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WORLD CARFREE NEWS >>>
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Edition no. 26 - November 2005 - English version
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Contents:
QUOTATION OF THE MONTH
IN BRIEF
WORLD NEWS
- A SMOOTH CRITICAL MASS IN NEW YORK
- CARFREE DAY IN SOUTH AFRICA
- FOOD VERSUS FUEL
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS
- CARBUSTERS MAGAZINE RELEASED
- HOLIDAY GIFT SUBSCRIPTION
- BECOME A CARBUSTERS DISTRIBUTOR
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
- UK CAMPAIGN "20'S PLENTY: REDUCING TRAFFIC SPEEDS"
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QUOTATION OF THE MONTH >>
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"Two things sell cars: sex and muscle."
- Geoff Polites, head of Ford subsidiary, Jaguar
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IN BRIEF >>
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- The Dutch government is planning to pay selected car owners 2-5 euros to
leave their cars at home during peak rush hours.
- A South Korean man covered himself with 260,000 bees in celebration of
the opening of a metro in the city of Taegu. He also rode a bike and
in-line skated. The bees weighed almost 50 kg.
- In a survey conducted by the New York-based NPD Group, 69% of respondents
said they now drive less frequently than in the past and 42% planned to
reduce the distance they drive.
- Australian police gave a parking ticket to a dead man sitting in his car
in a shopping centre.
- In Florida, a 94-year-old man hit a pedestrian on his way to a McDonald's
and continued to drive with the dead man's body on the roof of his car
until he was stopped at a toll booth. The worker noticed blood dripping
down the windshield.
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WORLD NEWS >>
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A SMOOTH CRITICAL MASS IN NYC
For the first time in one year, no cyclists were arrested at New York's
Critical Mass, thanks in part to the World Carfree Network letter-writing
campaign and pressure in New York City. Freewheels, a non-profit
organisation started by arrestees, writes that with increased media
attention and upcoming elections, the city realised that "their anti-bike
policy is bad policy and terrible PR."
Meanwhile, the city has introduced a bill that would ban pedi-cabs in
midtown Manhattan. Proponents claim that there is too much vehicular
traffic in the city and so this law is "in the interests of public safety
and welfare." (Funny that they don't use this argument to ban cars...)
CARFREE DAY IN SOUTH AFRICA
On October 20 South Africa celebrated carfree day. Carfree day here is a
response to the growing car ownership in the last year and the problems it
causes on the road.
But according to media reports, people did not welcome carfree day
because public transport is considered unreliable and unsafe. The city of
Johannesburg, for instance, ripped out its tram lines 50 years ago. The old
apartheid government did not promote public transport, and the minibus
system that emerged in place of government supported transport is often
unsafe because drivers drive fast and recklessly in order to deliver as
many people and thus make as much profit as possible.
As a result, anyone who can afford a car will buy one. Gauteng
province, for instamce, has almost three million registered vehicles, up
from 1.6 million in 2000. Officials say they are trying. "If we can win one
more person to public transport, it is a victory," says Ignatius Jacobs,
Gauteng's minister for public transport, and adds, "We are not anti-car; we
just want better flow of traffic."
FOOD VERSUS FUEL
As petrol prices rise, alternative fuels are again receiving much
attention. But, as some critics point out, the use of one alternative fuel
-- plant-based ethanol could lead to reduced land devoted to food crops in
order to grow this fuel.
To produce enough ethanol to fuel a car for a year would require more
than 10 acres of corn -- seven times more cropland than what is needed to
feed one person. If all cars in the United States were fueled with ethanol,
2 billion acres of cropland would be required, more than five times all the
cropland that is actually and potentially available for all crops in the
US.
(<http://hubbert.mines.edu/news/Pimentel_98-2.pdf>http://hubbert.mines.edu/news/Pimentel_98-2.pdf)
The amount of corn currently grown in the United States for ethanol (32
million tons or 12& od the country's corn crop), writes People and Planet,
could be used to feed 100 million people.
Guardian columnist George Monbiot calculated that if Britain were to
run its cars, buses and trucks on biodiesel, this would require 25.9
million hectares to grow the crops, four-and-a-half times more than the
amount of arable land in Britain.
