America 2050

April 18, New York City - US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer and President of the Rockefeller Foundation Judith Rodin all addressed the deteriorating infrastructure in our nation and called for Washington to establish a vision to renew and rebuild America at Regional Plan Association's Regional Assembly, titled "Oil and Water". Held at the Waldorf=Astoria in Midtown Manhattan, over 700 civic, business, and government leaders filled the room to hear Blumenauer, Rodin, Pelosi and other national and regional leaders address the scarcity of oil and water resources. Blumenauer and Rodin both focused on the nation's over-reliance on fossil fuels and the need for incorporating renewable sources of energy to fuel our cars and buildings.  Blumenauer applauded the America 2050 initiative for thinking in bold terms about the future of our nation and suggested that meetings such as this one should be held in every congressional district.  Rodin, who chaired the Assembly, recommended that federal policies urge coordination of state and local land-use plans with transportation policy. She underscored the importance of federal transportation policy to meet the challenges of climate change, competitiveness and social equity. To the last point, she added that after all, the Civil Rights movement began with "one very brave woman on a city bus; Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who dubbed herself the "Sewer Mayor," shared her experience of rebuilding the deteriorating water infrastructure in the City of Atlanta and highlighted the importance of partnering with the federal government to address Atlanta's water infrastructure crisis.