WORLD CARFREE NEWS - NOTIZIE PER UN MONDO SENZ'AUTO>>>=20
____________________________________=20
Edition no. 5 - February 2004=20
.............................................................
Contents:
IN BRIEF
WORLD NEWS
- ITALY BANS CARS FOR A DAY
- HOWARD DEAN PROMOTES SPRAWL
- LANDMARK OBESITY STUDY URGES CARFREEDOM
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- SHIFTING SOCIAL SPACES IN CHINA'S TRANSITION?=20
CONFERENCE, BEIJING 22-24 APRIL=20
- NEW YORK BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL SEEKS SUBMISSIONS
NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS
- TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES IV, BERLIN - JULY 19-24
- WORLD CARFREE NETWORK SEEKS MEMBER ORGANISATIONS
- THE CARFREE YELLOW PAGES?
ERRATA
- RE: LONDON'S CONGESTION CHARGE
__________________=20
IN BRIEF >>=20
__________________________ =20
- Victory! In a national referendum on Feb. 8, 63% of Swiss voters=20
voted against a second tunnel through the Gotthard Pass,=20
Switzerland's main north-south axis through the Alps. To build the=20
second tunnel, a special fund would have had to been set up, costing=20
up to 19 billion EUR. The 'no' vote was heavily influenced by Swiss=20
discontent with truck traffic over the Alps. Ecologists argued the=20
tunnel plan put too much emphasis on road transport, at the expense=20
of rail and the environment.
- China has abandoned plans to build a high-speed magnetic-
levitation railway between Beijing and Shanghai in favour of less=20
expensive conventional trains, the government said through its=20
official media on January 16. Besides cost, "the maglev technique=20
was excluded because it does not match the wheel-track technique=20
used by railways in China," the report said, citing Wang Derong, vice-
chairman of the China Transport Association.
- A 101-year-old woman in Tahe County of Harbin, capital of=20
Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, died on New Year's eve=20
after travelling across half the country on a pedicab driven by her 74-
year-old son, Xinhua News Agency reports. Before they returned to=20
Harbin in early December because of her illness, Wang Yimin had=20
taken Wu Huizhen across dozens of provinces, municipalities and=20
autonomous regions totalling more than 20,000 kilometres from May=20
2000.
- False Alarm from Bogota: On February 6, the Miami Herald ran an=20
article titled "Car-free Days Likely On Way Out." The article=20
discussed the status of Bogota's carfree days, misquoting the city's=20
new mayor, Eduardo Garzon. What the new mayor actually said was=20
that he was not going to hold a second car free day (Sept. 22)=20
"because there are economic effects." This is unfortunate, however it=20
doesn't mean he can stop the carfree day. It was a populate mandate=20
and he cannot oppose the law that citizens have approved, said=20
Oscar Edmundo Diaz, assistant to former Bogota mayor Enrique=20
Penalosa. Garzon was supportive of Bogota's recent carfree day, and=20
he walked, took public transport and gave a conference about why=20
we need to reduce car use.
_______________=20
WORLD NEWS >>=20
__________________=20
ITALY BANS CARS FOR A DAY
On Sunday, Feb. 8, authorities banned traffic from more than 100=20
towns and cities across Italy, including Rome and Milan, in an effort=20
to cut growing pollution levels. Some cities extended the ban to the=20
rest of the week for cars more than 10 years old, while offering public=20
transit for free.
Partial blocks on cars and lorries have already been imposed in=20
recent days in many places after health departments warned that=20
prolonged calm weather had allowed smog to build. All non-essential=20
traffic was banned from the inner-Rome area from 10.00 a.m to 5.00=20
p.m.
However, Environment Minister Altero Matteoli said the one-day=20
ban would have little impact and said an alternative solution was to=20
encourage people to scrap their old cars and scooters and buy more=20
environmentally-friendly vehicles.
HOWARD DEAN PROMOTES SPRAWL
[extracted from "Howard Clinton?" by Russell Mokhiber and Robert=20
Weissman]=20
=20
Howard Dean, a democratic US presidential candidate, is a man with=20
strong Clinton-esque tendencies. He's a self-described triangulator.=20
Say good words about the environment. Take some positive action.=20
Schmooze with the environmentalists. But when push comes to=20
shove, don't offend the powers that be.=20
Mark Sinclair is a senior attorney with the Conservation Law=20
Foundation in Vermont. Sinclair was dismissed in 2001 from Dean's=20
Council of Environmental Advisers because of his criticisms of the=20
governor.=20
Sinclair says that two utilities in Vermont - Green Mountain Power=20
and Central Vermont Public Service - along with IBM, control the=20
state.
"Dean is in the pockets of the utilities and of IBM," Sinclair told us.=
=20
"Whatever the major economic interest, he's beholden to them.=20
During his years as governor, there was a large controversy over our=20
ski areas," Sinclair said. "He supported their major expansion, which=20
has resulted in ski mountain sprawl in places like Killington, Stowe=20
Mountain Resort, Stratton Mountain."
"During his watch, we saw a lot more sprawl and strip=20
development."=20
Despite his professed love of rail transit, Dean pushed=20
development of a major highway project around Burlington, even=20
though he knew it would be disastrous for land use planners. IBM=20
wanted it, so Dean went along.=20
Why did IBM want it? According to Sinclair, IBM has a major facility=20
in the area and Big Blue wanted to make the taxpayers pay for the=20
road improvements.
