Sean McNamara, manager of member relations for PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in 13 eastern states and the District of Columbia, focused his presentation on the integration of plug-in electric hybrid vehicles with the smart grid. He also talked about what it would mean for the success not just of electric vehicles, but also of renewable energy sources for electricity and power storage.

PJM Interconnection is involved in several research efforts and a demonstration project focused on the "car to market" system in which electric vehicles could serve as energy storage devices and sell excess electricity back to the market during peak demand periods.

Gordon Garry, director of research and analysis at the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, provided an overview of California's 2008 law to redesign communities to reduce greenhouse gases. California's Air Resources Board set emission reduction targets for the state's 18 metropolitan planning organizations. Learning from SACOG's experience in integrating greenhouse-gas reduction into its planning efforts, Garry emphasized the importance of integrating transportation, land-use planning, and climate change.

Nick Nigro, a Solutions Fellow at the Pew Center for Global Climate Change, discussed opportunities to address climate change through a comprehensive federal surface transportation reauthorization bill. These included maximizing system efficiency through intelligent transportation systems research, lower speed limits, truck stop electrification, reducing vehicle miles traveled through carpool funding and congestion pricing and raising the gas tax to encourage energy efficiency and reduced oil consumption. Nigro mentioned the Transportation Research Board will soon release a study titled "Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Transportation."

The steering committee's meeting then focused on climate change adaptation in the transportation sector. Speakers included Jim McDonnell, program director for engineering at AASHTO; Kevin Chesnik, administrator of transportation system development at the Wisconsin Department of transportation; and Gloria Shepherd, associate administrator for planning, environment, and realty at the Federal Highway Administration.

Chesnik highlighted sections of the AASHTO Standing Committee on Highways strategic plan that address climate change and what the panel's subcommittees can do to promote and implement the Climate Change Steering Committee's goals and objectives. Shepherd gave an overview of FHWA's climate change activities during the last year. She also focused on the research efforts and pilot studies being offered on climate change vulnerability, risk assessment, and adaptation strategies.

Mark Stout, an independent transportation consultant, concluded the meeting with an overview of the recently launched Transportation and Climate Initiative - a new endeavor to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from the transportation sector in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Unlike the Northeastern states' Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which has been driven mostly by energy and environmental agencies, the Transportation and Climate Initiative has focused on bringing together energy, environmental, and transportation agencies. Agency heads from 11 states and the District of Columbia signed a declaration of intent in June to work together on actions to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from transportation.