Environment Florida Praises Administration Focus on Green Transportation
TAMPA – Today, President Obama announced $1.25 billion that will be invested in the Tampa-Orlando high-speed rail corridor at a town hall in Tampa, a significant step toward fulfilling his vision of making high-speed rail a legacy of the administration.
In addition to $8 billion in high-speed rail funding included in last year's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Obama has pledged an additional $5 billion through the annual budget process.
"President Obama is delivering on his promise, putting Florida on track to a cleaner transportation future by investing in high speed rail," said Environment Florida Advocate Adam Rivera. "By making these investments now, America will be able to travel on these clean, sleek, fast trains within a decade, saving oil and reducing global warming pollution."
Transportation accounts for two-thirds of America's dependence on oil, and nearly a third of global warming pollution. High-speed rail has the potential to significantly reduce transportation's energy and global warming impact, creating less pollution and using a third less energy per mile traveled compared to automobile and air travel. A nationwide high-speed rail network could save 125 million barrels of oil per year by providing an alternative to car and plane trips.
In addition, high-speed rail investments have the potential to be a significant job generator, with 20,000 jobs created per billion dollars invested. The rail project announced in Tampa today is expected to create 23,000 jobs in Florida over four years and create 600 permanent jobs once the line is running by 2015.
"Reducing our dependence on oil through high-speed rail could prevent the need to drill for oil off our pristine coasts," Rivera added. "Moving to a clean energy economy also means clean mobility like high-speed rail, which generates jobs and helps save the environment."
Obama announced the following high speed rail projects that will receive ARRA funding:
• California - $2.34 billion
• Tampa-Orlando-Miami - $1.25 billion
• Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City - $1.13 billion
• Minneapolis-Milwaukee-Chicago - $823 million
• Charlotte-Richmond-Washington D.C. - $620 million
• Eugene-Portland-Seattle - $598 million
• Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati - $400 million
• Detroit-Chicago - $244 million
• New Haven-Springfield-St. Albans - $160 million
• New York-Albany-Buffalo-Montreal - $151 million
• Boston-New York-Washington D.C. - $112 million
• Brunswick-Portland-Boston - $35 million
• Philadelphia-Harrisburg-Philadelphia - $27 million
• Additional awards - $27 million
"By making these historic investments, America can rank as a global leader in high-speed rail, with systems rivaling those now seen in Asia and Europe," Rivera said. "In a few years, Americans will also reap the dividends of, less oil dependence, less pollution, thousands of green jobs and faster, sleeker options for travel."
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Environment Florida is a citizen-based advocacy group working in Florida for clean air, clean water, and open space. For more information, visit www.environmentflorida.org.