After Dean's tenure, the Green Mountain State came to look just=20
like the rest of the country. "He doesn't believe in land use planning,=20
and provided no funding for Vermont's towns to do the planning they=20
need," Sinclair said. "As a result, Vermont reacts to development.=20
The only reason we don't look like Maryland is because we are a=20
colder climate and people are just discovering us."=20
LANDMARK OBESITY STUDY URGES CARFREEDOM
[from The Independent, Feb. 12:=20
<
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=3D490469>]
The heads of three royal medical colleges issued an unprecedented=20
warning on February 11 about the rising epidemic of obesity. Obesity=20
rates have doubled among children, trebled [tripled] in women and=20
quadrupled for men in the past 20 years, according to the expert=20
working party.
The report - published by the Royal College of Physicians, the=20
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Faculty of=20
Public Health - painted a stark picture of the problem. They=20
compared their report, called Storing Up Problems, to a landmark=20
study in 1962 by Royal College of Physicians which first outlined the=20
health risks associated with smoking.
The group called for immediate action from "every segment of=20
society" to reduce the rising rates of overweight and obese people in=20
the UK.
"We have got to remove counter-productive messages, like the=20
assumption it is unsafe to go out of the house and play," said Dr.=20
Penny Gibson of the Royal College of Paediatrics. "Children need=20
designated play areas, streets without cars and the opportunity to=20
exercise and play at school. We have got to provide alternatives to=20
watching television as a leisure activity."
___________________=20
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS >>=20
__________________________________=20
SHIFTING SOCIAL SPACES IN CHINA'S TRANSITION?=20
ENVIRONMENTALISM, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND=20
POPULAR PROTEST, CHINA - APRIL 22-24
NGO Research Centre of Tsingua University, Beijing. For more=20
information see <
www.sls.wageningen-ur.hl/swg/es> and=20
<
www.ernasia.org>.
NEW YORK BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL SEEKS SUBMISSIONS
The bicycle film festival, a celebration of bicycles, is accepting entries=
=20
for films with a strong theme or character of bicycles. A fine thriller=20
with one scene of a bicycle chase does not count. We encourage all=20
films with these guidelines to enter: length one minute or more; all=20
genres: BMX, narratives, docs, experimental, Hollywood, cycling, and=20
so on. Deadline: February 17. Contact Brendt Barbur +(212) 726-
8505, e-mail: brendt(at)bicyclefilmfestival.com.
________________
NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS >>=20
______________________________
TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES IV, BERLIN - JULY 19-24
[Register today: <
www.worldcarfree.net/conference/>]
Registration is now open for Towards Carfree Cities IV, to be held=20
from July 19-24 in Berlin, Germany. The early registration discount=20
expires March 19. The registration form, programme and all other=20
info can be found at <
www.worldcarfree.net/conference/>. The=20
registration form contains a link for on-line credit card payment. The=20
conference is being organised by World Carfree Network in=20
partnership with BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany), Green City,=20
Autofrei Wohnen, Autofrei Leben!, ITDP Europe, UMKEHR and=20
Carfree.com.
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK SEEKS MEMBER=20
ORGANISATIONS
We at the organisation formerly known as Car Busters have been=20
working with people around the world over the past year to develop=20
what is now called World Carfree Network. Now that the founding=20
documents have been written, a logo has been selected and a=20
website has been launched, we are ready for groups to officially join=20
the network.=20
All the relevant information about World Carfree Network - charter,=20
statutes, etc. - can be found at <
www.worldcarfree.net/about_us/>.=20
Groups seeking to become member organisations sign and send in a=20
copy of the network charter - downloadable as a PDF from=20
www.worldcarfree.net/about_us/memberorgs.php.
The network's first official meeting will be held on July 23 in Berlin,=
=20
at the end of the Towards Carfree Cities IV conference. You are very=20
welcome to attend. Information about the conference can be found at=20
<
www.worldcarfree.net/conference/>.
THE CARFREE YELLOW PAGES?
Our on-line contact directory (<
www.worldcarfree.net/directory>) is in=20
the process of aesthetic improvement. Its current plan for global=20
dominance involves a sexier name - The Carfree Yellow Pages - and=20
the production of banner ads to be placed voluntarily on the web sites=20
of groups listed in the directory. Any comments and suggestions are=20
appreciated, including alternative name ideas. Contact:=20
info(at)worldcarfree.net.
_____________________
ERRATA >>=20
_____________________________
RE: LONDON'S CONGESTION CHARGE
In last month's bulletin, we reported (based on UK newspaper=20
articles) that Ken Livingstone's aides are drawing up plans for the=20
controversial imposition of suburban road tolls to ease London's=20
chronic traffic congestion, and that London Mayor Ken Livingtone=20
believes the five-pound charge in the centre of the capital has proved=20
so successful that it should pave the way for a system of levies=20
covering much of Greater London. In response to this widespread=20
news coverage, Livingstone issued the following statement on=20
January 2:
"These stories are totally untrue. I have no proposal to extend the=20
congestion charge to the whole of London, nor to the suburbs, nor to=20
town centres like Bromley or Kingston, nor to main roads into or=20
within London. I have never even discussed such proposals which=20
are in any case technically impossible. My only proposal is a western=20
extension of the existing central London zone to cover most of the=20
boroughs of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea. This would=20
include a 90% discount for residents and could not be introduced=20
before 2006. Any wider policy of road pricing is an issue for national=20
government probably requiring a general election manifesto=20
commitment and certainly requiring new legislation."
-----------
Unsubscribe information can be found at=20
<
http://www.worldcarfree.net/bulletin>.
________________________________________________
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK
Kratka 26, 100 00 Prague 10, Czech Republic
tel: +(420) 274-810-849 - fax: +(420) 274-816-727
<info@???> - <
http://www.worldcarfree.net>
________________________________________________
"La bicicletta =E8 il veicolo pi=F9 rapido nella via della delinquenza;=
perch=E8
la passione del pedale trascina al furto, alla truffa, alla grassazione!"
-Cesare Lombroso-
