Just nine days after this extraordinary message from the nation's leading CEOs, U.S. negotiators rejected the appeal and instead offered to set legally binding targets to cap U.S. emissions. Business leaders in the U.S. were shocked. Those negotiated limits on U.S. economic growth will mean lower wages, reduced productivity, and a diminished standard of living in the years to come. This finding directly contradicts warnings previously issued by the EPA and other government agencies. Closer to home, the EPA announced its intention to set new air quality standards for ground-level ozone that would affect the Lower Lake Michigan Region, which includes parts of southeastern Wisconsin, Illinois, northern Indiana, and southwestern Michigan.
Cars are more energy efficient than mass transit.
Finally, there is good news to report. While cars have been getting more efficient, buses and trains have been getting less efficient due to declining ridership and the addition of energy-hungry amenities such as air conditioning. Consequently, transit buses now consume 4,374 BTUs and trains consume 3,687 BTUs per passenger mile. This new information may lead some cities to reconsider their tax subsidies to mass transit systems. These are only four stories that never made it to the evening news or the local newspaper.