Category Archives: transportation

U.S. and Mexico Sign Agreement on Decreasing Border Pollution

The U.S. and Mexico today signed an agreement to reduce pollution, exposure to chemicals accidents or terrorism, and improve environmental stewardship. It is the latest environmental cleanup program implemented under the 1983 U.S.-Mexico La Paz Agreement covering public health problems in the 2,000-mile border region. The border is home to more than 14 million people and one of the busiest trade regions in the world. Continue reading

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Pilot School Owners Go to Prison Over Swiss Bank Accounts

The criminal actions by the Roberts were made possible by UBS, which in February 2009 entered into a so-called deferred prosecution agreement whereby the bank admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers hide accounts from the IRS. As part of the agreement, UBS provided the U.S. government with the identities of, and account information for, certain U.S. customers of UBS’s cross-border business, including the Roberts. Continue reading

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Red Tail Mustang to be Auctioned at EAA Oshkosh for Eagles

Ford Motor will auction a one of kind Red Tails Mustang at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture convention in Oshkosh next Thursday. The single edition Mustang has VIN 00051 in honor of the red tail P-51 Mustang planes flown by the Tuskegee Airmen during more than 1,500 missions during WWII. Pervasive racism in the army kept the black unit segregated during the war. Continue reading

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Airline On-Time Performance Improves in May

The largest airlines in the U.S. reported an on-time arrival rate of 83.4% in May, up from the 77.1% on-time rate of May 2011. This was down from April 2012’s 86.3% rate, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report released today. Continue reading

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Louis Dreyfus Energy Pays $4 Million for ‘Stealing’ Natural Gas

Louis Dreyfus Energy Services has paid the United States $4,084,000 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay money owed on natural gas acquired from the Department of the Interior, which is to say U.S. taxpayers. Continue reading

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NTSB Blames Jack Roush in 2010 Oshkosh EAA Crash

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the crash that seriously injured pilot Jack Roush at EAA AirVenture 2010 said that Roush, long time Ford Supplier and racing team owner, let his Hawker Beechcraft 390 jet stall during an attempted go-around. Continue reading

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BMW Group and Toyota Motor Expand Collaboration

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, met today with Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, at the BMW Group headquarters in Munich to announce the planned expansion of their existing cooperation that started last year. Continue reading

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Pratt & Whitney of United Technologies Guilty of Criminal Charges for Helping China Develop a Military Attack Helicopter

Pratt & Whitney Canada, a Canadian subsidiary of the Connecticut-based defense contractor United Technologies Corporation, today pled guilty to violating the Arms Export Control Act and making false statements in connection with its illegal export to China of U.S.-origin military software used in the development of China’s first modern military attack helicopter, the Z-10. Continue reading

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Diesel to Comprise More than 12% of Global Sales by 2018

A new report claims that rising fuel prices and stronger fuel economy regulations will increase demand for diesel vehicles in markets around the world. Sales of diesel vehicles will increase from 9.1 million in 2012 to 12.1 million annually by 2018, with diesels representing 12.4% of all light vehicle sales by the end of that period. Continue reading

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OSHA and NIOSH Say Fracking Hurts Workers

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health today issued a ‘hazard alert’ to employers conducting hydraulic fracking operations. OSHA wants steps to protect workers from silica exposure in the controversial technique used to extract oil and natural gas. The hazard alert follows a study by NIOSH and industry that identified overexposure to silica as a health hazard to workers during hydraulic fracking. No data on the effect of residents of these areas were released. Continue reading

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Volaris Fined by DOT for Failing to Disclose Baggage Fees

The U.S. Department of Transportation today assessed a fine of $130,000 against the Mexican airline Volaris for failing to inform consumers that they may have to pay baggage fees when buying a ticket on the carrier. This is the first penalty assessed for a violation of the provisions of the Department’s new aviation consumer rule that took effect this past January. Continue reading

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Germany to Add 35 New Hydrogen Fueling Stations

Automakers are currently lobbying in the U.S. for tax breaks and other taxpayer incentives for fuel cell cars to bring down their astronomical – as in $pace technology – costs. Hyundai thinks it can develop a fuel cell business if it can get the costs down to ~$50,000 a vehicle. Continue reading

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FAA and NASA Sign Commercial Space Safety Standards Pact

The ‘No Jobs’ Obama Administration is trying to position this as a move to encourage private sector innovation, in-sourcing work to American companies around the development of spaceflight capabilities along with job creation claims no matter how tenuous. Continue reading

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EPA Proposes Soot Pollution Standards under Court Order

Depending on the final level of the standard, estimated benefits will range from $88 million a year, with estimated costs of implementation as low as $2.9 million, to $5.9 billion in annual benefits with a cost of $69 million – a return ranging from $30 to $86 for every dollar invested in pollution control.

While EPA cannot consider costs in selecting a standard under the Clean Air Act, those costs are estimated as part of an analysis now undertaken for all significant regulations, as required by Executive Order 13563 issued by President Obama in January 2011. This genuine reform is a fact apparently unknown or ignored by the presumptive Republican presidential candidate who says he require such and analysis if elected. Continue reading

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U.S. DOT Closes 26 Bus Operations in Its Largest Crackdown

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced today that it has shut down 26 bus operations, declaring them “imminent hazards” to public safety, the largest single safety crackdown in DOT’s history. Continue reading

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