#Freetransit advocate Bloomberg is UN #climatechange envoy, will he keep silent?

If you were to design the ultimate system, you would have mass transit be free and charge an enormous amount for cars. - Bloomberg

Former NYC mayor Bloomberg has said three times on radio that free public transit is "the perfect system." That was back in 2007. Since then he has been less outspoken. He has an international audience now, will he speak up?

U.N. appoints former NYC Mayor Bloomberg cities, climate change envoy | Reuters: "(Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday appointed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as his special envoy for cities and climate change, in a bid to build momentum ahead of a planned U.N. summit meeting in September."

Read more on NYC free transit advocacy
streetsblog
free transit politicians
Ted Kheel's site
Kheel letter to Bloomberg
free transit New York

Cheap oil peaked in 2005. Now the oil companies are in big trouble. Big. Look at these graphs.

Oil companies are spending like drunken sailors, but the oil is not falling in love with them. This means that a direct bailout or more QE is on the way. Because the best thing to do with a drunken sailor is give him more money.

thanks to https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=576109929131043 for picture from WSJ

Watch the 60-year progression of climate change in 15 seconds

SmartPlanet: "The changing colors reflect the changes in temperature worldwide. NASA scientists say that 2013 tied with 2009 and 2006 for the seventh warmest year since 1880, and with the exception of 1998, the ten warmest years in the 134-year record all have occurred since 2000 -- with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the warmest years on record."

German Army #peakoil study

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyUe7w1gDZo&feature=youtu.be

Why #carbontax won't work

• It won't be fair. You will pay, corporations will not. Just like current taxes.
• It won't be transparent. By the time it passes it will be 10,000 pages.
• You will spend years fighting for it for nothing, while effective solutions go begging for your time.
• Developed countries are exporting their emissions now, and will just do more.
• The proceeds of the tax will be used for more #autosprawlsubsidy.

We don't need it. Just stop subsidizing wasteful practices. Stop taking taxpayer money to support development that is car-dependent and/or wasteful in heating/cooling costs, aka, sprawl. The best way to stop subsidizing sprawl is to take the albatross of fares off the neck of our public investments in public transit. Why spend money on public transit and then more money to collect and enforce fares, which discourages usage and raises unit costs? When buses are free, you will see all kinds of costs in your city go down. They will go down much more that the tiny amount you are extracting with fares.

People in Australia fight for public transit instead of roads

Post by Tunnel Vision Doco.

#Freetransit catching on in Poland

Facebook Event for Campaign

In Gdansk, the unemployed ride free. Several small towns have recently introduced free public transit. The city of Kraków (pop 755,000) is considering free public transport.

read more...

English
fptsuccess.blogspot.com
farefreeeu.blogspot.com

Polish
https://www.facebook.com/freepublictransport

The head of the International Association of Public Transport opposes #freetransit. Let's look at his reasoning.

Below is a Google Translate of comments from the head of the UITP. It's no surprise that he opposes free public transport, the oil industry would have him out of office otherwise. But let's examine his reasoning.

He gives the common right-wing, misanthropic talking point about people trashing anything free. This canard, along with most right-wing bumper-sticker philosophy, has been around for many years. But where are the studies to back it up? It is not the common people who trash the environment, it is the rapacious profit-system which has no time or money for public-space investment. That is documented, and intuitively obvious as well. This guy should hang out with the Singapore Brit who think public transit riders are poor and stink.

Free public transport? Buses are experiencing siege: "Not everyone is convinced to free transport. In an interview with service transport-publiczny.pl head of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Alain Flausch admits that he is opposed: - The belief that something should be free, is a kind of wishful thinking that something I "just like that" should be . This means that the service has a minimum value or do not exist at all. But remember that someone always pays. Flausch likes to compare this system to your own garden. - If you own land that is fenced and accessible to all, will soon appear on the garbage and various garbage thrown there by people. The solution is to fence. Similarly, with public transport. If it is free, it is not anyone's property. This results in a loss of quality - highlights."