(<http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2004/11/23/feeding-cars-not-people>www.monbiot.com/archives/2004/11/23/feeding-cars-not-people)
Another problem is that ethanol production requires fossil fuels. In
fact, according to a Cornell University study, the production of biofuel
takes more energy than is produced in the end
(<http://www.news.cornell.edu>www.news.cornell.edu). One of the reasons why
Brazilian bioethanol manufactured from sugar beet is so successful is that
the residue left over after the syrup is removed is used to fuel the
distillation process, thus making it more energy-efficient.
Without a change in transport habits, biofuels will not be able to feed
our cars' hunger and will only ever represent a small-scale alternative.
However, the European Union - where transport accounts for 80% of all oil
consumption - has officially acknowledged the need to rely on biofuels, as
well as the highly-touted hydrogen, for future use. If it doesn't also
reduce energy consumption, it won't do any good at all.
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WORLD CARFREE NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
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CARBUSTERS MAGAZINE RELEASED
Issue 25 of Carbusters (that's right, Carbusters is now officially one
word) has been released, with feature articles on carfree islands, mobility
justice, Budapest Critical Mass (30,000 participants!), reports from the
Towards Carfree Cities Conference, and more. As always, you can read
selected articles on-line at <<
http://www.carbusters.org>
www.carbusters.org>.
HOLIDAY GIFT SUBSCRIPTION
Help us reach our goal of doubling subscriptions to Carbusters magazine by
the end of 2006 by sending your carfree (or car-full) friends and relatives
a subscription to the only international magazine dedicated to the carfree
movement.
If you make an order by December 10, your gift recipient will receive
issue #25 and a gift card, along with the subscription extending through
2006. That's five issues for the price of four. More information at
<<http://www.carbusters.org/subscribe>www.carbusters.org/subscribe>.
BECOME A CARBUSTERS DISTRIBUTOR
As Carbusters #25 finds its way to mailboxes around the world, the editors
are determined to double subscriptions and sales in one year. To do this,
we need more independent distributors. Our simple distribution deal
(available to anyone) is this: We sell you five or more magazines at 60%
off the cover price, and you can sell the magazines to friends, neighbours,
or at events like Critical Mass. Keep the difference and then get some
more! <<
http://www.carbusters.org/distribution>
www.carbusters.org/distribution>
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ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
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INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Coinciding with the climate conference (the first meeting of parties to the
Kyoto Protocol) in Montreal November 28 to December 9, demonstrations will
take place around the world on Saturday, December 3. The aims - endorsed by
the World Social Forum - demand that the USA and Australia ratify the Kyoto
Protocol immediately, and that the entire world community move as rapidly
as possible to a stronger emissions reductions treaty that will be both
equitable and effective in stabilising greenhouse gases and preventing
dangerous climate change.
To support this day of action, please e-mail
<
mailto:info@globalclimatecampaign.org><info@???>
with the name of your organisation. For more information, visit
<<
http://www.globalclimatecampaign.org>
www.globalclimatecampaign.org>.
UK CAMPAIGN "20'S PLENTY: REDUCING TRAFFIC SPEEDS"
Streets for People has launched a new campaign called 20's Plenty! calling
on the UK government to make it easier for designating 20 mph speed limits
on roads where where communities believe they are most needed, usually
where there are children. (As an illustration, a pedestrian hit by a car
travelling at 40 mph has an 85% chance of being killed while at 20 mph the
risk falls to 5%.) At present, government regulations make introducing 20
mph speed limits a long and expensive process.
On November 22, campaigners around the country will take part in the
20's Plenty! National Day of Action by organising street events, public
consultations and meetings to call for a reduction in speed limits on a
road near where they live. Streets for People has produced a "20's Plenty!
Action Pack" to help communities plan their events. If you want to get
involved with this campaign and receive a free copy of the action pack,
contact Linda Beard at
<mailto:linda.beard@transport2000.org.uk><linda.beard@???>
or phone her at Transport 2000 on 020 7613 0743. Alternatively, you can
download an action pack by going to
<<http://www.transport2000.org.uk>www.transport2000.org.uk> and clicking on
the "Focus on 20's Plenty Campaign!" link.
...
Bulletin #26 by Steven Logan.
[end]
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