ELPC’s Chicago Eco-Office Receives LEED Platinum Certification
ELPC's new green office features natural daylighting, state-of-the-art HVAC controls, low-flow plumbing fixtures, ENERGY STAR appliances, and recycled and locally sourced materials. Learn about our new office.
Iowa groups want state money for Iowa City-to-Chicago passenger train
By William Petroski
A coalition of activist groups is lobbying Iowa legislators to provide $20 million in state funds to help establish the Iowa section of a proposed Chicago-to-Iowa City passenger train.
The state money is needed to secure an $87 million federal grant already approved for Iowa by the Federal Railroad Administration. Democrats who control the Iowa Senate support the state funding, but Republicans who control the House have had little interest, suggesting that if a passenger train is such a great idea that private investors will step forward.
The groups supporting state money for expanded passenger rail include Iowa PIRG, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers, the United Transportation Union Legislative Board, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. They sponsored a panel discussion on Monday at the Iowa Statehouse, citing the benefits of passenger trains for consumers and for rail freight service.
Amanda Martin, freight and passenger policy coordinator for the Iowa Department of Transportation, said Iowa and Illinois DOT officials are continuing to negotiate on plans for the Iowa City-to-Chicago train. In addition, a consultant is studying the entire railroad route between Chicago and Omaha, following the tracks of the Iowa Interstate Railroad in Iowa, on the potential for eventual rail passenger service. The study is expected to be finished this summer.
Available at: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130318/NEWS09/130318025/1056/news05
In Sunday, February 4th’s print edition, The Washington Post joined papers in more than 20 states in publishing an AP report on ELPC’s High-Speed Rail Supply Chain Report.
See the story below.
Sunday, February 4
Environmental group’s report says hundreds of Midwest firms coupled to high-speed rail project
By Associated Press
CHICAGO — Hundreds of Midwest manufacturers stand to benefit from a web of high-speed passenger rail routes emerging from Chicago’s rail hub, according to a report released by an environmental policy group that has fought to defend the use of billions in taxpayer money on such projects.
The report released Friday by the Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center found that 460 manufacturers in seven Midwest states are poised to reap new business, along with a dozen more highly visible companies that make rail cars and locomotives. Those additional supply-chain manufacturers make everything from seats, couplers and bolts to ceiling panels, interior lighting and air horns. They also cut sheet metal, provide electronics and communications equipment, and supply track maintenance machinery.
“What we’re seeing is that old-line Rust Belt manufacturers are making the equipment for modern new rail cars,” the group’s director, Howard Learner, told
The Associated Press. He said the “extraordinary” number of companies they found in the supply chain was nearly double what he expected.
“It shows that the federal investment in high-speed rail modernization is good for manufacturing jobs, good for economic growth and good for the environment,” Learner said.
Environmental group’s report says hundreds of Midwest firms coupled to high-speed rail project
Charles Rex Arbogast, File/Associated Press - FILE – In this Oct. 19, 2012 file photo, Gov. Pat Quinn, left, U.S. Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood, center, and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., celebrate in Pontiac, Ill., after the Amtrak train they are riding reached 110 mph during a test run between Pontiac and Dwight, Ill. Hundreds of Midwest manufacturers stand to benefit from a web of high-speed passenger rail routes emerging from Chicago’s rail
Critics of the high-speed rail projects set in motion by President Barack Obama in 2009 with the help of $8 billion in stimulus money say they are expensive boondoggles. Opponents and skeptics include members of Congress, governors, policy experts and even some in the rail industry who doubt any of the planned routes will become profitable, especially given the political pressure to keep fares low. As a result, they argue, taxpayers will be on the hook for years to help provide subsidies to keep the projects up and running.
Kristina Rasmussen, vice president of the Illinois Policy Institute, rejected the notion that the new report provided evidence that the high-speed rail program would ever be a genuine and sustainable driver of economic growth. She said the businesses named were merely benefiting from what she called the government’s shifting of taxpayer money from one industry to another.
“We can’t trust the government to pick winners and losers,” Rasmussen said. “… Remember all of the businesses and industry that won’t have capital available because some politician took it away through higher taxes or borrowing and spent it on a politically favored group like high-speed rail.”
Work on the Midwest program spreading out from Chicago already has sped trains up to 110 mph on at least some segments of the routes to Detroit and St. Louis. For now, those trains must share track with freight traffic, but studies have looked into the possibility of building a dedicated track that would allow for faster passenger service.
There are also projects on the East and West coasts, including a planned $68 billion high-speed rail system to link Northern and Southern California by trains traveling up to 220 mph.
