Transportation secretary Ray LaHood responds to criticism from columnist George Will during his appearance at the National Press Club. (Streetsblog) Community opposition kills a planned highway expansion in Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Times) The American Lung Association looks at the country’s most polluted cities. (City Mayors)

With worldwide carbon emissions increasing by 2.9 percent from 2006 to 2007, worst-case scenario predictions from climate change scientists are looking increasingly prescient. The Intergovernmental Panel on  Climate Change now predicts that global tempatures could rise more than 11 degrees by the end of the century.

The California State Legislature is seeking to make the obvious connection between land use decisions, transportation, and climate change by voting on a law that would limit carbon emissions by curbing sprawl. (Los Angeles Times — Margot Roosevelt)

A new study from the University of Cincinnati says that more than 30 percent of public schools are within a quarter mile of a major highway, placing them in the “air pollution danger zone” that puts students at risk for respiratory diseases.