[sustran] Re: Paying for PDF files of work done by funded agencies on the topic of sustainable development in all its variants.

[Thomas C]

I agree...

Two possible explanations: 
- citizens should not get involved in certain topics ("too
complicated", "would misunderstand", "none of their business")
- tax transfers between governments can be a big deal (ex. local
municipalities to national agencies (ex. CERTU), etc)

In the case of this report, the first explanation seems likely...

There have been some governmental reports on this topic but i'm not an
expert (off the top of my head, in France, circulaire balladur in 1994
and rapport mandelkern in 1999).

It's true of reports but it's a problem with many other types of
"public" data. Concerning transit agencies for example, many operators
(at least in france) believe that data regarding their bus network
(schedules, stops...) are sensitive commercial data that should not be
publicly available (elsewhere than on bus stops ;) ). It's one of the
main reasons why there's still no intermodal itinerary services.

looking forward to a society where information will be free...

in the mean time (might take a while), you can still read the draft:
http://www.stcwa.org.au/journal/210405/files/background_IEA.pdf

              thomas


On 9/8/05, Eric Britton <eric.britton at ecoplan.org> wrote:
> Last week our colleague Lew Fulton in full innocence and helpfulness wrote
> us all a note about an energy study which the agency has carried out
> (remember you and I paid for it with our taxpayer dollars), which the IEA is
> flogging on their web site.  (Hey, they want € 60 for this virtual report.
> Life is sweet eh?)
> 
> I want to make a BIG DEAL out of this and I hope that a good number of you
> will join with me on this.
> 
> These agencies should not be trying to hustle up some odd bucks by selling
> these kinds of reports over the web. It costs them nothing and there are
> plenty of people out there in the world who may want to have a look and
> maybe even a very close one in order to build on it so as to be able to take
> a next step toward a more sustainable and fairer world.
> 
> I am sure that they will bellyache that they need the money and that the
> only way they can pay the rent is if they have these additional streams of
> income. Hmm.  At least needs to be looked at.
> 
> We here at The Commons and the New Mobility Agenda, and a very large number
> of our concerned colleagues and grasp world wide, share our results without
> asking for a dime. Maybe we're nuts?
> 
> Am I entirely wrong on this? Your views.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 9/7/05, Lew Fulton <Lew.Fulton at unep.org> wrote:
> > Thanks Chris. This prompts me to mention that the IEA has a new book out
> > called "Saving Oil in a Hurry", with some ideas and analysis on what
> > governments can do to achieve rapid oil use reductions. It's available at
> > their website www.iea.org, though it's not free unfortunately, but the pdf
> version isn't too pricey.
> 
> 
>