Obama and many federal and state transportation officials say the projects will reduce pollution, lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil and create jobs. In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn mentioned the Chicago-St. Louis route in his State of the State address this past week and said it has delivered thousands of jobs.
Indeed, Amtrak passengers on that line can look out the window and see workers who have been upgrading track, signals and crossings.
Also highly visible are the rail car makers awarded contracts, including the U.S. subsidiary of Nippon-Sharyo, the maker of Japan’s bullet trains. Its plant in Rochelle, Ill., will build 130 double-decker rail cars for high-speed projects in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and California.
Less obvious, though, is the business generated for those supply-chain companies identified in the policy center’s report. The businesses it found are located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
They include family-owned firms with humble beginnings like Bo-Mar Industries, a metal fabrication shop in Indianapolis whose founder started it in 1991 in his father’s barn. Today, Bo-Mar’s work includes cutting sheet metal with lasers and high-pressure water jets. Its rail industry product line includes sleeper car bunks, interior lighting, battery boxes, stainless steel kitchens and bicycle racks.
Company President Bob Buchanan, a former Amtrak engineer, notes the economic food chain extends farther still because he sub-contracts work to painters and buys from local welding equipment suppliers.
“It goes deeper,” he said. “I bet we generate $200,000 a year in secondary operations that we send out locally.”
In Gladstone, Mich., the 30 employees of the Independent Machine Co. do business with Amtrak and other rail companies, supplying them with gear cases, wear plates and the plows attached to the front of locomotives to clear debris from the tracks. The company started in a garage in 1975 with a single lathe used to knock the flat spots out of worn locomotive wheels.
“It’s very beneficial to us,” sales manager Wendy Wils said of the increasing business. “The more locomotives they have out there, the more replacement parts we build.”
Another view: Economy, environment can benefit each other
By Howard A. Learner
The campaign season is bringing hypercharged political sound bites about environmental progress even though there’s very strong public support for cleaner air that’s healthier to breathe, cleaner water that’s safer to drink and enjoy for recreation, and fewer dangerous toxics in our communities.
The best news is that environmental progress is being achieved together with the growing green economy and it’s helping drive Iowa’s and the nation’s economic recovery. Energy-efficient equipment and appliances, wind and solar energy development, cleaner more fuel-efficient cars and modern high-performance rail development are good for job creation, good for economic growth and good for the environment.
Nonetheless, some defensive polluters and politicized critics are hauling out the old myth and false dichotomy that we must choose between job creation and environmental progress. That wasn’t true 30 years ago, and it isn’t true today.
Let’s look at the facts and progress of innovative clean technologies here.
Energy efficiency improvements are creating jobs, saving people and businesses money on their utility bills, keeping money in Iowa’s economy and reducing pollution. The Energy Group (Des Moines), Michaels Energy (Cedar Rapids) and Energy Solutions-OTB (Ames) are among the many energy-efficiency businesses employing skilled workers designing and retrofitting commercial, agricultural and governmental buildings, schools and homes.
Saving energy saves consumers money. Less pollution means better public health and cleaner lakes and rivers for all. Why would anyone argue that it’s somehow smart to waste energy and money?
Wind power and solar energy development create manufacturing and technical jobs, rural economic development and pollution-free energy. Wind power is the fastest-growing global energy source, and Iowa ranks second nationally for installed wind power. The Environmental Law & Policy Center’s report on the wind energy supply chain in Iowa shows 2,300 wind-related manufacturing jobs in Iowa.
President Barack Obama called for extending the federal tax incentives in his May 24 speech at TPI Composites in Newton, which manufactures wind turbine blades. Solar is also ready to move forward. That means more work for Eagle Point Solar in Dubuque, Go Solar in Decorah and Inerex in Council Bluffs. Iowa politicians must get the policy framework right to keep advancing the state’s clean energy economy leadership.
Cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks save us money at the gas pump, cut back air pollution, and improve national security by making our country less dependent on foreign oil. They keep money in Iowa’s economy rather than drain dollars to the Middle East, Venezuela and oil-producing states.
The Obama administration’s leadership in stabilizing and modernizing the American auto industry is a true success story. The federal clean-car standards will increase fuel economy to a fleet-wide average of 35 mpg in 2016 and 54.5 mpg by 2025. That will save trillions of dollars for America’s economy, create jobs for Americans building the cleaner cars and reduce greenhouse gas pollution. This is a smart solution.
High-performance rail improves mobility, creates jobs and spurs economic growth, and reduces pollution. Midwest supply chain businesses will be manufacturing high-speed rail equipment. Modern, fast, comfortable and convenient rail service connecting Des Moines to Chicago and Omaha and other Midwestern cities is an important third transportation option to highway congestion with higher gas prices and rising air fares with fewer flights.
