A Congressional Push to End All Fossil Fuel Subsidies | The Nation

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont speaks outside the US Capitol on May 10 to promote legislation to taxpayer support of dirty energy industries. Photo by George Zornick.

A Congressional Push to End All Fossil Fuel Subsidies | The Nation: "Over the next ten years, the oil, gas and coal industries are slated to receive $113 billion in taxpayer subsidies—that’s six times the rate at which clean energy initiatives are subsidized. Americans will fund everything from development research for the industry to loan guarantees. There are all kinds of absurd tax breaks—for example, since 1951 the coal industry has been allowed to treat income from coal mines as capital gains, which is now taxed at a 15 percent maximum, instead of as regular income like most other businesses in the country."

Think Drivers Pay the Cost of Roads? | Barataria – The work of Erik Hare

Think Drivers Pay the Cost of Roads? | Barataria – The work of Erik Hare: "Clearly, somebody besides the driver is paying for Minnesota’s roads. Drivers-through gasoline taxes, car registration fees and sales taxes on vehicles-actually pay only 62 percent of the costs of roads. General taxpayers “subsidize” the rest, no matter how much or little they drive."

The True Cost of Unwalkable Streets - Commute - The Atlantic Cities

The True Cost of Unwalkable Streets - Commute - The Atlantic Cities: "Perhaps the single most alarming public health trend in the United States today is the dramatic rise in the number of people who are overweight and obese, bringing serious risks of heart disease, diabetes and other consequences leading to life impairment and premature death. This is bad enough as it is, but I contend that it is particularly unfortunate that we do not sufficiently recognize the extent to which these trends are caused by environmental factors, particularly the shape of our built environment."

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The cost of urban freeways | Better! Cities & Towns Online

The cost of urban freeways | Better! Cities & Towns Online: "Steve Mouzon of Original Green posted an illuminating blog on the destruction of real estate values adjacent to urban limited-access highways.

Mouzon argues that reduced real estate values could exceed a trillion dollars — double of the cost of the entire Interstate system."

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A parking space initial direct cost: 10 to 100 thousand dollars.

There's No Such Thing As Free Parking | ThinkProgress: "In many locations, it comes down to the cost of land. An acre of land only parks around 120 cars. So, where an acre is worth $1.2 million, the cost of the land is $10,000 per space. Parking garages would seem to be a smart choice where land is expensive, because the cars are being stacked. However the construction is expensive and the higher up you go, the larger the steel members have to be.
Construction costs are typically between$20,000 and $40,000 per space. Of course the prettiest parking is underground, because it is invisible to the urban landscape. However this is the most expensive parking. Developers have told me that this parking is around $100,000 per space. So the simple answer is that parking costs a lot."

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Feeding the Beast: The Backdoor Ways Transit Subsidizes Roads | Streetsblog.net - n8han

Feeding the Beast: The Backdoor Ways Transit Subsidizes Roads | Streetsblog.net - n8han: "One of the most insidious ways that automotive transport picks the pockets of alternative transport is in the construction of pedestrian overcrossings (POCs) spanning major arterials. It seems obvious that the $5M or so that it costs to construct a ped bridge should come from funds earmarked for pedestrian improvements, right?"

Fossil-Fuels: USD billions in direct subsidy

Unearthing the True Cost of Fossil Fuels : TreeHugger: "Experts believe that oil companies alone receive $10-40 billion in handouts yearly. A conservative study from the Environmental Law Institute found that from 2002-2008, oil companies received $72 billion of taxpayer’s hard-earned cash. Another report from Management Information Systems, Inc found that between 1950 and 2010, $594 billion was spent directly subsidizing fossil fuels—and the lion’s share of that, almost two thirds, went to the oil industry. Coal, too, receives billions of dollars in annual federal handouts."

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