Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative
Thank you, Chris I can't say where it comes from, really. The style of thinking is rather Hegelian-Marxian, the conception of car culture as some kind of force, not to mention the free and random substitution of symbolic and functional aspects. Whatever the origin, successive rounds of self-congratulatory elaboration in a vacuum does tend to develop an idea into something bigger and more outrageous than it might have been if there had been the opportunity to confront whatever error it contains. Regards Dawie Coetzee From: Chris Burck [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Fri, 22 April, 2011 5:35:25 Subject: Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative dawie, as usual you have lifted the veil and voiced what lies at the core of the discussion. however, you aren't actually suggesting that car culture rhetoric is original to the carfree crowd? On Apr 20, 2011 5:14 PM, Dawie Coetzee [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The thing to understand is that bicycling happens spontaneously where walking is a viable way to get from A to B. As such it isn't really a mode of transportation on its own, however successfully it occurs in certain places, but rather a variant of the pedestrian mode. Attempts to establish bicycling as an alternative to motorized transportation in unwalkable contexts will therefore always tend to have an element of force about them. If the aim is walking, bicycles will follow almost by accident. If the aim is bicycles forcible measures may be needed to exclude motorcycles, measures that do not appeal to me. It involves someone standing there to see that I haven't strapped an engine to my bicycle, and there are already too many people similarly standing there for other reasons. Walkability is a much better standard. It contains an element of spontaneity that renders it organic. In my experience of the Carfree crowd they are (or at least contain) a strange lot. There is an unfortunate sort of snobbery that regards a fondness for motor vehicles, and especially old low-tech high-performance vehicles, to be proof of an incapacity for independent thought. They admit to having no understanding of such a fondness yet do not on those grounds see themselves unqualified to criticize it. As a consequence they persist in getting it wrong: the fallacious notion that car culture contributes materially to transport modal choice persists. Because the idea is never questioned it is too easy for them to put the entire complex issue of vehicle-dependence, land use, and systems of economy down to being in love with one's car. It is like ascribing the exploitation of female labour to uxoriousness: it doesn't follow, and indeed the opposite might well obtain. A radical reduction in vehicle use is as good for the avid car enthusiast as it is for everyone else, and the reason for this is that a personal fondness for cars is very seldom a fondness for cars as a means of transport. Less traffic means open roads, less danger from other road users, less competitiveness; it can also mean less intrusive legislation, less strict policing, more scope for technological creativity, and more fun. But some in the Carfree movement would ensure that traffic levels always remain high enough to justify taking all the fun out of motoring, just to punish the enthusiast. If they can't have no cars they'd rather have too many, as only a few cars would cause motoring to cease to be a problem and deprive them of a basis on which to object to it. Regards Dawie Coetzee From: Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Wed, 20 April, 2011 19:40:20 Subject: Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative Thanks Hoagy A couple more to add, from World Carfree News #85 - April 2011: http://worldcarfree.net/ QUOTATION OF THE MONTH We will not be banning cars from city centres any more than we will be having rectangular bananas. - UK transport minister Norman Baker, on the EU 2050 strategy for transport, which aims to eliminate conventional cars from European cities. In anticipation of the World Naked Bike Ride (June 12) the Brighton group is planning a special event to raise funds and have a good time. It will take place on Saturday 9th April, from 7.30 to 11.30pm at the Hanover Community Centre on 33 Southover Street. The cost is £7 on door, or £5.50 in advance purchase http://www.edgeoftime.co.uk/index.php?p=t2c=all. WNBR Brighton www.worldnakedbikeride.org/brighton IMPROVING CYCLING CONDITIONS IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, USA The Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition works to improve cycling conditions in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They celebrate their 1st anniversary this April. If you live in Twin Cities and want to become involved, please contact them or come to one of their monthly meetings. Read more http
Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative
yes, well, I agree with your point about the question really being about walking, and that bicycling will naturally flow from that. wrt car culture, this is a notion that i have always considered to be corporate in origin. big auto, big oil, big development/real estate. big brother. the whole idea of america's [or germany's or japan's etc.] love affair with the automobile is endlessly repeated. i can certainly see how some, even many carfree advocates would uncritically absorb such notions even if they view it as a negative. -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/attachments/20110422/254cd5bd/attachment.html ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative
Excellent Dawie - thanks! Best Keith The thing to understand is that bicycling happens spontaneously where walking is a viable way to get from A to B. As such it isn't really a mode of transportation on its own, however successfully it occurs in certain places, but rather a variant of the pedestrian mode. Attempts to establish bicycling as an alternative to motorized transportation in unwalkable contexts will therefore always tend to have an element of force about them. If the aim is walking, bicycles will follow almost by accident. If the aim is bicycles forcible measures may be needed to exclude motorcycles, measures that do not appeal to me. It involves someone standing there to see that I haven't strapped an engine to my bicycle, and there are already too many people similarly standing there for other reasons. Walkability is a much better standard. It contains an element of spontaneity that renders it organic. In my experience of the Carfree crowd they are (or at least contain) a strange lot. There is an unfortunate sort of snobbery that regards a fondness for motor vehicles, and especially old low-tech high-performance vehicles, to be proof of an incapacity for independent thought. They admit to having no understanding of such a fondness yet do not on those grounds see themselves unqualified to criticize it. As a consequence they persist in getting it wrong: the fallacious notion that car culture contributes materially to transport modal choice persists. Because the idea is never questioned it is too easy for them to put the entire complex issue of vehicle-dependence, land use, and systems of economy down to being in love with one's car. It is like ascribing the exploitation of female labour to uxoriousness: it doesn't follow, and indeed the opposite might well obtain. A radical reduction in vehicle use is as good for the avid car enthusiast as it is for everyone else, and the reason for this is that a personal fondness for cars is very seldom a fondness for cars as a means of transport. Less traffic means open roads, less danger from other road users, less competitiveness; it can also mean less intrusive legislation, less strict policing, more scope for technological creativity, and more fun. But some in the Carfree movement would ensure that traffic levels always remain high enough to justify taking all the fun out of motoring, just to punish the enthusiast. If they can't have no cars they'd rather have too many, as only a few cars would cause motoring to cease to be a problem and deprive them of a basis on which to object to it. Regards Dawie Coetzee From: Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Wed, 20 April, 2011 19:40:20 Subject: Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative Thanks Hoagy A couple more to add, from World Carfree News #85 - April 2011: http://worldcarfree.net/ QUOTATION OF THE MONTH We will not be banning cars from city centres any more than we will be having rectangular bananas. - UK transport minister Norman Baker, on the EU 2050 strategy for transport, which aims to eliminate conventional cars from European cities. In anticipation of the World Naked Bike Ride (June 12) the Brighton group is planning a special event to raise funds and have a good time. It will take place on Saturday 9th April, from 7.30 to 11.30pm at the Hanover Community Centre on 33 Southover Street. The cost is £7 on door, or £5.50 in advance purchase http://www.edgeoftime.co.uk/index.php?p=t2c=all. WNBR Brighton www.worldnakedbikeride.org/brighton IMPROVING CYCLING CONDITIONS IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, USA The Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition works to improve cycling conditions in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They celebrate their 1st anniversary this April. If you live in Twin Cities and want to become involved, please contact them or come to one of their monthly meetings. Read more http://www.saintpaulbicyclecoalition.org/. VELOCYPEDIA OPEN CALL We are announcing open call for art works for an exhibition: Contemporary art exhibition about bicycle passion and sustainable transport. The exhibition will be held in the Gallery of National Technical Library in Prague in May 2011. Exhibition dates: 3rd May --24th May 2011 Curators: Lenka Kukurová, Milan Mikulás(tík Application deadline: 15th April 2011 Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]. The Velocity conference just took place in Seville, Spain. It has come to light how far this city has come in advancing cycle-friendly atmosphere, jumping from a modal share of under 1% to a current 7% in five years. For some glimpses into how this happened, read more http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/sevilles_lesson_to_world_how_to_become_bike_friendly#velocity2010. Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign (Scotland), has delivered the following publication: Cycle commuting with Kids http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/downloads/advice/commuting-with-kids/ which is a factsheet all about
Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative
dawie, as usual you have lifted the veil and voiced what lies at the core of the discussion. however, you aren't actually suggesting that car culture rhetoric is original to the carfree crowd? On Apr 20, 2011 5:14 PM, Dawie Coetzee [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The thing to understand is that bicycling happens spontaneously where walking is a viable way to get from A to B. As such it isn't really a mode of transportation on its own, however successfully it occurs in certain places, but rather a variant of the pedestrian mode. Attempts to establish bicycling as an alternative to motorized transportation in unwalkable contexts will therefore always tend to have an element of force about them. If the aim is walking, bicycles will follow almost by accident. If the aim is bicycles forcible measures may be needed to exclude motorcycles, measures that do not appeal to me. It involves someone standing there to see that I haven't strapped an engine to my bicycle, and there are already too many people similarly standing there for other reasons. Walkability is a much better standard. It contains an element of spontaneity that renders it organic. In my experience of the Carfree crowd they are (or at least contain) a strange lot. There is an unfortunate sort of snobbery that regards a fondness for motor vehicles, and especially old low-tech high-performance vehicles, to be proof of an incapacity for independent thought. They admit to having no understanding of such a fondness yet do not on those grounds see themselves unqualified to criticize it. As a consequence they persist in getting it wrong: the fallacious notion that car culture contributes materially to transport modal choice persists. Because the idea is never questioned it is too easy for them to put the entire complex issue of vehicle-dependence, land use, and systems of economy down to being in love with one's car. It is like ascribing the exploitation of female labour to uxoriousness: it doesn't follow, and indeed the opposite might well obtain. A radical reduction in vehicle use is as good for the avid car enthusiast as it is for everyone else, and the reason for this is that a personal fondness for cars is very seldom a fondness for cars as a means of transport. Less traffic means open roads, less danger from other road users, less competitiveness; it can also mean less intrusive legislation, less strict policing, more scope for technological creativity, and more fun. But some in the Carfree movement would ensure that traffic levels always remain high enough to justify taking all the fun out of motoring, just to punish the enthusiast. If they can't have no cars they'd rather have too many, as only a few cars would cause motoring to cease to be a problem and deprive them of a basis on which to object to it. Regards Dawie Coetzee From: Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Wed, 20 April, 2011 19:40:20 Subject: Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative Thanks Hoagy A couple more to add, from World Carfree News #85 - April 2011: http://worldcarfree.net/ QUOTATION OF THE MONTH We will not be banning cars from city centres any more than we will be having rectangular bananas. - UK transport minister Norman Baker, on the EU 2050 strategy for transport, which aims to eliminate conventional cars from European cities. In anticipation of the World Naked Bike Ride (June 12) the Brighton group is planning a special event to raise funds and have a good time. It will take place on Saturday 9th April, from 7.30 to 11.30pm at the Hanover Community Centre on 33 Southover Street. The cost is £7 on door, or £5.50 in advance purchase http://www.edgeoftime.co.uk/index.php?p=t2c=all. WNBR Brighton www.worldnakedbikeride.org/brighton IMPROVING CYCLING CONDITIONS IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, USA The Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition works to improve cycling conditions in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They celebrate their 1st anniversary this April. If you live in Twin Cities and want to become involved, please contact them or come to one of their monthly meetings. Read more http://www.saintpaulbicyclecoalition.org/. VELOCYPEDIA OPEN CALL We are announcing open call for art works for an exhibition: Contemporary art exhibition about bicycle passion and sustainable transport. The exhibition will be held in the Gallery of National Technical Library in Prague in May 2011. Exhibition dates: 3rd May --24th May 2011 Curators: Lenka Kukurová, Milan Mikulás(tík Application deadline: 15th April 2011 Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]. The Velocity conference just took place in Seville, Spain. It has come to light how far this city has come in advancing cycle-friendly atmosphere, jumping from a modal share of under 1% to a current 7% in five years. For some glimpses into how this happened, read more http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry
Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative
Thanks Hoagy A couple more to add, from World Carfree News #85 - April 2011: http://worldcarfree.net/ QUOTATION OF THE MONTH We will not be banning cars from city centres any more than we will be having rectangular bananas. - UK transport minister Norman Baker, on the EU 2050 strategy for transport, which aims to eliminate conventional cars from European cities. In anticipation of the World Naked Bike Ride (June 12) the Brighton group is planning a special event to raise funds and have a good time. It will take place on Saturday 9th April, from 7.30 to 11.30pm at the Hanover Community Centre on 33 Southover Street. The cost is £7 on door, or £5.50 in advance purchase http://www.edgeoftime.co.uk/index.php?p=t2c=all. WNBR Brighton www.worldnakedbikeride.org/brighton IMPROVING CYCLING CONDITIONS IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, USA The Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition works to improve cycling conditions in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They celebrate their 1st anniversary this April. If you live in Twin Cities and want to become involved, please contact them or come to one of their monthly meetings. Read more http://www.saintpaulbicyclecoalition.org/. VELOCYPEDIA OPEN CALL We are announcing open call for art works for an exhibition: Contemporary art exhibition about bicycle passion and sustainable transport. The exhibition will be held in the Gallery of National Technical Library in Prague in May 2011. Exhibition dates: 3rd May --24th May 2011 Curators: Lenka Kukurová, Milan Mikulás(tík Application deadline: 15th April 2011 Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]. The Velocity conference just took place in Seville, Spain. It has come to light how far this city has come in advancing cycle-friendly atmosphere, jumping from a modal share of under 1% to a current 7% in five years. For some glimpses into how this happened, read more http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/sevilles_lesson_to_world_how_to_become_bike_friendly#velocity2010. Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign (Scotland), has delivered the following publication: Cycle commuting with Kids http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/downloads/advice/commuting-with-kids/ which is a factsheet all about making the inclusion of children in bicycle trips and everyday cycling smoother. Direct download here http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/1101-Cycle-Commuting-with-kids-Spokes-factsheet-v7-1302111.pdf. LITTLE GREEN BIKE VIDEO Follow the little green bike in a hilly city! This video was produced by Massimiliano Amirfeiz (WCN member) in collaboration with Monleone Films for the Toward Carfree Cities Conference held in York (UK) last year. It shows how it is possible to get around by bike even in a city considered to be challenging such as Genoa (Italy). Thanks to folding bike and a seamless integration with different means of mass transit, uphill bike climbs or long stretches are no longer necessary. Watch the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlBHS9xl6eo For more information, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Best Keith Around the World by Bicycle Jakarta Globe Traveling by bicycle, the 37-year-old said, also allowed him to explore remote areas that would be impossible to enter by car or bus. From an early age, Garcia has been eager to learn as much about the world as possible. ... http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/around-the-world-by-bicycle/436114 Youth cyclists to bike 1800 miles along Underground Railroad The Daily Tar Heel By Alison lee | The Daily Tar Heel Local high school students will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War by bicycling 1800 miles north, following the clandestine footsteps of runaway slaves. The Spoke 'n Revolutions Youth Cycling group ... http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2011/04/youth_cyclists_to_bike_1800_miles_along_underground_railroad Young cyclists get on their bike for charity Lisburn Today LOCAL students Charlie McKerr and Adam Pyper recently got on their bikes and set off around Northern Ireland to help a building project in Africa. Charlie and Adam are using pedal power to raise much needed funds for Habitat for Humanity build new homes in Zambia. ... http://www.lisburntoday.co.uk/community/young_cyclists_get_on_their_bike_for_charity_1_2596466 Cyclists Bike for Cleaner Air in the Philippines NTDTV Thousands of cyclists joined the annual bicycle parade in Manila on Sunday to campaign for clean air and sustainable environment as part of their Earth Day celebrations. Cyclists peddled a 27-mile stretch to bring attention to alternative forms of ... http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_life/2011-04-18/cyclists-bike-for-cleaner-air-in-the-philippines.html City plans 33 miles of new bike lanes this year Indianapolis Star The city will start construction next month on more than 30 miles of bicycle lanes on eight streets. By year's end, the city will have 63 miles of bike lanes, nearly all created since 2008. The tab for 33 miles planned this year is $10
Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative
And thank you Keith, Enjoyed the Little Green Bike video and I'll be passing it along. I'm not carfree yet. Still need it four times a month. Its getting above freezing around here so the bicycle will be doing a lot of my transporting locally soon. Plan to do 10-40 mile days as the warmth settles in. I need to get off my duff and get some exercise. Like walking a few miles a day with my dog. I maybe slipping in a bicycle post now and then. Hope you don't mind mixing it up a bit. Best wishes, Hoagy On 4/20/2011 12:40 PM, Keith Addison wrote: Thanks Hoagy A couple more to add, from World Carfree News #85 - April 2011: http://worldcarfree.net/ QUOTATION OF THE MONTH We will not be banning cars from city centres any more than we will be having rectangular bananas. - UK transport minister Norman Baker, on the EU 2050 strategy for transport, which aims to eliminate conventional cars from European cities. In anticipation of the World Naked Bike Ride (June 12) the Brighton group is planning a special event to raise funds and have a good time. It will take place on Saturday 9th April, from 