Gov. Terry Branstad should accept federal funding to upgrade Iowa City-Quad Cities-Chicago passenger rail. This is a sensible solution for our future.
We will soon be overwhelmed by 30-second political attack ads from all sides. Let’s separate sound solutions from the sound bites. We are achieving job creation, economic growth and better environmental quality together. That’s what the public wants and it’s happening.
Earth Day 1970 sounded an alarm. It launched the modern environmental movement, bringing cleaner air that’s healthier to breathe, cleaner water that’s safer to drink and enjoy for recreation, and fewer dangerous toxics in our communities. Today, the growing green economy is helping to drive the Midwest’s and our nation’s economic recovery. Energy efficient equipment and appliances, wind and solar energy development, cleaner more fuel efficient cars and modern high-performance rail development are good for job creation, good for economic growth and good for the environment.
Nonetheless, some defensive polluters and politicized critics are hauling out the old, false myth that we must choose between job creation and environmental progress. That wasn’t true 42 years ago, and it isn’t true today. Nor do most people believe in that canard. Let’s look at the facts and progress of innovative clean technologies in the Midwest.
Energy Efficiency Improvements are creating jobs, saving people and businesses money on their utility bills, and reducing pollution. Johnson Controls, Honeywell, Shaw Group and Sieben Energy Associates are among the many energy efficiency businesses employing thousands of skilled workers retrofitting schools, hospitals, homes and commercial, industrial and governmental buildings. Saving energy saves consumers money and keeps money in the Midwest regional economy. Less pollution means better public health and cleaner lakes and rivers for all. Why would anyone argue that it’s somehow smart to waste energy and money?
Wind and Solar Energy Development create manufacturing and technical jobs, rural economic development and pollution-free energy. The Environmental Law & Policy Center’s Wind and Solar Supply Chain reports show that :
Illinois is home to more than 300 wind, solar and geothermal supply chain businesses and 18,000 related jobs
Iowa is home to more than 80 wind supply chain businesses and 2,300 manufacturing jobs, alone.
Michigan is home to more than 241 wind and solar supply chain businesses and 10,000 related jobs.
Ohio is home to more than 169 wind and solar supply chain businesses and 9,000 related jobs.
Wisconsin is home to more than 250 wind and solar supply chain businesses and 12,000 related jobs.
Chicago is home to the headquarters of 13 major wind power companies, making “the Windy City” a global wind industry hub. Old-line manufacturing companies including Brad Foote Gear Works (Cicero, IL), Dowding Industries – Astraeus Wind Energy (Eaton Rapids, MI), A. Lucas & Sons Steel (Peoria, IL), S&C Electric (Chicago, IL), Timken (Canton, OH) and Broadwind – Tower Tech (Manitowoc, WI) are re-tooling to supply growing markets for clean energy equipment. Iowa is the nation’s #2 state for installed wind power, and Illinois was the nation’s #2 state for new wind power development in 2011. Wind power is the fastest growing global energy source. Midwest politicians must get the policy framework right to keep advancing our region’s clean energy economy leadership.
Cleaner, More Efficient Cars and Trucks save us money at the gas pump, cutback air pollution, improve national security by making our country less dependent on foreign oil, and keep money in the Midwest states’ economies rather than drain dollars to the Middle East, Venezuela and oil-producing states. The Obama Administration’s leadership in stabilizing and modernizing the American auto industry is a true success story, which is especially important for the Midwest with its high percentage of auto-related manufacturing jobs. Look at just Illinois: Ford is now adding 1,100 new jobs at its Chicago assembly plant, Chrysler is adding 1,800 new jobs at its Belvedere plant, and Mitsubishi Motors is investing at its Normal plant and promoting electric vehicles. Automakers and parts suppliers in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana are reviving, and there are new advanced battery manufacturers, especially in Michigan.
The federal clean car standards will increase fuel economy to a fleet-wide average of 35 mpg in 2016 and 54.5 mpg by 2025. That will save trillions of dollars for America’s economy, create jobs for Americans building the cleaner cars for the future, and reduce greenhouse gas pollution. This is a smart solution.
High-Speed Rail Development is on track across Illinois with leadership from Democratic Governor Quinn and across Michigan with leadership from Republican Governor Snyder. High-performance rail improves mobility, creates jobs and spurs economic growth, and reduces pollution. Supply chain businesses across the Midwest will be manufacturing equipment for high-speed rail projects. Wisconsin Governor Walker’s decision to reject $810 million of federal high-speed rail funds and Ohio Governor Kasich’s decision to reject $400 million are missed opportunities, which we hope can be reversed in the future.
