Latest news with #KevinWest
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Pilot scheme cutting roadwork emissions by over 50%
Repairing and maintaining roads is, like most construction activity, a carbon-intensive activity. One estimate puts the annual emissions from the asphalt paving industry in the EU at 14 million tons CO2 equivalent or 0.35% of the bloc's total emissions. The Irish road network is one of the most extensive, per head of population, in Europe and every local authority has an annual programme for repair and resurfacing. Monaghan County Council has been pioneering a new technique which can cut carbon emissions from roadworks by more than 50%. Engineer Kevin West says the pilot project, funded by the Department of Transport, is already showing results. "We have upgraded over 26km of local and regional roads using this type of material with an estimated carbon savings of 644 tons, which is equivalent to approximately 340 diesel vehicles for one year," Mr West said. The first saving comes from recycling old asphalt scraped off roads before they are resurfaced. At a plant where the old material is being mixed with virgin product, Robin Hutchinson, a Director with TH Moore Contracts, explains how the process has been honed to reduce emissions at every step. "One is transport, this is a mobile batching plant. So you can situate the plant where the material is ... and you try and base it all around, where the next site is, that's a whole circle. "Also, there's no heat generated, so less energy is used. A traditional hot mix, or warm mix, you burn kerosene to create heat, to heat the stone, to add the bitumen to create the hot mix, whereas this is just using a completely cold mix, adding emulsion bitumen, which is cold, straight onto the lorry and out to the job," Mr Hutchinson explains. The plant has been set up at a council yard beside the N2 Dublin to Derry road and is a few kilometres away from the section of the road where the old asphalt was planed off. When combined into the new product, it is being used to upgrade a local road just a few hundred metres from the site. The pilot, which started in 2020, has now been extended to Cavan and Louth and the process was used for a greenway in Cork. Monaghan County Council's Chief Executive Robert Burns says: "It's showing it can be replicated, it can be extended to other areas and I think if this pilot proves successful, I think it offers enormous potential to manage our road networks right across the country". "And particularly rural networks, which are much more challenging because we have a larger number of local roads around the country that need to be maintained, and for many local authorities, that's a major challenge," he added. The potential financial savings of the process have not yet been realised as its at pilot stage, which means it is operating at a small scale and repeated tests are carried out on the roads where it is used. The tests add to the cost, but Kevin West says they show the new greener type of asphalt performing as well as the more conventional sort. "The main test we would have done would be in Lough Egish, that would have been on a heavily trafficked regional road with a high volume of HGVs. "That's done now three years, and there's been no deterioration in that road whatsoever," he says. Robert Burns is confident that if the lower carbon asphalt goes mainstream, it will save money as well as emissions. "If you look at it again from a common sense point of view, if you're cutting down on the use of energy, you're cutting down on the use of emissions, shorter haul routes, you're not heating up the hot mix like you would traditionally. So that will cut costs," Mr Burns says. He says those efficiencies should allow local authorities to do more. "We can actually maintain more road, actually get more bang for our buck, I think this is where this initiative is really going to come out on its own," Mr Burns says. There are still some stages to go through before this way of doing things can go mainstream. The new type of asphalt produced will have to be certified as meeting national standards for use on roads and the capacity for this type of production will have to be built up. Hot mix asphalt still retains the advantage that it is ready for traffic once it has cooled. The cold mix product requires at least twenty-four hours to gain sufficient strength. It would be too disruptive to close sections of a national road for days at a time so that could limit the lower carbon asphalt to local and regional roads. However, Mr Burns says the pilot shows real carbon savings are available. "It is very timely, because we know from a recent EPA report that we're not on a on the right trajectory for reducing our emissions by 2030, around 23% I think, and we need to get 51% this initiative offers huge potential to reduce emissions in a relatively short time frame, if it's adopted … nationwide," he says.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill banning new homeless shelters near schools stalls in Oklahoma House committee
