via jerylbier:
One stated goal of the Green New Deal Resolution championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is to “remove pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector,” in part by increasing “investment in high-speed rail,” “public transit,” and “zero-emission vehicle infrastructure.” If the experience of Ocasio-Cortez’s own campaign for the House of Representatives last year is any indication, however, the transition would be a difficult one.
A review of disbursements by the Ocasio-Cortez 2018 campaign reveals a clear inclination to choose air travel over rail for long-distances and personal vehicles over public transit for local trips.
Total disbursements to airlines totaled $20,490 to at least six different carriers for at least 39 trips. Disbursements for rail travel (Amtrak) totaled $3,147 for at least ten trips.
For short distance travel, the campaign utilized the car services Lyft, Juno, and Uber to the tune of $14,288, while disbursements for the Metro totaled $5,368.
“Totally overhaul transportation by massively expanding electric vehicle manufacturing, build charging stations everywhere, build out high-speed rail at a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary, create affordable public transit available to all, with goal to replace every combustion-engine vehicle.”
Related: Liz Cheney Stumps Green New Dealers With One Question: Did You Fly Here?
Cheney asked the expert panel, comprised of four Democrat and two Republican witnesses, to state how they each arrived in Washington D.C., for the hearing. Four of the six witnesses stated that they traveled by airplane, the very means of transportation they hope to diminish.
Exit quote: “Listen to Harrison Ford, who’s taken his private plane to get cheeseburgers.”
h/t ED