Modern, fast, comfortable and convenient trains connecting Chicago to Milwaukee, Detroit and St. Louis and to Cleveland, Des Moines, Indianapolis, Madison, Minneapolis-St. Paul and other Midwestern cities is an important third transportation option to highway congestion with higher gas prices and rising airfares with fewer flights. This is a sensible solution for our future.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ recent report shows that 3.1 million people hold jobs in green goods and services. Close to 500,000 jobs are in manufacturing, 370,000 in construction and 349,000 in professional, scientific and technical services. That’s progress.
We will soon be overwhelmed by 30-second political attack ads from all sides. Let’s separate sound solutions from the sound bites. We are achieving job creation, economic growth and better environmental quality together. That’s what the public wants and it’s happening.
Berg might consider St. Louis and Detroit to be nowhere, yet 22.3 million people visit St. Louis each year, and 15.9 million more go to Detroit.
Today travelers can choose from about 10 round-trip flights daily between Chicago and each city, or they can brave hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic to get there.
Mr. Berg may not be going, but the reasons to visit include organizations like Edward Jones, Emerson Electric, Scottrade and Washington University (St. Louis) and Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and the University of Michigan (Detroit).
St. Louis is also home to a dozen of Industry Week’s top 500 companies and Detroit boasts 14 other Fortune 500 companies.
Clearly, people do have reasons to go there, even if Berg’s limited view of business economics prevents him from seeing the benefits to making travel convenient and productive.
Trains are the only mode of transportation where speeds are consistently increasing, a key reason why Amtrak ridership has increased for 19 consecutive months.
— Kevin Brubaker, deputy director, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Chicago
The $8 billion initial investment in high-speed rail is expected to produce about 320,000 jobs and roughly $13 billion in economic benefit, according to published reports.
These benefits include construction and operations jobs, as well as manufacturing and supply chain opportunities. By increasing mobility while decreasing congestion and sprawl, high-speed rail makes our country more competitive while simultaneously spurring economic development.
Congress’ ‘Buy America’ program ensures that high-speed rail lines and trains will be built and operated using items made by American industries. Immediately after the high-speed rail funding announcement, more than 30 rail manufacturers and suppliers committed to establish or expand their United States operations if they are chosen to build America’s next generation high-speed trains.
Companies are already following through on that commitment (click for examples).
Beyond bolstering American manufacturing, high-speed rail will help communities prosper. Rail improvements have a rich history of positive economic impact (click for examples).
The economic impacts seen across the country show local projects can have big benefits on the surrounding area, while regional efforts are likely to generate a ripple effect.
Environmental Benefits
A nationwide high-speed rail network could mean 29 million fewer car trips and 500,000 fewer plane flights annually, according to a 2006 study. That would save 6 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of removing a million cars from the road annually.
High-speed rail reduces our dependence on foreign oil, protects the environment and is an ecologically responsible way to utilize land and natural resources.
The environmental advantages continue to increase as more ridership goes up (click for examples).
Midwest Network
The Midwest High-Speed Rail Network will create reliable 110 mph train service with limited stops between Midwestern cities. Modern locomotives, comfortable passenger cars and improved train stations will ensure that the high-speed rail travel experience is comfortable and convenient, as well as fast. The Midwest-Chicago Network is a hub-spoke model that runs out of Chicago:
One line runs north to Milwaukee, WI, before veering northwest to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.
A second line runs south from Chicago to Springfield, IL, and St. Louis, MO, before veering west to Kansas City, MO.
A third line runs south to Indianapolis, IN, where it branches into two lines, one running south to Louisville, KY, and another running to Cincinnati, OH.
A fourth line runs east from Chicago to Toledo and Cleveland, OH. That line then runs south to Columbus, OH, before joining the third line at Cincinnati, OH.
Finally, a fifth line runs east from Chicago to Kalamazoo and Detroit, MI.
ELPC’s Advocacy
More than a decade of high-speed rail advocacy by ELPC and others has worked to turn the vision of high-speed rail into a reality. In 2009, the federal government awarded the first round of competitive grants to develop high-speed rail corridors in the Midwest and nationwide. This commitment to developing smart transportation has earned broad bipartisan support from elected officials, businesses, labor leaders and environmentalists.
The exciting process of transforming America’s transportation system through high-speed rail has begun. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) awarded $8 billion in early 2010 to fund high speed rail projects – the Midwest received $2.62 billion of this funding to develop and improve service from Chicago to St. Louis, Chicago to Detroit, Milwaukee to Madison and Cleveland to Columbus and Cincinnati. The Transportation Infrastructure Grants for Economic Recovery (TIGER) program invested in important passenger and freight rail projects. The 2010 federal budget includes $2.5 billion for high-speed rail. The upcoming Transportation Reauthorization will make significant, multi-year investments in high-speed rail development.
