[sustran] WORLD CARFREE NEWS #12 - September 2004

[World Carfree Network]

Dear sustran-discussers,

We are sending our monthly bulletin as a one-time thing, as 
it contains some announcements you may be interested in -- 
specifically a Towards Carfree Cities IV conference report 
and a couple announcements about World Carfree Day.

If you'd like to receive this bulletin on an ongoing basis, 
please see www.worldcarfree.net/bulletin for subscribe 
information. The bulletin is produced in several language 
versions. This is the 12th edition under the name World 
Carfree News; previously, there were 50 bulletins with the 
title Car Busters E-Bulletin. Today, we are moving toward 
using the Car Busters name only for our quarterly print 
magazine (see Carbusters.org/magazine/).

Very best wishes,
Everyone at the World Carfree Network
International Coordination Centre, Prague


_________________________ 

     WORLD CARFREE NEWS >>> 
     ____________________________________ 

Edition no. 12 - September 2004 - English version
...........................................................

"I want Americans to drive. You want to drive a great big 
SUV? Terrific, terrific. That's America."  
- John Kerry, August 6, on the presidential campaign trail


Contents:

IN BRIEF

WORLD NEWS
- NEW CAPITAL FOR SOUTH KOREA?
- ACTIVISTS STOP LYON FORMULA 1
- THE DEATH OF THE ELECTRIC CAR

ANNOUNCEMENTS
- WORLD CARFREE DAY IS COMING!
- SEND A WORLD CARFREE DAY E-CARD
- DAYS OF ACTION AGAINST THE OIL INDUSTRY
- SEND A VOLUNTEER TO PRAGUE FOR A YEAR
- TCFC IV BERLIN TAKES NETWORK TO NEW LEVEL
- WANT TO HOST TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES VI?
- INTERNSHIPS AT CARFREE.COM
- INVITE A GROUP TO JOIN WORLD CARFREE NETWORK

DISCLAIMER

__________________ 

     IN BRIEF >> 
     __________________________  


- Thousands of cyclists rode through the streets of 
Manhattan
in a Republican-bashing, environment-promoting display of
bike power that resulted in more than 100 arrests:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/28/politics/campaign/28protes
t.html
?ex=1094726977&ei=1&en=e62d067e2611d0eb

- Both a rail line and a highway are planned between Europe 
and China through Central Asia. The highway plan, as usual, 
is further along in the process. A treaty was signed by 23 
nations at a UN meeting and outlines a network that would 
link the continents (as if they weren't already linked) in 
some 140,000 km of roads. Proponents wax on with 
comparisons to the ancient Silk Road, while visions of 
truckloads of cheap plastic knick-knacks from Chinese 
factories may prove less romantic:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3671105.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3660467.stm

- Want to eliminate SUVs from your neighbourhood? On 
streets with a vehicle weight limit of 6,000 pounds (3,000 
kg), you might be surprised to learn that many SUVs are 
over-weight and therefore already illegal: 
http://www.slate.msn.com/id/2104755. If your city refuses 
to enforce these existing regulations evenly, you may have 
legal recourse.

- The popularity of the SUV, however, is waning in the US, 
largely due to rising fuel costs. In 2000, just 1 in 10 SUV 
drivers defected to another type of vehicle at trade-in 
time. Now, the ratio is nearly 4 in 10: 
http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0408/31/a01-
257913.htm

_______________ 

     WORLD NEWS >> 
     __________________ 


NEW CAPITAL FOR SOUTH KOREA?

South Korea has decided to move its capital from Seoul to a 
more central location within the country, near Gongju in 
South Chungchong province. Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan 
argues that the new capital would decentralise and boost 
the economy, although a major impetus might be that Seoul 
is within easy-pickins' missle range of North Korea. 
Construction of the new capital, which has yet to be named, 
is due to begin in 2007 and be completed by 2030, on a site 
slightly larger than Manhattan (7,100 hectares).
   Seoul is plagued by smog and notorious traffic jams. 
Creating smog and traffic jams in the new capital is 
projected to cost between US$45 billion and $94 billion. 
The move has been talked about for decades, yet many don't 
understand the wisdom of going ahead with the project at a 
time when South Korea's economy is faltering. And of course 
if Korea were ever reunified, the capital would probably 
have to move yet again. Civic groups are appealing the 
plan; opposition parties have called for a referendum. So 
far there are no proposals for the world's first modern 
carfree city.


