It was the 1950s, and nothing was going to get in the way of building a national highway system. Today, state highway departments have rebranded as transportation agencies, but building, fixing and expanding highways is still mostly what they do. Jared Polis signed a law that required the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent within 30 years. Transportation is the largest single contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, accounting for about 30 percent of the total; 60 percent of that comes from cars and trucks. To reduce emissions, Coloradans would have to drive less.

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Persons: Jared Polis Organizations: Colorado’s Department of Transportation, Transportation Locations: Denver, Colorado, United States