"Come next year, [MNDOT's highway planners] will have to take into account climate impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, plus demand for #VehicleMilesTraveled, a key metric that measures the amount of time people spend driving.
If those calculations do not meet MNDOT's targets, the scope of the project must be altered "until it conforms," or it could be dropped."
@CelloMomOnCars
Finally, someone asking "can we afford this highway in the future" instead of "Can we afford this highway now." The environmental impact statements should consider the future impacts and not just the existing damages.
I find this news extremely hopeful as it's a signal of a political will to step away from the "highway expansion at all costs" model that's been the rule of the land for a hundred years.
May it be emulated far and wide.
Adding a Green Amendment to the state constitution would help put policies like this in place.