ACTIVISTS STOP LYON FORMULA 1

Shocked that Green-Socialist coalition city council would 
organise a demonstration of Formula 1 cars on the streets 
of Lyon's city centre, five local activists decided to take 
matters into their own hands and alert the population of 
the dangers of the automobile.
   During the September 5 event, they jumped over the 
security barriers and ran on the track towards the starting 
line - delaying the official programme for one hour, and 
causing the cancellation of one of the scheduled events.
   The activists hailed from Regroupement Pour Une Ville 
Sans Voiture (Group for a Carfree City) and Casseurs de Pub 
(the independent French version of Adbusters). They were 
jailed and then released in the evening.
   Organising the Formula 1 event is just the latest 
controversial act by Lyon's Green-Socialist leaders. Gilles 
Buna, the former Green Party mayor of Lyon District 1, is 
now the Deputy Mayor for Urbanism for the entire city. His 
plan to build 5,000 parking spaces in the city centre is 
meeting fierce opposition from residents and community 
activists, who find themselves almost longing for the days 
when the city was run by the right-wing Raymond Barre. 
Barre brought in a tramway line, built some bike paths and 
refused to build more than 1,000 parking spaces in the city 
centre. So ironically, Lyon's Greens have represented 
regression painted over with ecological newspeak. These are 
not parking spaces, but "parcs residents" and "coulees 
vertes."
   "Excessive solutions [not constructing more parking] are 
anything but ecological," says Buna. "Ecology is about 
maintaining balance."


THE DEATH OF THE ELECTRIC CAR

Electric cars are all but dead. Although popular with the 
consumer, Ford Motor Company's Th!nk electric vehicles were 
lined up for the scrap heap. Ford had successfully killed a 
California regulation requiring the introduction of 'zero-
emission vehicles,' so the company could simply sell off 
its Th!nk subsidiary. It took a Greenpeace campaign to get 
Ford to sell its remaining stock of 350 vehicles to a 
Norwegian company. Victory?
   Don't start mourning yet. These so-called 'zero-emission 
vehicles' merely displace pollution from the tailpipe to 
the power plant while doing nothing to address a host of 
car-induced environmental and social ills - from sprawl to 
social alienation to habitat destruction. An electric 
taxicab caused America's first car fatality in 1899, and 
since then, more than twice as many people have died in US 
car collisions than in all the wars in US history.
   Meanwhile, Ford introduced the "Escape" - a hybrid SUV 
controversially endorsed by the Sierra Club, a major US 
environmental group.
   "While Europeans long ago simply went to smaller cars, 
here we are, performing the equivalent of open-heart 
surgery on an elephant, offering it the engine of a 
hummingbird," noted Derrick Jackson in the Boston Globe. 
"It might work, but it would work better if Americans were 
simply not so vain."
   John Kerry and his presidential running mate John 
Edwards have both signed up on the waiting list to buy an 
"Escape."

___________________ 

   ANNOUNCEMENTS >> 
   ______________________________


WORLD CARFREE DAY IS COMING!

Time to take action - September 22 is World Carfree Day! 
This of course means that whatever you've got planned is 
probably already rolling. You can register your local event 
using our on-line form at www.worldcarfree.net/wcfd/. (This 
will help us in collecting post-event reports.) On the 
website you will also find a list of other participating 
cities, along with useful links and various resources to 
make your organising effort run smoothly. Good luck; may 
the force of change be with you.


SEND A WORLD CARFREE DAY E-CARD

We've got a new function on Worldcarfree.net - you can now 
send your friends (or enemies) an e-card telling them about 
World Carfree Day. At www.worldcarfree.net/wcfd/ecard.php, 
you can choose one of three cards and add a personal 
message. Tell all your autoholic friends (of course you 
have some) to stop their disgusting habit - at least for 
one day. Spread the word!


EUROPEAN DAYS OF ACTION AGAINST THE OIL INDUSTRY
AND FOR A FOSSIL FUEL-FREE FUTURE: OCTOBER 14-17
[excerpt of submission by London Rising Tide]

London Rising Tide is calling for the above-titled days of 
action, to coincide with the European Social Forum and 
related grassroots events in London, October 14-17.
   Oil fuels the engine of economic growth. When that oil 
is burnt, it becomes the CO2 that is screwing up the 
weather as well as the lives of the world's (poorest) 
people. We live in a system that values profit above all 
else, and this insane outlook is undermining the long-term 
stability of our planet. 
   The October action days are a time for people who see 
climate change as a symptom of this screwed up system to 
draw strength from a widespread show of simultaneous unity-
in-diversity. The European Social Forum is a chance to 
kickstart a Europe-wide network of resistance to the 
fundamentally flawed and failed fossil fuel experiment, 
while embracing the principle of 'climate justice.'
   Leave the oil in the ground. Let our communities own and 
run their own renewable energy supplies. Dismantle 
capitalism and Big Oil, in October 2004 and every day in 
various diverse ways. Spread hope...
   Contact London Rising Tide: london(at)risingtide.org.uk.
 

