The U.S. Department of Treasury has officially issued a 60-day sanctions waiver on Iranian oil, petrochemical products, and gas

It is now in effect, until August 21st, with possibly extension as long as negotiations continue and a final deal is reached.

The ridiculous thing is that they feel entitled to dictate how Iran can use the money and who they can do business with.

(c) This general license does not authorize:
(1) Any transaction involving a person located in or organized under the laws of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the Covered Regions of Ukraine, as defined by E.O. 14065, the Crimea Region of Ukraine, as defined by E.O. 13685, or any entity that is owned or controlled by or in a joint venture with such persons;

or

(2) Any other transactions or activities prohibited by any other Executive order or by any part of 31 CFR chapter V not referenced in this general license.

#Iran #USDoT #Sanctions #Oil #WarOnIran #OilExport #PeaceTalk #USpol #Politics #StraitOfHormuz

US DOT Aviation Climate Plan

I am currently on the Amtrak Cascades line between Seattle and Vancouver, returning from the awesome SeaGL 2025 conference at the University of Washington. I decided to cancel the US leg of my flight home because of the airport chaos caused by cancelling 10% of domestic flights. But it got me thinking that reducing air travel by 10% could have a huge effect on the USA’s greenhouse gas emissions.

My best estimate from the US Greenhouse Gas Inventory is that aviation emissions are about 125Mt annually. If we assume that the air traffic reduction will last about 1 month, that month would normally account for about 10Mt of emissions. A 10% reduction would thus make up about 1Mt of emissions.

For scale, that’s about the annual emissions of around 54,000 Americans. Not a bad reduction! It’s kind of a small percent of the total 6343 Mt the US puts out every year — about 0.016% — but I guess every bit counts. Given how tepid other climate action, even unintentional, has been in the US this year, we should probably congratulate the US DOT for its bold climate action.

#airtravel #climate #seagl2025 #trainsnotplanes #usdot

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/10/17/trump-administration-threatens-city-and-state-over-34th-street-busway

US conservatives hate cities and mass transit.

#USPolitics #NewYork #Bus #Busway #FHWA #USDOT #MassTransit #PublicTransport #NYC

Houston reinstated the rainbow crosswalks in Montrose. Some conservative leaders are calling for its removal.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/lgbtq/2025/10/07/532842/conservative-leaders-call-for-removal-of-montrose-rainbow-crosswalks-days-after-they-were-reinstated/

#LGBTQ #Local #News #GovGregAbbott #Metro #Montrose #RainbowCrosswalk #USDOT

US DOT Pulls Grants For Projects That Aren't Focused on #Cars

»While the January notice for the BUILD program did say it would favor projects that "increase accessibility for non-motorized travelers," actions by #USDOT have overtly indicated preferences for projects that serve drivers over other road users.

… US #DOT warned applicants to the Safe Streets and Roads for All program that projects "reducing lane capacity for vehicles ... would be viewed less favorably…"«

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2025/09/16/breaking-us-dot-pulls-grants-for-projects-that-arent-focused-on-cars

Montrose’s iconic rainbow crosswalks — the first such landmark in Texas recognizing LGBTQ+ residents — are gone for now and could be for the foreseeable future.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/lgbtq/2025/09/17/531141/rainbow-crosswalk-houston-montrose-removed-metro-federal-guidelines-trump-administration/

#CityOfHouston #Houston #LGBTQ #Local #News #Politics #Transportation #HoustonStreets #Metro #Montrose #RainbowCrosswalk #TrumpAdministration #USDOT