A call to end the hegemony of the private auto in Quebec

Campaign for Free Public Transit: "While the goals of the City of Quebec are to double attendance public transit, it is necessary to remember that any pricing hinders the use of the public service. That is why it is necessary to implant free RTC and a comparable increase in the network coverage for a transition to the end of oil and automotive hegemony."

Ocean warming going off the charts

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/OC5/3M_HEAT_CONTENT/

No more cheap oil - per Saudi Aramco

Peak Oil : "The problem is oil price needs to rise, not fall, to support continued capex. He refers to the problems rather succinctly but fails to address that wages are flat and with most consumer prices rising, consumers cannot support higher oil prices. In that scenario oil price will continue to fall and as it does high priced marginal oil plays will go offline. There won’t be any 40 mbd of scraping the non-conventional oil bottom of the cask to replace the easy to extract stuff. The economics just are not there.
Now the argument can be made that higher income individuals can afford to pay more, BUT the merchandise being moved is 75 mbd of crude. Start moving less to just satisfy the wealthy and with less tax money the rest of society falls into decay and chaos will erupt into riots.
It was refreshing though to hear a Saudi official admit what many of us already know."

Free public transport boosts pensioners' well-being

DutchNews.nl : "The aim of the trial was to reduce loneliness among pensioners and boost their self-worth. Research into the impact of the scheme shows both targets have been achieved. Pensioners report getting out more, visiting family and friends and feeling better about themselves."

Only taxpayer subsidy prevents the bursting of the fracking bubble

Not at Home on the Range: Subsidized Fracking Hits Colorado – Oil Change InternationalOil Change International: "“They are profitable because of tax breaks,” says Cox."

Subways, high-rises, bike highways, wrong direction for cities

The auto system is surviving on debt and is slowly collapsing. But what is the solution? Make cities car-free ASAP with free buses. This will free up plenty of space for living, walking, and biking. Do not build more oil-dependent stainless steel/concrete infrastructure.  

Quebec #freetransit campaign gains momentum

Fragment argument: free politics is a choice: "Quebec cities are beginning to experiment with totally free or partial transit. Laval and Longueuil well established free for seniors outside of peak hours. According to a recent report from Radio-Canada free transit progresses on the south shore of Montreal. After Chambly, Richelieu and Carignan which paved the way there two years, followed by Sainte-Julie earlier this year, now is the turn of Candiac, La Prairie and St. Philip to provide transportation common free for local journeys on their territory.
 
In Quebec, we do not yet speak of gratuity for mayor. Yet, while we seek to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas emissions and that we set ourselves ambitious targets for transportation (double the modal share of public comm
a 2030), it is high time to have this discussion."

Craving for suburban life the cause of war

Americans, do you want to stop war? Then stop the cause of war.

People want suburban life. Suburbs waste energy, creating demand for more energy. High demand for energy empowers energy industry. Cheap oil has peaked, causing all energy to cost more. The energy industry is forced to seek control of energy markets. Hence war.

Here is what to do. Make cities car-free. Offer people a sustainable, safe life in the city. This will reduce the demand for suburban life. Break the critical mass of the autosprawl system with free public transit.

Stop planning. Make buses free.

There are a lot of capital-intensive plans to fix human transport. Most of them are attempts to preserve the auto-based system.

Municipalities should first make buses fare-free. Then people will show us where it makes sense to spend more money.

Ridership up 300% with #freetransit in Zory, Poland

BEZPLATNA KOMUNIKACJA MIEJSKA: "Free public transport in Zory is popular: "Fourfold increase in the number of passengers in May, after the introduction of free public transport - estimated City Hall in Zory (Silesia). The plans are further facilities for residents""

US attempt to control Russian oil will backfire and lead to more war

EcoWatch: "The foreign policy wonks at the State Department may not understand that Russian oil production has just hit a post-USSR peak and will be declining anyway. The effect of the sanctions will be to speed the Russian decline, forcing up world oil prices as soon as U.S. tight oil maxes out and goes into its inevitable nosedive in the 2017-2020 time frame. Russia, which will still be an oil exporter then, will benefit from higher oil prices (perhaps nearly enough to compensate for the loss of production resulting from the sanctions). But the U.S., which will still be one of the world’s top oil importers, will face a re-run of the 2008 oil shock that contributed to its financial crash."

Bankers are forcing US government to pursue desperate, dangerous policy. If oil price were to drop suddenly, the US tight oil would be inaccessible and the US petrodollar would take a sharp wound. But trying to control the world market has proved difficult and will become more so.