SEND A VOLUNTEER TO PRAGUE FOR A YEAR

If you are with a European nonprofit organisation, consider 
the idea of sending a volunteer aged 26 or under to join 
World Carfree Network in Prague for a year, via the 
European Voluntary Service (EVS) programme. The programme 
pays all expenses and living costs. This is a great 
opportunity for the volunteer to develop new skills and 
assist the network, while living in the Czech Republic. 
Skills particularly in demand are journalism and graphic 
design. If you are interested, please send us a query as 
soon as possible. We will need the volunteer's CV (resume) 
by October 1. The project would begin approximately in 
February, and run for 12 months. It is only valid for 
European citizens. Contact: info(at)worldcarfree.net.


TCFC IV BERLIN TAKES NETWORK TO NEW LEVEL

Nearly 200 people from 30 countries on four continents 
descended on Berlin from July 19-24 for the Towards Carfree 
Cities IV conference. The days were filled with 
presentations, workshops, on-site visits to innovative 
local projects, and social evening events such as a film 
night and a closing party with two live bands.
   The main day featured presentations by Derek Turner, who 
implemented London's congestion charge; Erika Jangen, 
responsible for the European carfree day programme; and 
Karsten Wagner, initiator of Germany's first carfree 
district. It closed with a bittersweet story from Markus 
Heller of how Berlin nearly had its own carfree quarter, 
until the secret service took the site away so that it 
could relocate its offices from Munich.
   Other highlights included John Adams' witty talk on 
hypermobility, Sajay Samuels' eloquent warning about the 
subtle dangers of designed spaces, and the many workshops 
that featured the foremost thinkers and doers in fields 
ranging from carfree housing to carfree days to non-
motorised transport in the majority world.
   Thursday saw conference participants mount up on Deutsch-
Bahn's Call-A-Bikes to check out the local pedestrian 
zones, optically carfree quarters and traffic calming 
projects, as well as 'Jugendstrasse' (youth street) and the 
Berlin Wall Greenway. Participants also said goodbye to 30 
riders from the Ecotopia Biketour, a World Carfree Network 
project that went by bike all the way from Vienna through 
Berlin to the annual Ecotopia gathering in The Netherlands.
   On Friday, July 23, the network held its first Annual 
General Meeting (AGM). You can find the minutes at 
www.worldcarfree.net/about_us/agm2004.php. A Steering 
Committee of seven people was formed to engage in decision-
making throughout the year, and to help shape the direction 
of the network. You can reach the Steering Committee via 
any of its members, listed on 
www.worldcarfree.net/about_us/steering.php. The AGM 
approved all 26 groups as full Member Organisations. All 
Member Organisations (including three new provisional ones) 
are listed at www.worldcarfree.net/about_us/memberorgs.php.
   In summary, the conference was our biggest and most 
successful yet. Clean Air Action Group is set to carry on 
the conference series with Towards Carfree Cities V in 
Budapest next July.


WANT TO HOST TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES VI?

Proposals to host TCFC VI (to be held in 2006, ideally in 
North America) should be sent to the carfree_network 
listserve by December 10 (this year). A decision on 
location will be made by the end of January. If you are 
considering submitting a proposal, please see our draft 
Conference Organising Manual, which explains what the 
organising would involve and what proposals should include: 
www.worldcarfree.net/conference/manual.php.


INTERNSHIPS AT CARFREE.COM

Joel Crawford, who manages the Carfree.com website, is 
offering intern positions in Cascais, Portugal, focussing 
on two projects: The Carfree Design Manual and the Carfree 
Institute. For details, see 
http://www.carfree.com/papers/notes4interns.html.


INVITE A GROUP TO JOIN WORLD CARFREE NETWORK

World Carfree Network now has nearly 30 member 
organisations! At our recent annual meeting, one 
participant suggested that we grow the network further by 
having each member organisation invite another group to 
join. This seems like a great idea to us, so if you can 
invite another group to join, please do so, and refer them 
to www.worldcarfree.net/about_us/memberorgs.php for 
details. Groups in Asia, Latin America and Africa are 
especially encouraged to join.

_____________________

     DISCLAIMER >> 
     _____________________________


Feeling lonely? Need more two-way communication than a 
bulletin can provide? Think that the editors are dominating 
the bulletin with their own announcements? If you answered 
yes to any of these questions, we encourage you to 
subscribe to the World Carfree Network discussion 
listserve: carfree_network at lists.riseup.net. Simply 
subscribe by sending an e-mail to carfree_network-
subscribe at lists.riseup.net.

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________________________________________________