency and better national security, less global warming pollution, more utility and energy generation company revenues, and more job creation.

Getting more PHEVs on the road is a key step forward in terms of reducing our dependence on foreign oil and, in some parts of the country, they also can sharply reduce both CO2 pollution.  However, in places whose electricity comes primarily from coal, we need to develop PHEVs simultaneously with legislation to clean up the electricity system.  Then everyone can take full advantage of PHEVs’ technological improvements.

The pollution equation shifts dramatically depending on the power mix in the charging location and the time of day.  From an environmental standpoint, location and time matter, a lot.  We should focus on supporting PHEV rollouts in Northern Illinois and other places and at those times where there is excess low/no-CO2 wind, hydro and nuclear power available at the margin.  Let’s drive the market to achieve common benefits for the car-buying public, clean energy generators and utilities, clean car manufacturers and auto workers, and national security.

“We now call for the EPA to implement strong and fair standards that will reduce global warming pollution if Congress does not step up with legislation.  Implementing effective global warming solutions, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy development and high-speed rail development can create job growth, spur economic development, and help to solve our global warming problems.”

- Statement from Howard Learner, Executive Director, Environmental Law & Policy Center

This has been both a remarkable and challenging year for our nation’s economy, for our planet, and for the Environmental Law & Policy Center’s work to protect our environment, preserve the Midwest’s natural heritage and grow the green economy.  High-speed rail development is moving from vision to reality, transforming our transportation infrastructure.  Energy efficiency is becoming widely accepted as a smart way of doing business and the best, fastest and cheapest way of reducing global warming pollution.  Wind power is the fastest growing energy source in the world.  Solar power is coming of age. Great Lakes ecological restoration is finally receiving key federal funding.

ELPC is promoting these win-win-win solutions for environmental progress, job creation and economic development.  We are achieving remarkable progress in these challenging financial times.

I am writing to ask you to make a financial contribution to ELPC during this holiday season. ELPC combines strong legal advocacy with a core belief that we can achieve environmental progress and economic development together – the right approach for our times.  ELPC’s pioneering “green economy” vision has become a defining policy driver for the Obama Administration and others.

ELPC has achieved banner successes over the past year.  Clean water, clean air and forest protection litigation victories in Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky and Wisconsin. Breakthrough energy efficiency and renewable energy development policies in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and South Dakota.  ELPC led the national campaign to further improve the innovative Farm Bill clean energy development programs, which are focused on family farms and rural small businesses in Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana and Wisconsin.  ELPC staff is coordinating and catalyzing new coalitions of farm groups, outdoor recreation groups, clean energy businesses and environmental organizations focused on climate change solutions in Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota, and we have organized more than 200 Michigan scientists who are urging their Congressional delegation to act.

Please see ELPC’s 2009 brochure for discussions of our program successes in 2009.  Here are highlights of one major success, two challenges and a major opportunity for 2010 progress.

High-Speed Rail Development – Huge Success: ELPC’s long-time leadership led to dramatic breakthroughs in 2009.  President Obama identified high-speed rail as his #1 transportation priority.  Congress is appropriating more than $10 billion as a “downpayment” to jumpstart high-speed rail development.  The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is proposing $50 billion more over a five-year period. ELPC joined eight Midwest Governors and Mayor Daley as they signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly plan, prioritize and coordinate development of the Midwest High-Speed Rail Network – modern, fast, comfortable and convenient trains connecting Chicago and the 11 major cities within a 400-mile radius.  The impacts:  improved mobility, less pollution, more jobs and greater economic growth by better connecting our region and pulling jobs, people and business into the downtowns.  High-speed rail is the much-needed cleaner “third option” that will transform our national and regional transportation systems.
 
Federal Climate Change Solutions Legislation – Huge Challenge:  Solving our global warming problems is the moral, business, economic, policy, political and technological challenge of our generation.  As a global leader, the United States must step up and lead.  The federal climate change legislation is stuck in a Senate quagmire.  We are achieving progress on energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions, but the cap on carbon pollution is necessary.  The world’s leading climate scientists compellingly explain why we must act now.  We can’t just “push the pause button” and wait until the economy improves to reduce global warming pollution.  ELPC and our colleagues are calling on Congress to act soon; if not, then the U.S. EPA must exercise its statutory responsibility to reduce CO2 and other harmful pollution. It’s time for solutions.
 
Safe and Clean Water – Big Challenge:  The Clean Water Act’s goal that all lakes and rivers be “fishable and swimmable” is far from being achieved.  Moreover, there are too many troubling stories of contaminated drinking water supplies that harm public health.  It’s time for industries to reduce pollution and for federal and state environmental protection agencies to implement and enforce the laws. ELPC is bringing together medical and public health experts, children’s advocacy groups and environmental groups to enforce the laws and advance solutions.  No more excuses. 

Solar Power – Big Opportunity:  Solar photovoltaic panel prices are very low due to excess global supply, and there are now lush federal and state incentives for solar power. The Midwest is not Arizona, but Illinois has more solar intensity than Germany and Japan, which are leading solar markets.  ELPC is advancing pro-solar policies that can capture environmental benefits and create new green jobs.

ELPC is the Midwest’s premier environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization, and we’re among the very best in the country. Please consider making a contribution to support our success in protecting the Midwest’s environmental quality and preserving our natural resources. Click here to make a donation online. My best wishes to you for a happy and healthy new year.

Sincerely,

Howard A. Learner
Executive Director

Good News: ELPC received the independent Charity Navigator’s highest rating for the third year in a row – only 12% of charities achieve this success. ELPC is a sound investment. Please see www.elpc.org/financials for more information about our strong fiscal status.  To make an online contribution, please visit ELPC’s secure donation site. We appreciate your support that helps enable ELPC’s successes!

By: Howard A. Learner
Executive Director, Environmental Law & Policy Center

The confluence of multiple economic and policy factors creates a huge strategic opportunity to advance solar power installations in the Midwest.  This window of opportunity will likely be open for about two years while solar photovoltaic (PV) module prices are very low due to excess global supply.  Soon after, hoped-for technology curve improvements will reduce module costs and key policy drivers, such as Illinois’ solar procurement legislation, will kick in.  Here are the combined factors that are driving today’s solar PV opportunities:

Þ   Solar PV module prices have come down to $3 per watt, or less, due to the excess supply in global markets.  For several years, solar-friendly policies in Germany, Spain and other countries drove new global manufacturing plant investments to ramp up supply for the expected markets.  Germany and Spain shifted their subsidy policies – designed to catalyze markets, not support mature markets – just as ramped up manufacturing came on line.  The current excess supply has driven down solar PV panel prices to the lowest level in years.

Þ   Solar will find a niche supplying peak power in Midwest electricity markets. Solar is available at peak times when regional power market prices are highest.  As the Midwest power market has transformed from vertically-integrated utilities to a wholesale market dominated more by merchant generators and power auction-type processes, prices for generation are increasingly reflect time-of-day and time-of-year.  In short, solar energy matches well at pricey peak demand times.

Þ   Fairly lush federal subsidies for solar energy through the Investment Tax Credit, loan guarantees and various other tax credits and grants are making a difference. Recent federal energy legislation and the economic stimulus package provide significant price support and investment value for solar projects.

Þ   Federal and state policy support for solar energy is making a difference. For example, the Illinois RPS “solar carve-out” in the state’s renewable energy procurement standard will drive a new market for 700 MW – 750 MW of solar power supply in 2015.  Net metering standards and interconnection standards in several Midwest states are creating more favorable pricing for distributed solar-generated power. Expanding net metering policies to cover larger projects will boost solar even more.

Þ   Solar development is finding a sweet spot with 10 MW – 20 MW projects on former industrial sites with nearby substations. These projects are large enough to achieve economies of scale on module purchases and installation costs.  Locating systems on older industrial sites provides ready low-cost access to transmission substations in open areas with little blockages to sunlight.  In some cases, brownfield redevelopment, recovery bonds and other tax credits and subsidies are available.  In addition to SunPower’s 10 MW solar project on the old U.S. Steel site on the South Side of Chicago, there are at least three more developers seeking to move forward with 10 MW – 20 MW solar projects in Illinois.  These solar projects are big enough to obtain economies of scale, but small enough to fit onto the transmission grid as well as provide grid support when needed most.