A Senate bill would have prohibited new homeless shelters near schools in some municipalities stalled in a House committee this week. The bill was authored in the House by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, who is pictured in the House chamber. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — A Senate bill that would ban opening homeless shelters within 3,000 feet of schools was not voted on in a House committee Wednesday. The distance requirement between shelters and schools would apply to municipalities with less than 300,000 residents. There was no 'do pass' motion in the House County and Municipal Government Committee for Senate Bill 474 Wednesday, meaning the measure remains with the committee rather than advancing to an oversight panel. Rep. Tim Turner, R-Kinta, asked why medical marijuana dispensaries and a registered sex offender should be allowed closer to a school than a homeless shelter. Sex offenders cannot 'loiter' within 500 feet of a school, this bill would have required homeless shelters to be six times as far. He also asked why this bill targeted municipalities with specific populations rather than the whole state. Only Oklahoma City and Tulsa have populations greater than 300,000 residents, according to the most recent census data. 'A sex offender is being monitored by law enforcement,' said Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, the House author of the bill. 'And generally speaking, they also probably have a job so they're doing something during the day, not always, but sometimes. … But what this does is it gives a safety barrier zone between a homeless shelter and a school. We know that a lot of the harm reduction services are done at shelters, that's also where we're finding all kinds of needles and other paraphernalia, so I don't personally feel like just barely over half a mile is too much to ask for this.' West said he's worked closely with the city of Norman over concerns with the location of its homeless shelter, but to his knowledge no specific community requested the bill. House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said she was glad to see the bill did not advance. 'The misconception is that those who experience homelessness are just in the metro area, and that's just not true,' she said Thursday. 'People are needing housing, and there's housing shortages all across the state of Oklahoma, especially after the pandemic. And so I'm glad to know that that bill was defeated by a bipartisan effort saying we're gonna let our local communities … make those decisions to take care of their local communities, regardless of the size of their community.' The measure narrowly passed through the Senate 26-20, with critics voicing similar concerns. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers reject effort to ‘lock the clock' plan giving Oklahomans more daylight in the morning
State Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, attends a special session of the state House at the Oklahoma Capitol on Oct. 3, 2023. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma House on Tuesday rejected an attempt 'to lock the clock' and remain permanently on standard time. House Bill 1223, by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, proposed ending the tradition of moving clocks forward an hour to comply with a federal law that requires states to switch to daylight saving time the second Sunday in March unless they specifically exempt themselves. West said his constituents want 'to lock the clock,' but right now Congress gives states two options — change their clocks twice a year or lock the clock on standard time, which means residents would have more hours of light in the morning. He said students are leaving for school in the dark because the sun doesn't rise until after 8 a.m. But Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, said Oklahomans made it clear last year that they want more daylight at the end of the day, not at the beginning. 'They want to lock the clocks, but they do not want to lock the clocks and it get dark at 4 o'clock in the afternoon,' he said. Fetgatter said he walked to school in ice and snow and with wet hair that had icicles hanging from it. After the measure failed 40-54, West publicly congratulated his colleagues. 'Congratulations on that vote because you just guaranteed that we'll continue to change our clocks twice a year,' he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill locking the clock on standard time in OK passes committee
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — As we prepare to spring forward and move our clocks one hour ahead this weekend, there is a push to end Daylight Saving Time in Oklahoma. Springing forward and falling back is something Oklahomans have been doing for decades, but Rep. Kevin West (R-Moore) says it's time to stop changing the clocks. Oklahoma lawmaker calls for Congressional action on permanent Daylight Saving Time 'Everybody that I have talked to really hates having to spring forward, fall back, so the way that you can lock the clock with the way this federal law is written is to stay on standard time,' said Rep. West. His new bill would undo the trigger bill passed last year by Governor Kevin Stitt, making daylight saving time permanent. The problem is, that it cannot go into effect, unless Congress gives the states the power to do so. However, making standard time permanent does not need federal approval, so Rep. West says why wait? 'I know that there's a lot of people that want to stay on daylight saving time year round, but that's just not possible, so really we have two options: we can stay on standard year round or we can continue to change the clocks twice a year,' said Rep. West. The bill passed out of committee on Thursday, but some did vote against it. 'The reality is there are mental health consequences to people not seeing enough, enough light and in a place like Oklahoma where the sun shines nicely a lot of the year, I want as many folks to be able to enjoy that after work as possible,' said Rep. Forrest Bennett (D-Oklahoma City). West believes there are benefits to adopting standard time year round. 'It will be brighter in the morning hours and much safer, people are able to wake up, it also aligns closer to solar time,' said Rep. West. Other states like Hawaii, Arizona, and U.S. territories have locked the clock on standard time. The bill now moves forward for a chance to be heard on the House floor. For now, we will continue to spring forward this Sunday, losing an hour. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Despite physician opposition, lawmakers OK bill allowing denial of care for ‘moral' reasons
