August 2008 - Sustainability - list.sfgreens.org

[Sustain] (fwd) GP Alameda County endorses NO on Prop.1
by John-Marc Chandonia 27 Aug '08

27 Aug '08

Here's Alameda's analysis of Prop 1 - any thoughts? > We all believe in attractive alternatives to driving, especially sleek > electric trains designed in Europe, but the promises in Proposition 1 > are too good to be true. > > > The cogent reason for Greens to oppose the high-speed rail project is > that it is a public works fraud scheme specifically designed to appeal > to gullible environmentalists. If we vote for Proposition 1, as it is > currently on the ballot, the only guarantee is that billions of > dollars will be spent on engineering, land acquisition, demolition, > and construction of part of a guideway. > > > Out front, the promoters say this is a $45 billion system. The $9 > billion provided by the ballot measure for high-speed rail is only 1/5 > the project cost, and project proponents are likely to come back > asking taxpayers for additional tens of billions from taxpayers. There > is no guarantee that there ever will be a workable rail system, and > under current law, no consequences for project managers if they waste > every dime. The idea is apparently to start a very big hole in the > ground, then come back and ask for more bucks. Federal funding is as > imaginary as private investment, as Amtrak high speed rail funding > belongs to the 20 senators in Northeastern states. > > > The firm which has been prime contractor for all work authorized to > date by the High Speed Rail Authority is Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB), > notorious for unsigned engineering drawings on sections of the > Wilshire Subway that caved in, and for choosing the wrong concrete > epoxy for the tunnel in Boston?s out-of-control Big Dig. The cost of > the Big Dig ballooned from $2 billion to $22 billion over the course > of the project, and the tunnel still leaks seawater. PB and other > firms were fined $450 million under their settlement with the > Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but the rest of the money is gone, with > not very many feet of highway to show for it. > > > PB also was responsible for the multi-billions of cost overruns on the > San Jose light rail line, the Wilshire Subway, and the BART-SFO line, > and their overall business model doesn?t seem to have changed much > since. For example, one of the most recent PB productions was a plan > for a $1 billion Sacramento airport line. > > > On the high-speed rail project, not only the cost figures are > ballooned beyond belief. The Rail Authority predicts an annual > ridership of 117 million passengers on the 24-station line. As a > reality check, France?s most popular high-speed train, the TGV- > Southeast carried 18 million passengers during its 10th year of > operation. Eurostar, the London-Paris high-speed train you may have > heard about, finally managed to carry more than 10 million passengers > for the first time last year, a decade and a half after it started > running. It is hard to believe that California trains will outperform > European routes with more population. > > > The Authority claims that the project will have no operating deficit, > but the Legislative Analyst has produced an opinion in the ballot that > the operating cost would be about $1 billion annually, and suggests > that some proportion of this would have to be covered by state > subsidies (likely in the hundreds of millions annually). This would > directly harm all transit service statewide. > > > The Rail Authority has been actively goosing the Merced County real > estate market with statements about the "new California gold rush" and > its selection of the Pacheco Route, a repeat of the UC Merced land > scam with the same participants. Stations in Gilroy and Palmdale will > be minutes from the Peninsula and Los Angeles, respectively, causing > huge incentives for new exurban sprawl. The staff says they won't > build a Los Banos station but Angelo Tsakopoulos and his investor > corporations have purchased 3500 acres of land there within three > miles of the proposed stop, so the station and sprawl are likely to > happen if the route is built. > > > Severe negative environmental impacts on the Pacific Flyway > (disruption of nesting and avian mortality from striking 220 mph > trains), and noise impacts on communities on the Peninsula, and in > Santa Clara County, Los Angeles County, and Orange County are also a > major concern. > > > Promised environmental benefits are questionable. According to British > studies, 220 mph trains do not produce greenhouse gas reductions or > energy savings, because of the exponential increase in energy > requirement of trains above about 120 mph. France has GHG reductions > from HSR only because the trains are 100% nuclear powered. The > proposal here will depend on additional coal-fired plants in the > Southwest. -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc(a)sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/

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Re: [Sustain] [SFGP-A] (fwd) GP Alameda County endorses NO on Prop.1
by chkalish＠ix.netcom.com 27 Aug '08