Split in 1% over fossil fuels continues to widen

NYTimes.com: "Coke reflects a growing view among American business leaders and mainstream economists who see global warming as a force that contributes to lower gross domestic products, higher food and commodity costs, broken supply chains and increased financial risk. Their position is at striking odds with the longstanding argument, advanced by the coal industry and others, that policies to curb carbon emissions are more economically harmful than the impact of climate change."

The corporatocracy is not a monolith. There are many splits. They cannot fight each other and control us at the same time. This opens opportunity for us to transition to a better society. What we do with that opportunity is up to us. Join your local public transit advocates and let's move away from sprawl and waste.

Deliberate incompetence by Departments of Transportation in U.S.

Every year they predict more driving and every year they are way off. This affects road building and other transportation planning.

Matt Yglesias at Salon

Read more on Sightline

Read more from Andrew Gelman

What is your definition of collapse?

There is a lot of talk about oil supplies and economic collapse. With all the money being printed and the unsustainable debt, what will happen?

The answer is available, but hidden. The collapse is here and now. You just are not hearing the voices of the victims. Most of what you read and hear is from that small five percent of the world that is using far more than its share of energy.

The bonds will never be paid back. But that's not the point. It is a new feudalism, where bonds are for control and income.

Is there a way out? Yes. We can come together locally and set up systems that save energy and keep the fruit of labor local. First thing? Stop wasting energy on private autos. Make your city or town carfree. Free buses are the transition back to walking and cycling.

Drought and flood plaguing U.S.

Flooding and wash-out, Vermont 15 and Cilley Hill Road in Underhill / EMILY McMANAMY/Free Press File

burlingtonfreepress.com: "Kerry Emanuel, professor of atmospheric science at M.I.T., predicts an increase in the intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones as a consequence of climate disruption — the warming of the planet due to the steady increase in greenhouse gases."

(AP Photo/Pueblo Chieftain, John Jaques, file)

Drought disaster declared in Utah, 10 other states

In addition to 12 counties in Utah, the announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday included counties in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Oklahoma and California.

#Peakoil is real, and it's worse than you think. Much worse.

Nafeez Ahmed theguardian.com: "The dialogue opened with a presentation by Mark C. Lewis, former head of energy research at Deutsche Bank's commodities unit, who highlighted three interlinked problems facing the global energy system: "very high decline rates" in global production; "soaring" investment requirements "to find new oil"; and since 2005, "falling exports of crude oil globally."

Lewis told participants that the International Energy Agency's (IEA) own "comprehensive" analysis in its World Energy Outlook of the 1,600 fields providing 70% of today's global oil supply, show "an observed decline rate of 6.2%" - double the IEA's stated estimate of future decline rate out to 2035 of about 3%."

'via Blog this'

World Bank lists some the costs of #autosprawl and benefits of #publictransit

Transforming Transportation for More Inclusive, Prosperous Cities | Transport for Development: "In Mexico City, Mexico, traffic congestion forces 20 percent of workers to spend more than three hours commuting to work each day, and chronic traffic congestion in Cairo is estimated to cost up to US$8 billion per year -- about 4% of Egypt's GDP. Sustainable transport solutions can help recover the financial value of hours of productivity lost – Line 3 of Mexico City’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system, Metrobús, has saved US$142 million in travel time alone.

Similarly, investing in sustainable transport infrastructure improves road safety for users across all modes of transport, including passengers on public transport, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Because traffic crashes currently claim 1.2 million lives every year and are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030, investment in pedestrianization and cycling infrastructure could be a game-changer. The vastly publicized pedestrianization of Times Square has also benefited businesses as foot traffic has increased; Times Square has become one of the 10 most successful retail destinations in the world since the beginning of its transformation. "

'via Blog this'

People in Mexico fight back against #publictransit fare hike with #posmesalto

Global trade agreements put profit ahead saving the biosphere

Daily Kos: Obama's TPP "could undo key global environmental protections": "The Obama administration is retreating from previous demands of strong international environmental protections in order to reach agreement on a sweeping Pacific trade deal that is a pillar of President Obama’s strategic shift to Asia, according to documents obtained by WikiLeaks, environmentalists and people close to the contentious trade talks."

