Cascadia

In a series of op-eds in The Everett Herald, Cascadia Center makes the argument for role that rail has had (and can continue to have) in the Northwest. The first, "Let history be our guide," describes how the region's past success with rail can and should guide its future. The second article, "All aboard together," focuses on how the region can partner -- across juridsictional and public-private lines -- to ensure a future for rail.

Before the Civil War, Congress — eager to bring the riches of the West to Eastern markets — began giving land grants to private railroads to finance track extensions as the railroad sold the newly valuable land. While some railroad barons corrupted legislators (leading to state laws restricting the lending of public credit to private interests), immigration, westward expansion and Read More ›

When I was in high school laying a roof on my family’s 100-year-old hardware store, I watched trains as they screeched under the Hewitt Trestle in Everett and thought they were a nuisance. Now I think they are a godsend. Snohomish County pioneers certainly thought so. Arriving by horse-drawn wagon or ship and hauling gear over muddy roads was a Read More ›

This article, published by The Register-Guard, quotes Discovery Institute Fellow Bruce Agnew: The future is not quite so dire, said Bruce Agnew, director of the Cascadia Center, a Seattle-based transportation policy group. Amtrak carries passengers through 46 states who board and alight at stations in 500 cities across the country. Lawmakers representing all those areas have proved historical allies for Read More ›

Cascadia Center sponsored and participated in the Pacific Northwest Supply Chain and Competitiveness Exchange, an outreach event of the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Transportation. The focus of the forum, organized locally by the ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Portland, was to identify elements of a national freight policy critical to the competitiveness of the Northwest. 

The wrap-up of the forum can be found here. 

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has released its new report, "Destination Sustainability: Reducing Greehouse Gas Emissions from Freight Transportation in North America. (The full report can be downloaded here.)

"Destination Sustainability" is the product of "expertise, and perspectives" of specialists in the field of transportation and is designed to serve as a template of "recommendations for actions" to ensure the "environmental sustainability of the North American transportation system."

The CEC is a NAFTA-chartered commission focused on the issue of sustainable freight transportation. Cascadia Center's Bruce Agnew serves as the chair of the group.

This article, published by Environment News Service, quotes Discovery Institute Fellow Bruce Agnew: “This report is something of a roadmap to both sustainability and prosperity,” said CEC Advisory Group Chair Bruce Agnew. “It turns out that, in the freight transportation sector, the best policies and investments for reducing freight-related greenhouse gas emissions are also some of the most effective measures Read More ›

This article, published by EcoSeed, quotes Discovery Institute Fellow Bruce Agnew: Entitled Destination Sustainability: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Freight Transportation in North America, “This report is something of a roadmap to both sustainability and prosperity,” said CEC Advisory Group Chair Bruce Agnew. The rest of the article can be found here.

This article, published by Crosscut, quotes Discovery Institute Fellow Bruce Agnew: Bruce Agnew, who is heading a passenger-train “modeling” exercise for the Cascadia Project and Whatcom County governments, says, “It is clear that expansion of coal trains from the Powder River Basin through Northwest ports to China is their (BNSF) major strategic initiative.” The rest of the article can be found Read More ›