[Sustain] [SFGP-A] (fwd) GP Alameda County endorses NO on Prop.1

[chkalish at ix.netcom.com]

Please remove me from this email list ASAP.  I am out of the country, often working on slow computers that can't accomodate the multitude of emails.

Thanks,

Charles

-----Original Message-----
>From: John-Marc Chandonia <jmc at sfgreens.org>
>Sent: Aug 27, 2008 12:06 PM
>To: John Rizzo <jrizzo at sprintmail.com>
>Cc: sustainability at sfgreens.org, active at sfgreens.org, transpo at sfgreens.org
>Subject: Re: [Sustain] [SFGP-A] (fwd) GP Alameda County endorses NO on Prop.1
>
>The bulk of Alameda's argument against Prop 1 is that all the money so
>far has gone to a corrupt contractor.  However, the legislation does
>not require that contractor to actually build it; we could still
>approve the bond and then try to get our state reps to raise concerns
>about the contractor.  Besides, if we blocked every government project
>built by corrupt contractors, we'd be living on sand dunes.
>
>I also agree that the promotional case for rail is overblown in terms
>of ridership, but we should look towards how many people will want to
>ride the rail after the effects of peak oil become more apparent, and
>the cost of driving or flying to LA becomes prohibitive.  The power
>for an electric train can come from a variety of sources, and don't
>necessarily have to come from coal.  It's much more likely to get
>something built if we start now, and not after gas becomes even more
>expensive (as that will raise costs for construction and materials,
>and voters who can't afford to drive to work will be even less likely
>to pass a bond).
>
>JMC
>-- 
>John-Marc Chandonia (jmc at sfgreens.org)
>http://sfgreens.org/