The Fossil Fuel Era Isn't Done Yet, Not by a Long Shot

West Coast Land Use and Environmental attorney Jennifer Hernandez was quoted in a Washington Post article discussing the challenges and implications of California's goal to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 25 percent by 2030 and 30 percent by 2045. Ms. Hernandez emphasized the difficulty of achieving such goals, given the historical increase in VMT and the population's preference for personal vehicles over public transit. She examined the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) approach, which includes doubling public transit capacity and implementing land use restrictions for high-density communities, suggesting that radical changes in public preferences are unlikely.

Ms. Hernandez also commented on Southern California's plan to construct 16 miles of toll roads to reduce delays, saying "this minute addition to the thousands of miles of existing freeways" is actually projected to increase the VMT.

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