'via Blog this'

#PosMeSalto - 93% of metro Mexico City opposes subway fare increase

RT: "An independent group of researchers from the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) conducted an online survey of 30,000 people who came from the city and the metropolitan area of Mexico City, of which 93% were against the increase in rate."

Australia having hottest year ever - #climate

No Deep Freeze: Australia Swelters in Heat Wave - ABC News: "Bats are dropping from trees, kangaroos are collapsing in the Outback and gardens are turning brown. While North America freezes under record polar temperatures, the southern hemisphere is experiencing the opposite extreme as heat records are being set in Australia after the hottest year ever."

'via Blog this'

Only 40% of a car's pollution comes from driving

Green Capitalism: The God That Failed: "To make matters worse, vehicle pollution is not confined to what comes out of the tailpipe. A life cycle study of the automobile done by the Umwelt-und Prognose-Institut of Heidelberg, Germany, in 1993 found that only 40 percent of an average car's pollution is emitted during the car's "driving" life stage. The other 60 percent results from other life stages: the extraction of raw materials, the transport of raw materials, the manufacturing of the car and the disposal of the car. Most of the pollution any car will ever produce, 56 percent, is generated in the manufacturing process before the car even arrives at the showroom - in the production of all the steel, aluminum, copper and other metals, glass, rubber, plastic, paint and other resources that go into every automobile, and in the manufacturing process itself. Cars produce 56 percent of all the pollution they will ever produce before they ever hit the road, and 4 percent after they are retired and junked. So even if automakers could produce dramatically lighter and more fuel-efficient cars, so long as they are free to produce automobiles without limit, more cars will just mean more pollution, even if they are hybrids or plug-in electric cars.(54)"

Saudis implementing massive #publictransit expansion. What does that tell you?

Land in 140 locations expropriated for Riyadh public transport project | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.: "Earlier Al-Shalaan told a public transport forum that the implementation of the bus project has been divided into three stages where the first operation stage will begin in the southern part of the city, followed by the central and finally finishing in the northern part of the city."

'via Blog this'

Don't let #falseflag actions work. Expose them.

The people in Mexico City are mounting very strong mass protest against the Metro fare hike. As predictable as the sunrise, a group of admittedly hired vandals has appeared and defaced the Metro posing as protesters. They even have a brand, "Team Destructo."

This is an attempt by someone in power to smear the protest. By the time the evidence comes out that it is a trick, it will be too late. People in the know need to speak out and expose this tactic.

Around the world the fight for free transit or against fare hikes strikes the one percent where it hurts most. They desperately need us to keep driving cars and burning oil. If demand for oil falls too fast, financial collapse will come quicker.

Just a note on the crazies. If you search on social media for "provocateur" or "false flag" you will run into a lot of craziness. This is organized and intentional to keep you away. Just approach it like a flea market, sort through the junk and find the truth.

US in Iraq, mission accomplished, anarchy

euronews: "BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi troops trying to retake Anbar province from a mixture of Islamist and tribal foes battled al Qaeda fighters in Ramadi on Saturday after shelling the western region’s other main city, Falluja, overnight, tribal leaders and officials said."

Why it the US turning countries into Mad Max worlds of anarchy? Because they send in the troops not to build or stabilize, but to keep China and Russia out. It takes 150,000 US/Nato troops in Afghanistan to keep out one pipeline-builder from China.

It is only natural for countries like Iran and Iraq to make deals with their neighbors. The US cannot afford to cede control of such energy sources large enough to sway the global economy. If the locals won't sign, in come the troops.

