Post by Wayne Hall on Oct 7, 2005 16:57:47 GMT -5
________________________
WORLD CARFREE NEWS >>>
____________________________________
Edition no. 25 - October 2005 - English version
...........................................................
Contents:
QUOTATION OF THE MONTH
IN BRIEF
WORLD NEWS
- MOBILITY INJUSTICE IN NEW ORLEANS
- CONTRACTING OUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHAD AND CAMEROON
NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS
- HELP PROMOTE THE CARFREE GREEN PAGES
- NEW FACES AT THE INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION CENTRE
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- SOURCE DVD AVAILABLE
- HOW TO BENEFIT FROM EUROPEAN LEGISLATION
__________________
QUOTATION OF THE MONTH >>
__________________________
"Critics of autos love the term 'auto dependent.' But [Hurricane]
Katrina proved that the automobile is a liberator. It is those who
don't own autos who are dependent - dependent on the competence of
government officials, dependent on charity, dependent on complex and
sometimes uncaring institutions."
- Randall O'Toole, Thoreau Institute
__________________
IN BRIEF >>
__________________________
- A US federal judge decided that five New York City Critical Mass
participants were not denied their First Amendment rights, but said
the city did not properly warn three of the cyclists before their
bikes were seized. According to civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel, a
pending case in state court will determine whether bicyclists must
obtain a permit to ride and whether they can assemble in a city park.
- Toyota announced it will spend US$60 million on an advertising
campaign to push hybrid technologies. On the Guardian newspaper on-
line, Toyota is currently sponsoring a debate on whether or not to
force cyclists off the roads.
- On September 11, the annual food fight on the Oberbaum Bridge in
Berlin kept the cars away. Once a year, autonomous people from the
Friedrichshain and Kreutzberg district turn the bridge into a
vegetable battlefield. This year, like every year, writes Jason
Kirkpatrick, Friedrichshain reigned victorious.
- Bicycle sales in the US reached 19 million last year. The US
Chamber of Commerce says more bicycles have been sold than cars over
the past 12 months. Meanwhile, George Bush told people to avoid
unessential driving trips.
- Britain's main motoring organisation, the Royal Automobile Club,
told the UK public to ride their bikes more.
- A Galway, Ireland, gardener celebrated World Carfree Day by taking
her wheelbarrow to and from work, while 30,000 Critical Mass cyclists
rode through the streets of Budapest.
- The Buscycle, a 15-person, pedal-powered bus, made its inaugural
journey in Boston on Sept. 25.
- Eighty-four Chinese cities have banned small cars in their city
centres, because they like big cars:
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-07/21/content_3246861.htm>
_______________
WORLD NEWS >>
__________________
MOBILITY INJUSTICE IN NEW ORLEANS
>From the moment the TV footage flashed to an endless fleet of cars
escaping New Orleans, the car was destined to be a central theme of
Hurricane Katrina.
Unlike with Hurricane Rita, the highways were effective in
evacuating those who had wheels. But those without, in the absence of
public transportation, were left stranded amidst the rising waters.
Sixty thousand residents of New Orleans, according to The Economist,
did not own cars.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute used this fact as an
opportunity to criticise government attempts to encourage carfree
transportation. Titled "World Carfree Day: Not a Day to Celebrate,"
the institute's article claimed that "the lack of access to cars can
be deadly."
Sam Kazman, head of the institute's Automobility Project says
that, "Many people may well choose a car-free lifestyle, but the
notion that government should impose it in the name of sustainability
is crazy. As Hurricane Katrina showed, it can be disastrous as well."
However, as Hurricane Rita (the second hurricane) approached,
hundreds of thousands of motorised would-be Houston evacuees sat in
snail-like highway conditions in the mid-day heat, often running out
of gasoline or heading back home in desperation. For many, the
thought of sitting out a hurricane in a car on the open road wasn't
their idea of "automobility."
In advance of Katrina, an Amtrak train left New Orleans empty, and
Amtrak cancelled all train service in and out of the city. Each train
could safely evacuate 600 people, but none of that was organised
until September 2, five days after the city of New Orleans ordered
evacuations.
Rather than claiming there's a lack of cars in an already traffic-
clogged country, can't planners learn from New Orleans and recognise
the benefit of alternative transportation, both for the everyday, and
in cases of evacuation?
If New Orleans would be "rebuilt" many carfree advocates called for
something better.