Þ   Skilled electrical and other workers are available in the current economic downturn for solar installation “green jobs.” With the 10 MW – 20 MW projects, there is enough volume to bring down the per panel installation costs and, thereby, improve the overall economic robustness of projects.  Moreover, in some cases, various federal and state job creation grants, subsidies and credits are available, as are federal job training programs directed to new “green jobs.”  Because of the excess worldwide manufacturing capacity, the solar green jobs opportunities are predominantly installation jobs, rather than new manufacturing jobs in the Midwest.  The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is (re-) training new skilled solar installers at facilities in Illinois, Indiana and other states.

Þ   Solar intensity in the Midwest is better than that of both Germany and Japan, the world’s largest solar markets. All right, Illinois and Nebraska are not the same as Arizona and Nevada, but there are some good solar sites here.

Þ   New state policies can provide continued support for solar expansion as module prices increase after about two years when there is less excess supply. The Environmental Law & Policy Center and our colleagues are advocating a new ramp-up in 2010 – 2014 prior to the 700 MW – 750 MW Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) solar carve out now set to begin in Illinois in 2015.  We are working on feed-in tariff models in Michigan and with colleagues in Iowa to improve the state’s net metering policies.  As Wisconsin considers boosting its RPS in 2010, there may also be opportunities to include solar provisions.  We have a two-year window of opportunity to gain solar policy improvements as the unusually low module prices, combined with federal economic stimulus incentives, can drive significant new development.

Solar PV is primed for take-off in the Midwest, and especially in Illinois.  Let’s seize these strategic opportunities and move forward with solar power development that creates new jobs, spurs economic growth and helps to solve our global warming pollution problems.

Howard A. Learner is the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest’s leading environmental and economic development advocacy organization.  www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutions.org

This is a structural transformation of our transportation system.  This is about improving mobility with a modern, fast, comfortable and convenient transportation option for everyone.  This is about creating jobs.  This is about economic growth and pulling together the regional economy.  This is about protecting our environment – less pollution, cleaner fuels, reducing congestion, and counteracting sprawl by pulling jobs, people and businesses downtown into our central cities.

In addition to the $8 billion in federal economic stimulus funding, the President has now proposed an additional $1 billion of appropriations in his budget this year.  However, this is not just President Obama’s initiative.  The House of Representatives is voting to quadruple that annual appropriations to $4 billion.  

Let’s be clear: what happens here in the Midwest is key to the nation’s rail future.  All eyes will be on the home region of President Obama, Chief of Staff Emanuel, Secretary LaHood, and Federal Railroad Administrator Szabo and Amtrak Chair Carper.  Critics will look for proof that this is just hometown pork.  They will search for a railroad bridge to nowhere.  And if they find one, the support we’ve gotten overnight could evaporate just as quickly.

That’s why what is good for the Midwest is good for high-speed rail and the nation.  Making the Midwest high-speed rail development work well is the key to securing our nation’s high-speed rail investment future.  Here’s how we can make it work best:

• First, in the words of Senator Durbin and FRA Administrator Joe Szabo, we need “one region – one voice.”  We should support a regional vision of a vibrant Midwest tied together by high-speed rail connection.  By coming together today at this summit, the Midwest Governors and Mayor Daley have taken this critical first step.  The rest of us in this room need to support this vision and this cooperation.  We should praise Governors Culver and Doyle for helping bring high-speed rail to Illinois as well as to Iowa and Wisconsin; Governor Daniels for supporting better service for Michigan and Illinois, as well as for Indiana; Governor Strickland for supporting the initial three Chicago–Detroit, Chicago–St. Louis and Chicago–Milwaukee–Madison corridors, which, we hope, Ohio’s 3-C corridor will then soon join; and Governor Pawlenty for supporting investments in Wisconsin that will connect to both Minnesota and Illinois.