7.30 to 11.30pm at the Hanover Community Centre on 33 Southover Street. The cost is £7 on door, or £5.50 in advance purchase http://www.edgeoftime.co.uk/index.php?p=t2c=all. WNBR Brightonwww.worldnakedbikeride.org/brighton IMPROVING CYCLING CONDITIONS IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, USA The Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition works to improve cycling conditions in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They celebrate their 1st anniversary this April. If you live in Twin Cities and want to become involved, please contact them or come to one of their monthly meetings. Read morehttp://www.saintpaulbicyclecoalition.org/. VELOCYPEDIA OPEN CALL We are announcing open call for art works for an exhibition: Contemporary art exhibition about bicycle passion and sustainable transport. The exhibition will be held in the Gallery of National Technical Library in Prague in May 2011. Exhibition dates: 3rd May --24th May 2011 Curators: Lenka Kukurová, Milan Mikulás(tík Application deadline: 15th April 2011 Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]. The Velocity conference just took place in Seville, Spain. It has come to light how far this city has come in advancing cycle-friendly atmosphere, jumping from a modal share of under 1% to a current 7% in five years. For some glimpses into how this happened, read more http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/sevilles_lesson_to_world_how_to_become_bike_friendly#velocity2010. Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign (Scotland), has delivered the following publication: Cycle commuting with Kids http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/downloads/advice/commuting-with-kids/ which is a factsheet all about making the inclusion of children in bicycle trips and everyday cycling smoother. Direct download here http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/1101-Cycle-Commuting-with-kids-Spokes-factsheet-v7-1302111.pdf. LITTLE GREEN BIKE VIDEO Follow the little green bike in a hilly city! This video was produced by Massimiliano Amirfeiz (WCN member) in collaboration with Monleone Films for the Toward Carfree Cities Conference held in York (UK) last year. It shows how it is possible to get around by bike even in a city considered to be challenging such as Genoa (Italy). Thanks to folding bike and a seamless integration with different means of mass transit, uphill bike climbs or long stretches are no longer necessary. Watch the video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlBHS9xl6eo For more information, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Best Keith Around the World by Bicycle Jakarta Globe Traveling by bicycle, the 37-year-old said, also allowed him to explore remote areas that would be impossible to enter by car or bus. From an early age, Garcia has been eager to learn as much about the world as possible. ... http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/around-the-world-by-bicycle/436114 Youth cyclists to bike 1800 miles along Underground Railroad The Daily Tar Heel By Alison lee | The Daily Tar Heel Local high school students will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War by bicycling 1800 miles north, following the clandestine footsteps of runaway slaves. The Spoke 'n Revolutions Youth Cycling group ... http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2011/04/youth_cyclists_to_bike_1800_miles_along_underground_railroad Young cyclists get on their bike for charity Lisburn Today LOCAL students Charlie McKerr and Adam Pyper recently got on their bikes and set off around Northern Ireland to help a building project in Africa. Charlie and Adam are using pedal power to raise much needed funds for Habitat for Humanity build new homes in Zambia. ... http://www.lisburntoday.co.uk/community/young_cyclists_get_on_their_bike_for_charity_1_2596466 Cyclists Bike for Cleaner Air in the Philippines NTDTV Thousands of cyclists joined the annual bicycle parade in Manila
Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative
The thing to understand is that bicycling happens spontaneously where walking is a viable way to get from A to B. As such it isn't really a mode of transportation on its own, however successfully it occurs in certain places, but rather a variant of the pedestrian mode. Attempts to establish bicycling as an alternative to motorized transportation in unwalkable contexts will therefore always tend to have an element of force about them. If the aim is walking, bicycles will follow almost by accident. If the aim is bicycles forcible measures may be needed to exclude motorcycles, measures that do not appeal to me. It involves someone standing there to see that I haven't strapped an engine to my bicycle, and there are already too many people similarly standing there for other reasons. Walkability is a much better standard. It contains an element of spontaneity that renders it organic. In my experience of the Carfree crowd they are (or at least contain) a strange lot. There is an unfortunate sort of snobbery that regards a fondness for motor vehicles, and especially old low-tech high-performance vehicles, to be proof of an incapacity for independent thought. They admit to having no understanding of such a fondness yet do not on those grounds see themselves unqualified to criticize it. As a consequence they persist in getting it wrong: the fallacious notion that car culture contributes materially to transport modal choice persists. Because the idea is never