"The model for this is already right there in New Orleans: the
French Quarter," said Joel Crawford on World Carfree Network's
discussion list. "This is almost precisely the kind of urbanism that
I believe is suitable for carfree cities. Rather than rebuilding
isolated single-story bungalows spread throughout the lowlands of New
Orleans, we should expand the French Quarter model when the city is
rebuilt."
As gas prices becomes increasingly expensive, oil increasingly
difficult and troublesome to find, a city built where people do not
need cars to get around, and where they would freely choose not to
own a car, would be the only sensible solution.
CONTRACTING OUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHAD AND CAMEROON
Putting responsibility for human rights and environmental protection
into the hands of Exxon and Chevron has led Amnesty International to
criticise the US$4.2 billion Chad-Cameroon Pipeline, the largest
private sector investment in Africa.
"The project agreements seek to protect the financial interests of
the oil companies by restricting interference in and regulation of
the project by Chad and Cameroon," writes Amnesty.
Although the agreements are not themselves causes of human rights
violations, Amnesty believes that the frameworks could "hold back the
governments of Chad and Cameroon from taking steps to improve human
rights protection."
This furthers the chances of "poor individuals or communities from
obtaining effective remedies through the courts for human rights
violations."
Chad ranks fifth last on Transparency International's Corruption
Perceptions Index 2004.
Amnesty reports that pipeline critics have been systematically
targeted, with one opposition member of parliament, Ngarlejy
Yorongar, sentenced to three years in jail for accusing the president
of pipeline-related corruption.
The oil extracted from Doba oil fields in Chad will be transported
1,070 km to Cameroon's Atlantic coast, where it will then be shipped
internationally. The result will be 225,000 barrels of oil per day.
The World Bank is co-financing the project with a US$93 million
loan, while the World Bank's private-sector arm, the International
Finance Corporation is supplying US$200 million.
Similarly damaging agreements exist worldwide. The Baku-Tbilisi-
Ceyhan (BTC) and its consortium of companies, led by British
Petroleum, face many human rights problems. People have lost their
land and their livelihood, writes CEE Bankwatch Network, with little
or no compensation.
"Human rights," says Amnesty, "must be respected regardless of
commercial expediency."
________________________
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
__________________________________________
HELP PROMOTE THE CARFREE GREEN PAGES
As you may have heard, our on-line directory has been transformed
into the Carfree Green Pages, with a new design and detailed listings
for over 500 organisations worldwide.
Have a look at <www.worldcarfree.net/greenpages/>. Please make
sure your local group(s) is/are listed and then download one of the
Carfree Green Pages web banners, and place it on your group's web
homepage. This will help us promote this useful resource and World
Carfree Network in general.
NEW FACES AT THE INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION CENTRE
As Lucie Lebrová, our office coordinator, leaves Prague for a quieter
life in Usti Nad Labem (CZ), the ICC welcomes her replacement, Kamila
Blazkova. Also boarding the network ship towards a carfree future are
Radka Tichavska, our new part-time accountant, and Vincent Aronio de
Romblay, a European volunteer from France. Faces and details of these
staff members and their co-conspirators are at
<http://www.worldcarfree.net/contact/>.
___________________
ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
______________________________
SOURCE DVD AVAILABLE
"Source," screened at Towards Carfree Cities V and reviewed in Car
Busters #25, is now available on DVD with English subtitles. "Baku in
Azerbaijan, the site of the world's first oil well, is once again
becoming a focus for foreign investors eager to exploit the country's
vast oil riches. "Source" traces the pipeline from our commuter
highways back to this surreal and sinister landscape on which Western
hypermobility depends, where cows graze on polluted land and children
play in toxic sludge. The film costs EUR25 or US$30 and can be
ordered from the World Carfree Network resource centre:
<www.worldcarfree.net/resources/>.
HOW TO BENEFIT FROM EUROPEAN LEGISLATION
BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany) -- in cooperation with Hnuti
Duha, CEE Bankwatch, Friends of the Earth Europe and T&E -- is
preparing a conference entitled "The European Advantage: How NGOs can
benefit from recent European Legislation in their Work for
Sustainable Transport Infrastructure." It will take place in Prague
on November 23 and 24.The conference wants to be a forum for exchange
and discussion on the following two questions: How can EU
environmental and transparency legislation be utilised for NGO work
on sustainable infrastructure and transport policy? What do NGOs need
to maximise their capacities to make use of the existing instruments?
...
Bulletin #75 by Steven Logan.
[end]
________________________________________________
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK
Kratka 26, 100 00 Prague 10, Czech Republic
tel: +(420) 274-810-849 - fax: +(420) 274-772-017
<info@worldcarfree.net> - <http://www.worldcarfree.net>
________________________________________________
WORLD CARFREE NEWS >>>
____________________________________
Edition no. 25 - October 2005 - English version
...........................................................
