[sustran] FW: Car Busters Bulletin #25

[Paul Barter]

Hi sustran-discussers,
Note some references below to postings on sustran-discuss recently re UNEP's
weak policy. 
Paul

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-englishbulletin-l at ecn.cz
[mailto:owner-englishbulletin-l at ecn.cz]On Behalf Of Car Busters
Sent: Tuesday, 17 April 2001 7:45
To: englishbulletin-l at ecn.cz
Subject: Car Busters Bulletin #25


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-- -- -- -- CAR BUSTERS BULLETIN -- -- -- --
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CAR BUSTERS Magazine and Resource Centre
Kratka 26, 100 00 Praha 10, Czech Republic
tel: +(420) 2-781-08-49 ; fax: +(420) 2-781-67-27
<carbusters at ecn.cz> - <www.carbusters.ecn.cz>
............................................................................
.....
Monthly edition no. 25 - April 2001 - English version
............................................................................
......
Car Busters is a magazine and resource centre
for the world car-free/anti-car movement.

IN THIS EDITION:
- HASTINGS ALLIANCE LAUNCHED
- UNEP HEAD CALLS FOR SUSTAINABLE
  TRANSPORT STRATEGIES (BY PROMOTING
  CARS)
- ACTIVIST CALENDAR
- ANNOUNCEMENTS
- JOBS
- MATE BOOKLET AVAILABLE
- DISCLAIMER


HASTINGS ALLIANCE LAUNCHED

   U.K. local and national groups call for alternative to bypasses. Leading
environment and transport organisations, backed by a combined membership of
almost 2 million, have joined together to fight plans to build two bypasses
around Hastings.  The Hastings Alliance is calling on Deputy Prime Minister,
John Prescott, to refuse permission for the schemes to go ahead.

Contacts:
Gillian Bargery (Hastings Alliance) 01424 429956
Tony Bosworth (FOE) 0113 389 9958 / 07941 176642 (mob)


UNEP HEAD CALLS FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT STRATEGIES
(BY PROMOTING CARS)

   BRUSSELS/NAIROBI, March 2001 - "In response to growing greenhouse
gas and other vehicle emissions, and the expectation that worldwide growth
invehicle ownership and kilometres driven will continue to increase, we must
radically rethink our approach to road transportation," said Klaus Toepfer,
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

   Speaking at 'Clean Energy World Tour 2001 - the launch of the BMW
Hydrogen Fleet in Belgium' - Toepfer said that "sustainable transport
strategies  need to be developed and should include three elements:
increased fuel efficiency of vehicles alternative fuel vehicles and changed
transport patterns. In this regard, alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and
biofuels, can be part of the solution.''

   In other words, according to UNEP sustainable transport = more cars.
Therefore the International Bike Fund responded like this: "The irony of
this statement is that UNEP was an early contributor to sprawl in Nairobi
and its staff owns a large and identifiable fleet of gas guzzling SUVs. Even
the substance of the statement is suspect. As has been consistent with
UNEP since its inception a couple decades ago, it is looking for a
technological solution as if that is the only impact of private vehicles."
International Bicycle Fund -- www.ibike.org


ACTIVIST CALENDAR

* MONT BLANC MANIFESTO. Trucks now penetrate and suffocate even the
remotest Alpine valleys. Well, not all of them: the irreductible French in
the town of Chamonix have decided that the Mont Blanc Transit Route won't
see any trucks again after the terrible catastrophe in the Mont Blanc tunnel
on March 24, 1999 which killed 39 people. They have launched a petition for
individuals, a manifesto for organisations and they have all big French
environmental organisations behind them. So it's high time you helped them
as well by:
- making your organisation sign the manifesto on: ugatza at gmx.net
- signing the petition against the return of trucks to the Mont Blanc on the
following website: www.chamonix.org/arsmb


* EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS ADMIT TO BEING
"USELESS" AND ASK IF ANYONE ELSE HAS A CLUE ABOUT WHAT
TO DO ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS.  TELL THEM!
   *EU asks citizens to save the earth in one month!
The people of the European Union have one month to say what policies they
think can create wealth and jobs without destroying the environment.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010328/sc/environment_eu_dc_1.html
Send in your messages and tell them how it is!
   *The Environmental Protection Agency (USA) has opened a public comment
period on a legal petition asking the agency to address emissions of
green-house gases by cars and trucks. This is the first time that the U.S.
government has asked the general public for their opinions on Global
Warming.
The comment period is open through May 23, and an overwhelming response
will either compel EPA to take action on global warming (!) or lend weight
to any subsequent actions.  For more information:
http://www.autopollution.org or http://www.icta.org.

*SUMMER CYCLING
  *Bikesummer Vancouver 2001 - The Summer of Velo Love!  Bikesummer,
the annual Bicycle love-in, following the traditions of Bikesummer San
Francisco 1999 and Chicago 2000, will be held in Vancouver and Victoria,
British-Columbia, Canada this August 2001.  More Information:
www.bikesummer.org bikesummer at bikesexual.org
  *Baltic Sea Bike Tour, June 4 - July 24. Connect with other groups around
the Baltic Sea and promote sustainable transportation while enjoying the
great atmosphere of cycling in an international Bike tour.  The tour starts
from Turku (Finland) to head for the E.U. Summit in Göteborg for June 13,
staying there for a few days and then continuing towards Denmark to take the
ferry from southern Sweden to Germany. From there on nothing much of the
route is decided upon yet but it will cross the Baltic countries at some
point and end in Tallinn around July 24th.
Contact: Hannes Pekkala;
pekkalahannes at hotmail.com     +358 40 708903


ANNOUNCEMENTS

* Online TDM Encyclopedia. The first comprehensive Internet tool for
Transportation Demand Management Planning is now available free at the
Victoria Transport Policy Institute website.
http://www.vtpi.org.
For more info: Todd Litman: litman at vtpi.org

* Wanted: Contacts to potential sponsors of a project of sustainable bus
transport in the Beskydy mountains (lying on the Czech, Polish and Slovakian
territory). Contact: Miroslav Hustak (Friends of the Earth, Ostrava, CR):
mira.hustak at atlas.cz

* Pan African Bicycle Conference (PABIC) November 21 to 25, 2001, in Jinja,
Uganda - The Changing Role of the Bicycle in Africa. Preparation workshop on
May 17-18. Any comments and input are most welcome at  fabio at source.co.ug



JOBS

* THE MEDITERRANEAN SOS NETWORK, an environmental NGO in Athens,
Greece have an opening for an EVS to begin middle of June - early July
(position open for six months with the possible option of extending it for
another six months).
The position will be working on a new youth network: MARE - Mediterranean
Social Ecological Network (composed of about 40 Mediterranean NGOs and
grassroots groups working on both environmental and social issues.)
Send your CV and a letter of motivation to medsos at ath.forthnet.gr
Closing Date: April 30, 2001. For more about the evs program at:
www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/ youth /action2.html


MATE BOOKLET AND MAP STILL AVAILABLE!
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE about the European transport situation?
Then the MATE Booklet (eighty pages) is for YOU!  It is a comprehensive
guide to what is happening, who's making that happen and who's trying to
stop it from happening in the spider-like murky web of European transport,
including a detailed overview of European transport projects TENs and TINA.
Making it an invaluable resource to any environmental activist.  It comes
complete with a handy, large, easy-to-use 100X80cm2 SUPERMAP!, detailing
the projects listed in the booklet.  If you'd like a copy you'd better order
soon before we run out at carbusters at ecn.cz !


DISCLAIMER

  THE CAR BUSTERS COLLECTIVE warns all our readers who don't believe
that Bush will save the world with his big oil farts to stop being cynical!
All he and his fossil-fuel chums want to do is reforest the planet and save
the panda and would merrily do so if all those troublesome greeny-hippy scum
get out of the way.

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