[sustran] Fwd: CAR BUSTERS BULLETIN #49

[Barter, Paul]

From: "Car Busters" <info at carbusters.org>
To: carbusters_bulletin_eng at lists.riseup.net
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2003 00:17:38 +0200
List-Archive: <http://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/carbusters_bulletin_eng>
Subject: [carbusters_bulletin_eng] CAR BUSTERS BULLETIN #49

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     CAR BUSTERS BULLETIN >>> 
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Edition no. 49 - August 2003 - English version
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* DEAR BULLETIN READERS AND SUPPORTERS, *
   Car Busters (currently transforming into World Carfree 
Network) needs your help. To ensure that our office and 
projects run smoothly in the coming months, we are in great 
need of your financial support. Funding that we expected to 
come through has either not materialised or has been 
delayed. In the month of August, we need to raise an extra 
2,000 EUR/USD on top of our normal income.
   A little goes a long way in the Czech Republic. By 
contributing 160 EUR/USD, you would pay our office rent for 
one month. By giving 375 EUR/USD, you would pay for a full- time staff
member's monthly wages. You can also join us at 
one of three membership levels: 30, 50 or 100 EUR/USD. 
   Payment options can be found here: 
<http://www.carbusters.org/resources/info.php>. Credit card 
orders can be made here: 
<http://www.carbusters.org/consume_now/> (the 'donations' 
field is towards the bottom).
   Thank you very much for your support.
   - The Car Busters/World Carfree Network team


Contents:

BOXERS AND BRIEFS

ACTION ALERT
- HELP SAVE U.S. ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORT FUNDING

WORLD NEWS
- CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE CONTINUES
- BRITISH GOVERNMENT DROPS SUPPORT FOR ARUNDEL BYPASS
- EU BEHIND ON KYOTO GOAL, TRANSPORT EMISSIONS TO BLAME
- HORRIFIC TRAFFIC CRASHES IN USA RAISE IMPORTANCE OF 
CARFREE AREAS 
- BLACK STARS ON BOGOTA STREETS

CAR BUSTERS ANNOUNCEMENTS
- WORLD CARFREE DAY 2003
- JOIN THE DISCUSSION
- CAR BUSTERS PRESS: BARGAIN BASEMENT BOOKS

DISCLAIMER


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     BOXERS AND BRIEFS >> 
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- The Ford Excursion - the world's largest regular SUV at 
19 feet in length (5.8 meters), averaging 10 mpg (16 kpg), 
carrying nine people, unable to fit into conventional US 
garages, and requiring two parking spaces on city streets - 
is rumoured to be discontinued in 2004 as reported by the 
BBC.

- In contrast to statements made by Bush administration 
officials, the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency found that a plan to reduce emissions linked to 
global warming could be carried out at little cost.

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     ACTION ALERT >> 
     __________________ 


HELP SAVE U.S. ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORT FUNDING
[compiled from various sources]

On July 24, the US House of Representatives' Committee on 
Appropriations unveiled its 2004 Transportation & Treasury 
Spending Bill. If it passes without modification through a 
number of stages in both houses of Congress, it would:
- cut passenger rail (AMTRAK) to half its minimum operating 
budget (to $900 million from the $1.8 billion it needs to 
maintain its skeletal existing services);
- eliminate the popular Transportation Enhancements 
programme; and
- boost highway spending to $33.8 billion, an increase of 
$4.5 billion over the President's request and $6.1 billion 
over the 2003 budget.
   The bill would direct AMTRAK to eliminate its national 
passenger rail system. A few profitable corridors in the 
Northeast and the West Coast would be maintained but 
possibly privatised. This would leave the United States as 
the only industrialised nation without national passenger 
rail service.
   One major problem is that Congress members see support 
for AMTRAK as a "subsidy" - rail is expected to somehow 
turn a profit - while the much larger expenditures on 
highways and air-industry bail-outs are couched in the more 
neutral or positive language of "expenditures" or "economic 
investment" and have no profit-making expectations. Another 
problem is that Congress members still think that more 
money spent on highways will help solve road congestion. 
This is no longer a credible argument. As various studies 
on traffic generation have shown, road building would in 
most cases have the opposite effect: The more road capacity 
is increased, the more traffic expands to fill the 
available space. To solve traffic congestion, we would do 
better to reduce road capacity than to expand it.
   Bare-bones highlights of the bill can be found here: 
<http://www.house.gov/appropriations/news/108_1/04ttfull2.ht
m>. Analysis regarding the slashing of Transportation
Enhancements can be found here: 
<http://www.americabikes.org/saveenhancements.asp>.
   Since 1991, the Transportation Enhancements program has 
built 8,000 bicycle and pedestrian projects in communities 
large and small across the US.
   "Transportation Enhancements account for less than two 
cents of every Federal surface transportation dollar," says 
Keith Laughlin, President of the Rails-to-Trails 
Conservancy. "For less than two cents per dollar we get a 
popular program that supports locally-initiated 
transportation projects in communities across America. 
Those who would eliminate this program believe that every 
single Federal penny should be spent on highways. I urge 
Congress to reject such short-sighted thinking."
   If you are a US citizen, please call or write your 
congressional representatives as soon as possible and urge 
them to cut highway spending, fund AMTRAK for at least $1.8 
billion and preserve and expand the Transportation 
Enhancements programme. (Congressional Switchboard number: 
(202) 224-3121; President Bush: (202) 456-1111.)    But 
don't stop there; it's even more important to join 
organised political efforts to save and expand US 
alternative transport.