Contents:
QUOTATION OF THE MONTH
IN BRIEF
WORLD NEWS
- MOBILITY INJUSTICE IN NEW ORLEANS
- CONTRACTING OUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHAD AND CAMEROON
NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS
- HELP PROMOTE THE CARFREE GREEN PAGES
- NEW FACES AT THE INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION CENTRE
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- SOURCE DVD AVAILABLE
- HOW TO BENEFIT FROM EUROPEAN LEGISLATION
__________________
QUOTATION OF THE MONTH >>
__________________________
"Critics of autos love the term 'auto dependent.' But [Hurricane]
Katrina proved that the automobile is a liberator. It is those who
don't own autos who are dependent - dependent on the competence of
government officials, dependent on charity, dependent on complex and
sometimes uncaring institutions."
- Randall O'Toole, Thoreau Institute
__________________
IN BRIEF >>
__________________________
- A US federal judge decided that five New York City Critical Mass
participants were not denied their First Amendment rights, but said
the city did not properly warn three of the cyclists before their
bikes were seized. According to civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel, a
pending case in state court will determine whether bicyclists must
obtain a permit to ride and whether they can assemble in a city park.
- Toyota announced it will spend US$60 million on an advertising
campaign to push hybrid technologies. On the Guardian newspaper on-
line, Toyota is currently sponsoring a debate on whether or not to
force cyclists off the roads.
- On September 11, the annual food fight on the Oberbaum Bridge in
Berlin kept the cars away. Once a year, autonomous people from the
Friedrichshain and Kreutzberg district turn the bridge into a
vegetable battlefield. This year, like every year, writes Jason
Kirkpatrick, Friedrichshain reigned victorious.
- Bicycle sales in the US reached 19 million last year. The US
Chamber of Commerce says more bicycles have been sold than cars over
the past 12 months. Meanwhile, George Bush told people to avoid
unessential driving trips.
- Britain's main motoring organisation, the Royal Automobile Club,
told the UK public to ride their bikes more.
- A Galway, Ireland, gardener celebrated World Carfree Day by taking
her wheelbarrow to and from work, while 30,000 Critical Mass cyclists
rode through the streets of Budapest.
- The Buscycle, a 15-person, pedal-powered bus, made its inaugural
journey in Boston on Sept. 25.
- Eighty-four Chinese cities have banned small cars in their city
centres, because they like big cars:
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-07/21/content_3246861.htm>
_______________
WORLD NEWS >>
__________________
MOBILITY INJUSTICE IN NEW ORLEANS
>From the moment the TV footage flashed to an endless fleet of cars
escaping New Orleans, the car was destined to be a central theme of
Hurricane Katrina.
Unlike with Hurricane Rita, the highways were effective in
evacuating those who had wheels. But those without, in the absence of
public transportation, were left stranded amidst the rising waters.
Sixty thousand residents of New Orleans, according to The Economist,
did not own cars.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute used this fact as an
opportunity to criticise government attempts to encourage carfree
transportation. Titled "World Carfree Day: Not a Day to Celebrate,"
the institute's article claimed that "the lack of access to cars can
be deadly."
Sam Kazman, head of the institute's Automobility Project says
that, "Many people may well choose a car-free lifestyle, but the
notion that government should impose it in the name of sustainability
is crazy. As Hurricane Katrina showed, it can be disastrous as well."
However, as Hurricane Rita (the second hurricane) approached,
hundreds of thousands of motorised would-be Houston evacuees sat in
snail-like highway conditions in the mid-day heat, often running out
of gasoline or heading back home in desperation. For many, the
thought of sitting out a hurricane in a car on the open road wasn't
their idea of "automobility."
In advance of Katrina, an Amtrak train left New Orleans empty, and
Amtrak cancelled all train service in and out of the city. Each train
could safely evacuate 600 people, but none of that was organised
until September 2, five days after the city of New Orleans ordered
evacuations.
Rather than claiming there's a lack of cars in an already traffic-
clogged country, can't planners learn from New Orleans and recognise
the benefit of alternative transportation, both for the everyday, and
in cases of evacuation?
If New Orleans would be "rebuilt" many carfree advocates called for
something better.
"The model for this is already right there in New Orleans: the
French Quarter," said Joel Crawford on World Carfree Network's
discussion list. "This is almost precisely the kind of urbanism that
I believe is suitable for carfree cities. Rather than rebuilding
isolated single-story bungalows spread throughout the lowlands of New
Orleans, we should expand the French Quarter model when the city is
rebuilt."