Around the world people protest #publictransit fare hikes

Incredibly the 1% is trying to force people back into cars by raising public transit fares. The oil industry is suffering from a recession-caused drop in demand. They are losing money because their heavy fixed investments cannot afford to run half-full. The human race needs the exact opposite. We need free transit, and burn less oil, not more.

Here are some hashtags to follow the protests
#tarifazero OR #posmesalto OR #freetransit OR #planka OR #WeDontPay OR #AkbilBasmaTurnikedenAtla

Resource Insights shines a light on oil industry and "free-market" propaganda

Resource Insights: 7 things everyone knows about energy that just ain't so (2013 Edition): "Anonymous tells us that he "believes" in markets. This is really a statement of faith, not fact then. What he believes markets will do beyond mediate supply and demand is unclear. Certainly, markets have not provided cheap abundant fossil fuels in the last decade as the market fundamentalists such at Daniel Yergin predicted they would.

And markets have done nothing to curb emissions of greenhouse gases. There are places where markets fail. And, we must also acknowledge that oil and natural gas are not really free markets. They exist within a framework of government tax breaks (the depletion allowance, for example), government-funded research, export limits, and indirect subsidies such as highways which encourage the consumption of oil products.

So, a truly free market in fossil fuels doesn't exist.

I hope Anonymous would acknowledge that there are limits to markets. Would he advocate a market in human organs, for example? As a society, we find such a thing repugnant and we've made it illegal. We think that such decisions should be made based on need and likelihood of success, not financial capacity.

If there are some things which are off limits to markets, then Anonymous must acknowledge that it is really just a question of where we draw the line and for what purpose.

This is what politics is all about and it will never be separated from our economic lives no matter now much we wish for it.

So, public policy in energy continues to be an important factor. And, the last decade has shown that markets are not all-knowing. Otherwise, the problem of high energy prices would have been solved.

And, so would the problem of dumping pollutants and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The principle here is that no one should have the right to pollute the air I breath for free and without responsibility for the consequences. Certainly, Anonymous doesn't believe that those who are powerful enough and connected enough should be allowed to do whatever they want to the atmosphere just because they are powerful and connected. That issue must be solved by public policy."

'via Blog this'

Regardless of what we burn, we must degrow, or we will boil ourselves

Exponential Economist Meets Finite Physicist | Do the Math: "Alright, the Earth has only one mechanism for releasing heat to space, and that’s via (infrared) radiation. We understand the phenomenon perfectly well, and can predict the surface temperature of the planet as a function of how much energy the human race produces. The upshot is that at a 2.3% growth rate (conveniently chosen to represent a 10× increase every century), we would reach boiling temperature in about 400 years. [Pained expression from economist.] And this statement is independent of technology. Even if we don’t have a name for the energy source yet, as long as it obeys thermodynamics, we cook ourselves with perpetual energy increase."

'via Blog this'

What is #autosprawlsubsidy?

For many years, fossil fuels have been artificially cheap. This has allowed people to spread out and live great distances apart. The private automobile got them around, and they could afford to heat and cool buildings individually. Each home had many consumer products made with cheap energy. Population grew. That is autosprawl.

Now we realize that energy was never cheap. Instead, we realize that the costs have been deferred. The carbon that took millions of years to store, and was stored for millions of years, has now -- in less than 200 years -- been returned to the biosphere. Much profit has been made, but no money set aside to deal with the consequences.

There were many other ways that costs have been deferred. They are called "externalities" -- meaning they don't appear on the balance sheets of companies that profit from autosprawl. When these costs come due, they must be paid, usually by people other than those who made the profits. That is subsidy.

The good news is that this system has an Achilles heel, a weak point where it cannot defend itself. The system is so complex that when it loses critical mass, it must collapse. The direct and indirect subsidies to the system are so burdensome that people are turning against it. A simple path to a different type of life is available. A way to end the critical mass. That path is through fare-free public transit.