• Second, let’s not let perfection stand in the way of progress.  Our vision is for 3,000 miles of passenger rail serving 65 million people in nine Midwest states.  With a vision this ambitious and complex, there are sure to be details that are less than perfect.  Let’s not permit controversies over particular stations, routes or speeds stand in the way of a united front and overall progress.

• Third, everybody knows that sports teams play better before an enthusiastic crowd of hometown fans and supporters.  That’s us.  Through outreach to our members, our public statements and civic engagement, let’s use our voices to cheer on our Governors and the Congressional delegation.  Let’s assure them and the White House that high-speed rail funds invested in the Midwest bring with it political benefits as well as transportation and economic benefits.  Senator Durbin said this morning that he and Congressman Oberstar will be forming a bi-partisan Midwest High-Speed Rail Caucus.  That makes so much good sense – exactly what we’ve come to expect and respect from Senator Durbin. 

• Fourth, as the Federal Railroad Administration’s rules governing this competition for federal funds make clear, this isn’t only about trains.  This is about mobility.  This is about job creation.  This is about economic development, growth and revitalization.  This is about livable communities, and less pollution and a better environment.  So, as we advance the big vision, let’s also focus on the things that can make these rail investments really succeed.  Let’s invest in our train stations, as St. Paul, Milwaukee, Springfield, St. Louis and others are doing.  Let’s bolster our transit, bus, taxi and airline connections in Chicago and other cities so that rail stations can serve as truly intermodal hubs of economic activity.  Let’s creatively build up vibrant communities around our stations, as Normal, Illinois is doing.  Let’s work to rebuild our rail manufacturing industry, as Wisconsin is doing.  And let’s expand the market by using cleaner biofuels as Governor Quinn and Governor Culver are suggesting.

Working together, we can create a win-win-win for our region: good for jobs and our economy, good for the environment, and good for people.  Let’s get on board together.

Howard Learner presented these remarks at the Midwest Governors’ High-Speed Rail Summit Meeting on July 27, 2009 in Chicago.

First of all, the projected blockbuster construction cost of about $1.5 billion or more for this tollroad expansion is largely unaffordable in today’s economy without raising tolls on the Tri-State Tollway in Lake County and other tollroads. Moreover, that construction cost estimate was made years ago by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, and it is likely to go up if and when this tollroad expansion is actually built at some future date. There are good reasons why the Toll Highway Authority itself has eliminated the Route 53 Tollroad expansion from its 10-Year plan.

Second, the success of the new Metra North Central rail line in gaining passengers and other related experiences have shown that better and cheaper transportation management alternatives can work well.  Improved passenger rail service, arterial and local road improvements, and transit-oriented development strategies can effectively reduce congestion and promote mobility. Let’s be smart about how to relieve traffic congestion with the best solutions to address the real problems.

Third, the environmental harms of the proposed Route 53 tollroad expansion are substantial.  This new tollroad would slash through ecologically rich wetlands and threaten key species habitat in Lake County. The additional tollroad traffic would also produce more harmful air pollution, which threatens our children’s health. The proposed tollroad and related development would also risk making the current Lake County flooding problems worse by paving over wetlands, which absorb rainfall.

The outdated Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Route 53 tollroad expansion would have to be largely re-done. That key environmental information should precede and inform public debate and engage discussion. The Environmental Law & Policy Center will review any future actions to actually go forward with the proposed Route 53 tollroad expansion in order to assure compliance with environmental and other laws.

Fourth, the asserted need for the Route 53 tollroad expansion was based on housing development and population growth forecasts that assumed a much more robust economy than today’s very challenging economic climate. As we painfully know, there is no housing development boom today. We hope and believe that the economy will greatly improve in the reasonably near future. However, the lessons learned from the housing bubble of the past decade are likely to lead to smarter housing development approaches in the future—we hope.

Let’s be smarter going forward about spending transportation funds wisely in ways that provide real solutions to congestion relief problems and do so in ways that protect our environment and communities’ quality of life. Building the massive Route 53 tollroad expansion is an old approach. It’s time for change with better, cheaper and cleaner transportation alternatives and strategies for Lake County and our region.