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     WORLD NEWS >> 
     __________________ 


CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE CONTINUES
[from London Rising Tide]

In the early morning of July 10, Earth First! and other 
concerned individuals blockaded AMEC's office in 
Warrington, UK for three hours, demanding that the company 
pull out of the Baku pipeline project. AMEC has a 200- million-pound
contract to build the Georgian part of the 
pipeline.
   The activists mounted a large tripod and a chain of 
people locked themselves together across the entrance. The 
action prevented around 250 vehicles from entering the 
complex, causing deliveries to be cancelled and making 
company workers climb over locked-on people and a banner 
proclaiming "Stop Baku Pipeline" to get to work. After 
three hours and absolutely no action on the part of the 
three baffled and slightly bored police, the protest packed 
up and went to the pub, retrieving the materials, with no 
arrests.
   One week before, an AMEC construction site in Manchester 
mysteriously sprouted slogans all over the hoardings, such 
as "AMEC Murderers," "AMEC Out of Baku," "Stop the Baku 
pipeline," as well as the entrance being liquid-metalled 
shut.
   On Monday, July 14, Friends of the Earth and European 
Green MP Jean Lambert presented a section of pipeline to 
the Department For International Development covered with 
over 4,000 letters from members of the public protesting 
against the Baku Ceyhan pipeline. For background 
information on the Baku-Ceyhan-Tbilisi Pipeline go to 
www.baku.org.uk or www.risingtide.org.uk.


BRITISH GOVERNMENT DROPS SUPPORT FOR ARUNDEL BYPASS
[spotted by Richard Lane]

A victory has been won by the campaign to halt the second 
Arundel Bypass, west of Brighton, UK. At the last minute, 
and against all expectations, the British Government 
dropped its support for the environmentally destructive 
scheme, as well as for the equally disastrous proposed 
Worthing Bypass across the South Downs behind Cissbury 
Ring. Arundel and South Downs MP Howard Flight was 
certainly caught by surprise, having sent out a statement 
to local press earlier in the week welcoming 'the 
government announcement to proceed with a bypass for 
Arundel.'
   Early July saw a flurry of media interest in the Arundel 
protest camp at Tortington Common, with reports everywhere 
from BBC TV and Meridian to the Evening Argus, The Times 
and The Guardian. A hint as to the reasons why the 
government backed down in West Sussex, while ploughing 
ahead with road plans elsewhere in the country, came in a 
report on the Evening Standard website. Written before the 
announcement, and seemingly expecting the Arundel road to 
be given the green light, it added: "The government will be 
desperate to avoid clashes with committed activists such as 
'Swampy' - so-called 'king of the eco-warriors.' It is 
still nervous of provoking the kind of confrontations that 
created ugly scenes at Twyford Down and the Newbury Bypass 
in the late nineties."
   We've said it before and we'll say it again: direct 
action works!


