Statement on LaHood Nomination

Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder outlines the challenges facing the U.S. transportation sector, noting its high contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and oil consumption. He calls for systemic reform to meet President-elect Obama's climate goals and expresses cautious hope that nominee Ray LaHood, despite a poor overall environmental record, may support visionary transportation policy due to his history of supporting passenger rail and public transit.

• Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder states that the U.S. transportation sector is responsible for 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 70 percent of oil consumption. He argues that for the U.S. to achieve President-elect Obama's goals of an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 and a significant reduction in oil dependence within 10 years, systemic changes in transportation are required.
• Brent Blackwelder describes the current U.S. transportation network as crumbling, with an anemic passenger rail network compared to other leading industrialized countries and a lack of convenient public transportation for most Americans. He further notes that federal transportation investments depend on an obsolete financing mechanism that required a congressional bailout in the autumn prior to the statement.
• Regarding the nomination of Congressman Ray LaHood as Secretary of Transportation, Brent Blackwelder notes that while LaHood's general record on energy and environment is poor, he has supported investments in public transportation and passenger rail and is a member of the Congressional Bike Caucus.

APA

Blackwelder, B. (2009). Statement on LaHood Nomination. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/news/2009-02-statement-on-lahood-nomination/

Chicago

Blackwelder, Brent. Statement on LaHood Nomination. Friends of the Earth, 2009. https://foe.org/news/2009-02-statement-on-lahood-nomination/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Blackwelder |first1=Brent |title=Statement on LaHood Nomination |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=6 February 2009 |url=https://foe.org/news/2009-02-statement-on-lahood-nomination/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{blackwelder2009statement, author = {Blackwelder, Brent}, title = {{Statement on LaHood Nomination}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2009}, month = feb, url = {https://foe.org/news/2009-02-statement-on-lahood-nomination/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }