News & Events

Recent News

April 2, 2008
Commuter rail benefits far beyond here

It's part of the solution to global climate change

By David Gardiner
Special To The Sentinel

When Central Florida's officials rolled up their sleeves to work with the state and federal government on a new commuter-rail system, they were supporting benefits that will not only improve quality of life for the area's residents, but also help solve one of the biggest future challenges facing the state: global warming.

Certainly a 61-mile-long rail system serving residents and commuters will ease congestion on Interstate 4 and other area roads, and also improve traffic flow, especially through downtown Orlando. Transit systems such as this one are a more cost-effective alternative to solving these problems than simply building more streets, highways and freeway lanes.

The $615 million north-south system linking DeLand and Poinciana can serve as the spine of a network that eventually can be grown to serve more of the area. Metro Orlando's current population of 1.7 million will likely double within 50 years, and that means the region's mass-transportation system must be expanded repeatedly.

It is heartening that full funding commitments for this stage from local and state governments have been secured. With the support from leaders such as U.S. Reps. Corrine Brown and John Mica, both members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, it appears the project's federal commitment also has an excellent chance to be realized through the entire funding cycle.

We can only hope that the president and his successor will share Central Florida's belief that commuter-rail systems and other forms of mass transit are valuable, meaningful components of a thoughtful, modern city and metropolitan area, and that this commitment is reflected in his or her budget proposals and priorities. Recently, Sen. Benjamin Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, added language to America's Climate Security Act -- the climate-change bill likely to come to the Senate floor sometime this spring -- that would dedicate 1 percent of emissions allowances under the legislation, or approximately $1 billion annually, to transit investments. Support for such a system on the federal level would help drive new transit systems such as Orlando's.

These are positive developments. Not only do mass-transit systems such as commuter-rail routes or subways help create communities with reduced congestion, shorter commute time and better traffic flow for residents, they are also among the most powerful ways to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, the main contributor to the climate changes whose impacts will threaten Florida's future.

Florida is one of the places in the United States that is most vulnerable to impacts from global warming. According to a report issued to the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, low-lying coastal areas, where 15 million Floridians reside, could be submerged by rising seas. The state's agricultural industries and commercial fisheries could be dramatically harmed. And the Everglades ecosystem would be devastated. We've already witnessed intensifying hurricanes whose force has been attributed to the increased energy from warmer seas.

Faced with such sobering consequences, Gov. Charlie Crist has taken a strong stand on the climate issue; he is part of a strong bipartisan group of governors who are taking action to mitigate the threat that climate change poses. In 2007, he committed Florida to reducing its emissions of greenhouse gases. "I believe global climate change is one of the most important issues that we will face this century," he said at the time.

Luckily, public transit and transit-oriented development are familiar, proven tools that can be a part of the solution to climate change. According to the American Public Transportation Association, public transit has a direct effect on greenhouse-gas emissions: A single commuter taking public transit to work instead of driving can reduce carbon dioxide by 4,800 pounds a year -- far more than by switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs or switching to more efficient appliances. And one person in a two-car household switching to public transportation shrinks the household's carbon footprint by 25 percent to 30 percent. Public transit reduces carbon emissions even more dramatically when you take into account the more efficient land-use patterns that transit encourages: The association has found that existing transit systems reduce carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons a year from levels where they would otherwise be -- equivalent to the emissions generated by the electricity used by 4.9 million households.

Central Florida's mass-transit system simultaneously will create more livable communities for Floridians and combat climate change. It can surely serve as one of the centerpiece solutions to the global-warming challenge in Orlando, Central Florida and anywhere growing numbers of people are overwhelming the roads.

David Gardiner is president of David Gardiner & Associates, a Washington, D.C., firm that helps organizations and decision-makers around the country marshal policy, technology and finance to solve energy and climate challenges.

Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel