The 118 reported deaths are significantly more than the death count seen in recent years. The 2008 tornado season is the deadliest in a decade and on pace to be the deadliest ever recorded in the United States.
This could be a harbinger of things to come. Some scientists have warned that global warming will create conditions that make violent tornadoes more frequent. There is
greater consensus that global warming will, at the least, produce more extreme weather events. thedailygreen
...They and other political appointees have spent the latter part of President Bush's two terms laboring behind the scenes to shrink the federal role in road-building and public transportation. They have also sought to turn highways into commodities that can be sold or leased to private firms and used by motorists for a price....
...For Gribbin, Duvall and Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, the goal is not just to combat congestion but to upend the traditional way transportation projects are funded in this country. They believe that tolls paid by motorists, not tax dollars, should be used to construct and maintain roads....
Unreliable buses and trains, sardine-packed LRTs, delayed buses because of traffic jams, safety concerns and a host of other negative issues make public transport hardly desirable as an alternative to private cars....
...All the above initiatives and problems have been recognised, considered and studied. Announcements are regularly made of moves to improve the system. Yet this comment still has to be written in such a tone. There may ultimately just be one paramount suggestion – don’t just talk, please get things moving! TheStar Online
The new leader of Finland's Social Democratic Party, Jutta Urpilainen, held her first public address Saturday focusing on climate change, education and the welfare state. Speaking to a gathering in the open-air marketplace in Hämeenlinna, Urpilainen said that her election to the top SDP post was an indication of the party's capacity for self-renewal. She continued with a call to the nation's other political parties to meet the challenges faced by the welfare state in a globalizing world. As a concrete example, Urpilainen proposed that public transport be made free of charge for all under-16 year olds. As a long term goal, she noted the provision of free child daycare. YLE
THE CONGRESS of Public Transport Associations has given the thumbs up to Prime Minister David Thompson's proposal for thousands of school children and low-income workers to travel free on buses.
...He said the proposal would also help to make a significant impact on the country's fuel bill and reduce traffic congestion when motorists opt to leave their vehicle at home and ride on a more organised transportation system.... -- nationnews.com
Fix Transport
Our leaders need to tackle climate change with real transport solutions. Instead they are arguing about rising petrol prices without addressing rising greenhouse pollution.
We're sick of waiting for the bus, train, tram or ferry while our politicians fail to solve these problems. It's time to inject some sanity into the debate.
[letters to MP's:]
- We’re really worried that the debate on petrol prices is ignoring climate change and the need to transition Australia away from oil
- It is time to take national action to fix Australia’s transport system for the long term
- The federal government needs to start funding public transport, since it is now a national priority: it must invest ¼ of the Building Australia Fund – $5 billion – in public transport, followed by at least 1% of GDP every year from now on
.... We need to see climate change and transport as related challenges, not as two separate issues for two separate ministers. We can’t afford to throw money at unsustainable solutions like petrol subsidies, we need serious investment in public transport infrastructure if we’re to keep our cities and nation moving in an age of expensive fuel... Letter from Sam Clifford - elicited by Getup campaign
Mr Bowen said the Government should even consider a "fare-increase freeze" to encourage more public transport use. "All this money is pouring in from increased patronage; maybe they don't need an increase," he said. theage.com.au
June 3rd, Charles Komanoff, the lead creator of the Balanced Transportation Analyzer, or BTA, will present an illuminating tour through this newly developed computer model that estimates the traffic impacts and calculates the benefits and costs of transportation policy alternatives.
....The BTA was employed in the development of the recently released "Kheel Report" and is available along with the report at http://www.kheelplan.org/. Participants in the June 3rd Brown Bag Special Presentation are encouraged to download and familiarize themselves with the BTA in preparation for Charles's talk.