A bill authored by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, that would allow health care providers to refuse some services if they have moral or religious objections can now be heard on the House floor. West is pictured at the Oklahoma Capitol on Oct. 3, 2023. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — Amid concerns that it could harm patients, lawmakers narrowly advanced a bill that would allow health care providers to refuse to offer specific procedures or care based on moral, religious or conscientious beliefs. House Bill 1224, authored by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, moved through the Health and Human Services Oversight Committee Monday with a 7-6 vote with bipartisan opposition. Around 30 health care providers from around the state gathered at the Capitol and filled the committee meeting to advocate against the bill. They said they were disappointed by the outcome of the vote. The legislation, which West said has been successful in a handful of states, could allow a physician, or an entire hospital, to choose not to offer procedures that conflict with personal beliefs. This excludes emergency care, although the bill does not define the parameters that create that situation. No specific procedures or types of care are outlined in the bill, meaning a health care provider, institution or payor could choose to stop offering STD testing, blood transfusions or elective procedures. Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, asked West if his legislation could allow a pharmacist, or in theory an entire pharmacy, to choose not to provide birth control to their patients if it conflicted with their religious beliefs. West said it could if they were refusing to provide it to every patient, not just a select few. He said he thinks his legislation 'falls exactly in line' with the American Medical Association code of ethics. While one principle does allow physicians, except in emergencies, to 'be free to choose whom to serve, with whom to associate, and the environment in which to provide medical care,' the code also asks physicians to 'support access to medical care for all people' and 'regard responsibility to the patient as paramount.' House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City said continuing to legislate and 'criminalize' the physicians and providers in the state will not encourage them to stay and will instead push them out of state when Oklahoma already has some of the poorest health care outcomes in the country. 'We just had a conversation last week about the lack of maternal or the amount of maternal health care deserts in the state, and we know that most of what we're talking about here is abortion, gender-affirming care, those types of procedures and services,' she said. 'And so where will Oklahomans go, even if it's just a handful of people who need care, if there's truly no access, if people decide to take this law and say, 'I'm not going to provide a procedure or service because it goes against my conscience?' Where will Oklahomans go?' West said Oklahomans could find care with another provider or institution who was choosing to offer the care they were seeking. He argued the legislation had attracted providers in states where it had become law, but said no data or survey evidence was available to support this claim. The Republican also ran this legislation in 2024, and while it passed through the House, it died in the Senate. A similar measure in the Senate died in committee Monday, Munson said. 'I would just say that in rebuttal, this will not deny services to just 'anyone,' and what we've seen in other states are that medical professionals migrate toward this type of legislation,' West said. He said he had not spoken with health care providers in the state about his legislation. Dr. Angela Hawkins, the chair of the Oklahoma section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said she was disappointed by the vote. 'I think contrary to (West's) statement that physicians welcome this bill, they don't, and the debate discussing how it will affect patients is true,' she said. 'It will limit care for some patients, and not just in relation to abortion or gender-affirming care. You have people who will have decreased access to contraception, even decreased access potentially to mental health services.' Hawkins was at the Capitol as part of an advocacy day with physicians and residents from across the state, including Tulsa, Tahlequah and Oklahoma City. 'We have health care deserts all over the state who have one or two physicians,' she said. 'So to say that they can go and see another physician is not true for everyone. They don't have access to a multitude of places they can go for care or treatment that they need, that that particular physician or pharmacist or hospital system may not agree with.' The bill is eligible to be heard on the floor of the Oklahoma House. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