As gas prices becomes increasingly expensive, oil increasingly
difficult and troublesome to find, a city built where people do not
need cars to get around, and where they would freely choose not to
own a car, would be the only sensible solution.
CONTRACTING OUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHAD AND CAMEROON
Putting responsibility for human rights and environmental protection
into the hands of Exxon and Chevron has led Amnesty International to
criticise the US$4.2 billion Chad-Cameroon Pipeline, the largest
private sector investment in Africa.
"The project agreements seek to protect the financial interests of
the oil companies by restricting interference in and regulation of
the project by Chad and Cameroon," writes Amnesty.
Although the agreements are not themselves causes of human rights
violations, Amnesty believes that the frameworks could "hold back the
governments of Chad and Cameroon from taking steps to improve human
rights protection."
This furthers the chances of "poor individuals or communities from
obtaining effective remedies through the courts for human rights
violations."
Chad ranks fifth last on Transparency International's Corruption
Perceptions Index 2004.
Amnesty reports that pipeline critics have been systematically
targeted, with one opposition member of parliament, Ngarlejy
Yorongar, sentenced to three years in jail for accusing the president
of pipeline-related corruption.
The oil extracted from Doba oil fields in Chad will be transported
1,070 km to Cameroon's Atlantic coast, where it will then be shipped
internationally. The result will be 225,000 barrels of oil per day.
The World Bank is co-financing the project with a US$93 million
loan, while the World Bank's private-sector arm, the International
Finance Corporation is supplying US$200 million.
Similarly damaging agreements exist worldwide. The Baku-Tbilisi-
Ceyhan (BTC) and its consortium of companies, led by British
Petroleum, face many human rights problems. People have lost their
land and their livelihood, writes CEE Bankwatch Network, with little
or no compensation.
"Human rights," says Amnesty, "must be respected regardless of
commercial expediency."
________________________
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
__________________________________________
HELP PROMOTE THE CARFREE GREEN PAGES
As you may have heard, our on-line directory has been transformed
into the Carfree Green Pages, with a new design and detailed listings
for over 500 organisations worldwide.
Have a look at <www.worldcarfree.net/greenpages/>. Please make
sure your local group(s) is/are listed and then download one of the
Carfree Green Pages web banners, and place it on your group's web
homepage. This will help us promote this useful resource and World
Carfree Network in general.
NEW FACES AT THE INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION CENTRE
As Lucie Lebrová, our office coordinator, leaves Prague for a quieter
life in Usti Nad Labem (CZ), the ICC welcomes her replacement, Kamila
Blazkova. Also boarding the network ship towards a carfree future are
Radka Tichavska, our new part-time accountant, and Vincent Aronio de
Romblay, a European volunteer from France. Faces and details of these
staff members and their co-conspirators are at
<http://www.worldcarfree.net/contact/>.
___________________
ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
______________________________
SOURCE DVD AVAILABLE
"Source," screened at Towards Carfree Cities V and reviewed in Car
Busters #25, is now available on DVD with English subtitles. "Baku in
Azerbaijan, the site of the world's first oil well, is once again
becoming a focus for foreign investors eager to exploit the country's
vast oil riches. "Source" traces the pipeline from our commuter
highways back to this surreal and sinister landscape on which Western
hypermobility depends, where cows graze on polluted land and children
play in toxic sludge. The film costs EUR25 or US$30 and can be
ordered from the World Carfree Network resource centre:
<www.worldcarfree.net/resources/>.
HOW TO BENEFIT FROM EUROPEAN LEGISLATION
BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany) -- in cooperation with Hnuti
Duha, CEE Bankwatch, Friends of the Earth Europe and T&E -- is
preparing a conference entitled "The European Advantage: How NGOs can
benefit from recent European Legislation in their Work for
Sustainable Transport Infrastructure." It will take place in Prague
on November 23 and 24.The conference wants to be a forum for exchange
and discussion on the following two questions: How can EU
environmental and transparency legislation be utilised for NGO work
on sustainable infrastructure and transport policy? What do NGOs need
to maximise their capacities to make use of the existing instruments?
...
Bulletin #75 by Steven Logan.
[end]
________________________________________________
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK
Kratka 26, 100 00 Prague 10, Czech Republic
tel: +(420) 274-810-849 - fax: +(420) 274-772-017
<info@worldcarfree.net> - <http://www.worldcarfree.net>
________________________________________________