To keep updated on our high-speed rail work, please visit our dedicated website, www.highspeedrailworks.org.
ELPC convened a panel of experts at the National Press Club on February 4, 2010 to review the economic, environmental and regional ramifications of the Obama Administration’s high-speed rail stimulus awards. “The $8 billion awarded by the Obama Administration is the first step,” said ELPC President Howard Learner, who moderated the Press Club event. “It’s the beginning of a restructuring of the transportation system for the 21st Century.”
The panelists included:
Anne Canby, President, OneRail Coalition
Arthur Guzzetti, Vice President for Policy, American Public Transportation Association
John Horsley, Executive Director, American Assoc. of State Highway and Transportation Officials
Joseph McHugh, VP Government Affairs/Communications, Amtrak
John Risch, Alternate National Legislative Director, United Transportation Union
The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) today commended the Obama Administration for the diverse selection of high speed-rail projects and national approach to awarding $8 billion in stimulus funding.
The 13 projects chosen represent critical first steps toward building a modern, national, passenger rail infrastructure and are the first significant passenger rail investments in nearly a century. These projects encompass 31 states. They enhance connectivity through a variety of technologies in the most environmentally responsible mode of regional transportation, noted Howard Learner, ELPC president.
“This is the beginning of transformative improvement to our nation’s transportation system, giving people a modern, fast, comfortable and convenient travel option,” stated Learner. This funding will put people to work while it improves our environment, strengthens key regions of our nation and enhances our ability to compete in the global economy.“
ELPC will host a National Press Club press briefing Monday, February 1, in Washington, D.C. to review the expected impact of the high speed rail investments. Panelists include Arthur Guzzetti, American Public Transportation Association, John Risch, United Transportation Union, and Thomas Simpson, Railway Supply Institute. The panel will be moderated by Howard Learner.
Currently, the Obama Administration’s total commitment to high-speed rail stands at $10.5 billion, with an additional $1 billion per year pledged to be included in the budget for the next five years. The House transportation committee has also recommended including $50 billion for high-speed rail development in the upcoming transportation reauthorization.
“Today’s awards are only the first step in a long-term process. Significant additional federal funding will be required if we are to truly realize the benefits of modern rail and compete in the global market,” Learner concluded.
To learn more about the Environmental Law & Policy Center’s high-speed rail advocacy, visit elpc.org/highspeedrail
In a blog post for Progressive RailroadingELPC Deputy Director Kevin Brubaker explains that our transportation system brings together networks of different options that that work together to keep us mobile.
As America embarks on its first investment in passenger rail in decades, it is important to remember that the strength of our transportation system lies not in single corridors, but in networks. The less reliant we are on a single corridor or mode, the stronger our transportation system.
Thus, when critics of high-speed rail point to the small portion of Americans who will use a particular train, they are missing the point.
Many components of America’s transportation infrastructure with local and regional, if not national, significance carry only a small percentage of regional travelers or trips:
• America’s busiest airport (Atlanta) handles only six percent of domestic boardings. Dallas, Denver, and Los Angeles each handle less than three percent.
• Interstate 494 in Minnesota serves popular destinations such as the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the Mall of America, and growing suburbs. Yet only seven percent of all trips made in the Twin Cities metro region utilize I-494.
• The Capital Beltway, the busy circumferential highway dividing Washington, D.C., from reality, carries less than 11 percent of area commuters. Replacing a single bridge along this road cost $2.5 billion.
• On a typical business day, only 2 percent of people entering Manhattan’s Central Business District drive over the Brooklyn Bridge.
• And on the West Coast, trans-San Francisco Bay trips through the Bay Bridge Corridor, across the San Mateo Howard Bridge and over the Dumbarton Bridge comprise only 4 percent of all regional trips.
Nobody would seriously suggest that any of these pieces of transportation infrastructure is “wasteful” because it serves such a small portion of its potential users. Let’s not let critics go unchallenged in saying the same about rail investments.
ELPC, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, and special guests from across the region gathered in Chicago on October 19th to celebrate this year’s remarkable breakthroughs toward achieving a Midwest High-Speed Rail Network.
This vision, shared by ELPC and many of our allies, is quickly coming into focus.
This interactive online presentation, displayed at the event, features images, maps, and facts highlighting the need for a Midwest High-Speed Rail Network.
Learn how ELPC’s and our allies’ many years of hard work are making the difference in the fight to turn the vision of a regional high-speed rail network into a reality for all Midwesterners.
