Portland’s driving dilemma

The New York Times recently ran an excellent feature on Portland's efforts to curb emissions while still building highways:

But despite Portland's efforts, the number of cars and trucks on its roads has kept rising as the city and its suburbs have grown - along with tailpipe pollution that is warming the planet. While Portland has set ambitious climate goals, the city is not on track to meet its targets, largely because emissions from transportation remain stubbornly high.

Now the city faces a fresh challenge: To deal with traffic jams, state officials want to expand several major highways around Portland. Critics say that will only increase pollution from cars and trucks at a time when emissions need to fall, and fast.

The overall contours will be quite familiar to Seattle residents, but the chart comparing Portland and Seattle-area emissionsper capita is quite an eye-popper.