EU BEHIND ON KYOTO GOAL, TRANSPORT EMISSIONS TO BLAME
[from ITDP's Sustainable Transport e-Update]

The European Environmental Agency found that greenhouse gas 
emissions rose for the second year in a row, moving the EU 
further away from meeting its emissions reductions 
commitment under the Kyoto Protocol. Emissions from the 
transport sector, paired with a cold winter that led to 
more electricity use, were blamed for the increase. While 
the results are certainly disappointing, at least the EU is 
participating in the Kyoto Protocol and performing yearly 
monitoring studies that point to the specific areas where 
emissions targets are not being met.


HORRIFIC TRAFFIC CRASHES IN USA RAISE IMPORTANCE OF CARFREE 
AREAS 

On July 16, an 86-year-old man drove his vehicle into an 
outdoor market in Santa Monica, USA killing 10 people and 
injuring 69 others. Eleven days later in Florida, a 79-year- old man
drove his vehicle into an outdoor market, sending 
six people to the hospital.
   Instead of these events creating political pressure to 
redesign communities for people - ensuring independent 
mobility for all, regardless of age or physical ability - 
the overwhelming response has been limited to having people 
take car keys away from their elderly parents and 
instructing physicians to report to authorities people who 
should no longer be driving. However, there is now some 
awareness of the need for making some public spaces 
carfree.


BLACK STARS ON BOGOTA STREETS

More than 1,500 black stars have been painted on the 
streets of Bogota, Colombia, as a stark reminder of each 
pedestrian death caused by car crashes over the last five 
years. The educational campaign asks Bogota, "We are 
getting used to this; what's the matter with us?" The 
campaign aims to reduce the death rate by 10%.

___________________ 

     CAR BUSTERS ANNOUNCEMENTS >> 
     __________________________________ 


WORLD CARFREE DAY 2003

September 22 is World Carfree Day - less than two months 
away! We have big plans for local activities in Prague, but 
we haven't had the resources to provide much infrastructure 
and global coordination. So we encourage you to organise 
locally and independently, and to report back with your 
plans and post-event reports. As for 2004, we have been 
providing significant input on the direction of the EU and 
UN carfree day programmes, and we will let you know when we 
have good news to report. In the meantime, join the 
listserve below to share carfree day organising ideas with 
others around the world. All the best and good luck!


JOIN THE DISCUSSION

Are you interested in having a say in the transformation of 
Car Busters into a more decentralised international 
network? Might your local organisation want to be a part of 
it all and gain a voice at the international level? If so, 
you may want to join the discussion at 
carfree_network at lists.riseup.net. The listserve, rather 
than a place for general postings, is devoted to 
discussing/organising current and future projects of the 
network and the global carfree movement. Those interested 
in getting more involved in World Carfree Network projects 
are especially encouraged to join. To subscribe, just send 
an e-mail to <carfree_network-subscribe at lists.riseup.net>.


CAR BUSTERS PRESS: BARGAIN BASEMENT BOOKS
[bulk discounts on 'CARtoons' and 'Roadkill Bill']

It's Summer Cleaning Time at Car Busters - we are trying to 
clean up our cluttered office and raise extra money to 
cover our operating costs. How can you help? Carbusters 
publishes two books - Andy Singer's 'CARtoons' and Ken 
Avidor's 'Roadkill Bill' - and these books are piled up in 
our office - under desks, on top of bookshelves, in every 
corner, we are even resting our monitors on them. Why not 
purchase a bunch from us? You could give them to friends as 
gifts, or your organisation could sell them to your members 
or to the public at community events. (World Carfree Day is 
coming in September!)
   If you order more than ten copies, we'll let you have 
them for half-price. That's 5 EUR/USD per book, instead of 
the normal 10 EUR/USD. You can then sell them at the cover 
price. And you won't have to pay extra for shipping. A 
description of the books and more info can be found at 
<http://www.carbusters.org/press>. Contact us if you're 
interested, at <info at carbusters.org>.

_____________________

     DISCLAIMER >> 
     _____________________________


Despite the existence of the 
<http://www.carbusters.org/consume_now> web page, the 
aforementioned Car Busters Press announcement should in no 
way be construed as an endorsement of excessive personal 
consumption. Bulletin recipients who purchase Car Busters 
Press products are encouraged to distribute and dispense 
with said products forthwith.


[end]

____________________________________________

CAR BUSTERS
Kratka 26, 100 00 Prague 10, Czech Republic
tel: +(420) 274-810-849 - fax: +(420) 274-816-727 <info at carbusters.org>
- <http://www.carbusters.org>
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