27 Aug '08

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(a)sfgreens.org> >Sent: Aug 27, 2008 12:06 PM >To: John Rizzo <jrizzo(a)sprintmail.com> >Cc: sustainability(a)sfgreens.org, active(a)sfgreens.org, transpo(a)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(a)sfgreens.org) >http://sfgreens.org/

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[Sustain] Aug Sustain/Transpo Meeting Canceled
by Eric Brooks 26 Aug '08

26 Aug '08

Hi all, As we did last year, we've decided to cancel the August Transportation and Sustainability WG meetings in deference to the many other meetings in the next few weeks. See you in September. -- "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." – Che Guevara

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[Sustain] BBC E-mail: Solar plane makes record flight
by Rosalind Lord 25 Aug '08

25 Aug '08

Rosalind Lord saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you should see it. ** Solar plane makes record flight ** A UK-built solar-powered plane sets an unofficial world endurance record for a flight by an unmanned aircraft. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/7577493.stm > ** BBC Daily E-mail ** Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all in one daily e-mail < http://www.bbc.co.uk/email > ** Disclaimer ** The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have been verified. If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

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[Sustain] Cancel Meeting This Month?
by Eric Brooks 25 Aug '08

25 Aug '08

Hi gang, I personally am overwhelmed right now with campaign work, and we have various endorsement meetings coming up in the next few weeks, so with everyone's ok, why don't we cancel this month's Transpo/Sustainability meeting, and meet in late September as usual. Cool? -- "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." – Che Guevara

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[Sustain] Performing at Tuesday event for Eric Mar
by Don Eichelberger 19 Aug '08

19 Aug '08

Folks- I will be performing a song or two TOMORROW NIGHT at an event for Eric Mar, Green Party candidate for SF Supervisor, in case you don't mind short notice and have a free evening. Event is Tuesday the 19h at Bazaar Cafe, California and 22nd Ave., from 7-9 P.M. Not sure what time I will be on, but it's a good cause and I hope you can come. You might also be interested to check out my space at www.MySpace.com/donnyfix. Some of my music is there that I hope you will find entertaining, and I just posted a video I found at YouTube about a national news report spawned by a protest I helped organize in 1981 at Bohemian Grove. I found it very interesting, as I did not see it at the time. Hope you do, too. Ahhh, YouTube! Hope you can make it. See ya soon, Don Don Eichelberger DJ Fix Independent Productions My Blog www.greenuprising.blogspot.com My You Tube <http://www.youtube.com/DonnyFix>http://www.youtube.com/DonnyFix My Space http://www.myspace.com/donnyfix Donny Fix del.icio.us book marks http://del.icio.us/donnyfix The Hegelian/Marxist goal is emancipation. Marx said it best in 1843: "Human emancipation wll only be complete when the real, individual man (sic) is absorbed into himself the abstract citizen; when as an individual man, in his every day life, in his work and in his relationships, he has become a species-being (politically accountabe to the whole); and when he recognizes and realizes his own power as social powers, so that he no longer separates this social power from himself as political power."

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[Sustain] Clean Energy & Sustainability Carnival - Noon, Sat, Aug 16 - City Hall Plaza
by Eric Brooks 04 Aug '08

04 Aug '08

Hi all, Join the Saturday, August 16 carnival to celebrate and support: - The now qualified ballot measure for this November's election - the San Francisco Clean Energy Act - which will bring the City 100% clean and renewable electricity in just three decades! - The new organic Victory Garden in front of San Francisco City Hall, and - The launch of the Sustainable Living Road Show's national "Be The Change" Tour featuring: Eco-Carnival Games, Guided Tours of the Victory Garden, and a Bicycle Powered Stage! Join us for the fun, and to find out how you can both live a greener life, and help the San Francisco Clean Energy Act win in November! WHEN: Saturday, August 16, Noon WHERE: San Francisco Civic Center in front of City Hall (Polk Street side - from Civic Center BART/Muni at 8th & Market, cross United Nations Plaza to City Hall) See you there! Eric Brooks Campaign Coordinator Our City http://our-city.org ### This alert sent by: Our City 1028-A Howard St. San Francisco, CA 94103 415-756-8844 For more information about Our City campaigns go to: http://www.our-city.org info(a)our-city.org

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