“We should be a leader on taking climate action, and that’s just not what we’re seeing happen.”ĭata reflects trends in local carbon dioxide emissions by sector for Multnomah County, Ore., which covers Portland. “Portland has a reputation as a really progressive and green city,” said Adah Crandall, a 16-year-old organizer with the Portland chapter of the youth-led Sunrise Movement. Youth activists have been protesting the highway plans for nearly a year, and environmental groups have filed legal challenges. Kate Brown, a Democrat, say Portland’s highways need to be enlarged to improve road safety and alleviate growing congestion, while arguing that idling cars and trucks create extra pollution when stuck in traffic.īut opponents point to decades of research showing that whenever lanes are added to busy freeways, more cars show up to fill the available space, a phenomenon known as “induced traffic demand.” Emissions from additional driving would outweigh any benefits from reduced idling, studies show. | Sources: Oregon Department of Transportation estimated traffic volumes via INRIX Some expansion projects reflect the addition of “auxiliary” lanes, such as ramp-to-ramp connections. And there’s an effort to upgrade and add lanes to portions of Interstate 205 along Portland’s southern edge, among other projects. There’s a nearly $5 billion plan to replace and expand the aging six-lane bridge crossing the Columbia River from Portland to suburban Vancouver, Wash. There’s a $1.2 billion proposal to widen and partially cover a busy stretch of Interstate 5 near the Rose Quarter in the city’s center. Critics say that will only increase pollution from cars and trucks at a time when emissions need to fall, and fast. Now the city faces a fresh challenge: To deal with traffic jams, state officials want to expand several major highways around Portland. While Portland has set ambitious climate goals, the city is not on track to meet its targets, largely because emissions from transportation remain stubbornly high. metropolitan areas, Portland saw its residents drive the third-fewest miles per day in 2019, on average, behind only New York and Philadelphia.īut despite Portland’s efforts, the number of cars and trucks on its roads has kept rising as the city and its suburbs have grown - along with tailpipe pollution that is warming the planet. Over the past few decades, Oregon’s largest city has built an extensive light rail system, added hundreds of miles of bike lanes and adopted far-reaching zoning rules to encourage compact, walkable neighborhoods. Portland has tried harder than most American cities to coax people out of their cars. Photography and videos by Chona Kasinger. The highest recorded temperature in Portland is 107.1☏ (41.7☌), set on July 30, 1965, while the lowest temperature on record is -2.9☏ (-19.4☌), set on February 2, 1950.Nadja Popovich, a data and visual reporter, and Brad Plumer, a policy reporter, traveled to Portland, Ore., to find out why the city is struggling to reduce emissions from transportation. The temperate climate is suitable for growing roses. Snowfall is light to the tune of 4.4" (112mm) during the winter with few incidences of frost. The city experiences average annual precipitation of 36" (914mm) with heavy rainfall between November and February. Winter has the cloudiest skies of the year as the average humidity registers above 80% most of the time during the cold season. The average annual sunshine in Portland is 2341 hours, with a peak in July and August. Spring and fall often have unpredictable weather with occasional incidents of warm and cold fronts that may push the temperatures above 80.1☏ (26.7☌) or below 39.9☏ (4.4☌) during the day. Winters are cold, with an average low temperature of 35.2☏ (1.8☌) during the coldest month of December. Portland summers are warm, dry, and sunny, with the average high temperature peaking at 81.1☏ (27.3☌) in the warmest month of August. The Oregon Coast Range and Portland's inland location reduce the influence of the Pacific Ocean on its climate. The vegetation consists of a variety of trees such as fir, hemlock, red cedar, and broadleaf maple. The terrain is mostly flat except for the foothills of the Tualatin Mountains on the western side of the city. Portland lies at an average altitude of 15 meters above sea level within the Willamette Valley. The temperate latitudes, low altitude location, and distance from the Pacific Ocean mainly influence the climate of Portland. It lies in the Pacific Northwest part of America, within the state of Oregon, at the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers. Portland experiences a temperate oceanic type of climate (Köppen climate classification Csb) with warm, dry summers and mildly cold, wet winters.
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