questioned it is too easy for them to put the entire complex issue of vehicle-dependence, land use, and systems of economy down to being in love with one's car. It is like ascribing the exploitation of female labour to uxoriousness: it doesn't follow, and indeed the opposite might well obtain. A radical reduction in vehicle use is as good for the avid car enthusiast as it is for everyone else, and the reason for this is that a personal fondness for cars is very seldom a fondness for cars as a means of transport. Less traffic means open roads, less danger from other road users, less competitiveness; it can also mean less intrusive legislation, less strict policing, more scope for technological creativity, and more fun. But some in the Carfree movement would ensure that traffic levels always remain high enough to justify taking all the fun out of motoring, just to punish the enthusiast. If they can't have no cars they'd rather have too many, as only a few cars would cause motoring to cease to be a problem and deprive them of a basis on which to object to it. Regards Dawie Coetzee From: Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Wed, 20 April, 2011 19:40:20 Subject: Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative Thanks Hoagy A couple more to add, from World Carfree News #85 - April 2011: http://worldcarfree.net/ QUOTATION OF THE MONTH We will not be banning cars from city centres any more than we will be having rectangular bananas. - UK transport minister Norman Baker, on the EU 2050 strategy for transport, which aims to eliminate conventional cars from European cities. In anticipation of the World Naked Bike Ride (June 12) the Brighton group is planning a special event to raise funds and have a good time. It will take place on Saturday 9th April, from 7.30 to 11.30pm at the Hanover Community Centre on 33 Southover Street. The cost is £7 on door, or £5.50 in advance purchase http://www.edgeoftime.co.uk/index.php?p=t2c=all. WNBR Brighton www.worldnakedbikeride.org/brighton IMPROVING CYCLING CONDITIONS IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, USA The Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition works to improve cycling conditions in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They celebrate their 1st anniversary this April. If you live in Twin Cities and want to become involved, please contact them or come to one of their monthly meetings. Read more http://www.saintpaulbicyclecoalition.org/. VELOCYPEDIA OPEN CALL We are announcing open call for art works for an exhibition: Contemporary art exhibition about bicycle passion and sustainable transport. The exhibition will be held in the Gallery of National Technical Library in Prague in May 2011. Exhibition dates: 3rd May --24th May 2011 Curators: Lenka Kukurová, Milan Mikulás(tík Application deadline: 15th April 2011 Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]. The Velocity conference just took place in Seville, Spain. It has come to light how far this city has come in advancing cycle-friendly atmosphere, jumping from a modal share of under 1% to a current 7% in five years. For some glimpses into how this happened, read more http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/sevilles_lesson_to_world_how_to_become_bike_friendly#velocity2010. Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign (Scotland), has delivered the following publication: Cycle commuting with Kids http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/downloads/advice/commuting-with-kids/ which is a factsheet all
Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative
I walk about 2 miles per hour and bicycle 4-5 times faster. I'm a motorist the colder winter months. Even carpool to cut down on expenses once a month to go shopping in the big cities 25-35 miles away. Bicycling is so nice to cut down on weight gain during the cold lazy months. Some folks around here call some of the motorist crowd snobs living in their SUV's and super sized McMansions. -Hoagy On 4/20/2011 4:13 PM, Dawie Coetzee wrote: The thing to understand is that bicycling happens spontaneously where walking is a viable way to get from A to B. As such it isn't really a mode of transportation on its own, however successfully it occurs in certain places, but rather a variant of the pedestrian mode. Attempts to establish bicycling as an alternative to motorized transportation in unwalkable contexts will therefore always tend to have an element of force about them. If the aim is walking, bicycles will follow almost by accident. If the aim is bicycles forcible measures may be needed to exclude motorcycles, measures that do not appeal to me. It involves someone standing there to see that I haven't strapped an engine to my bicycle, and there are already too many people similarly standing there for other reasons. Walkability is a much better standard. It contains an element of spontaneity that renders it organic. In my experience of the Carfree crowd they are (or at least contain) a strange lot. There is an unfortunate sort of snobbery that regards a fondness for motor vehicles, and especially old low-tech high-performance vehicles, to be proof of an incapacity for independent thought. They admit to having no understanding of such a fondness yet do not on those grounds see themselves unqualified to criticize it. As a consequence they persist in getting it wrong: the fallacious notion that car culture contributes materially to transport modal choice persists. Because the idea is never questioned it is too easy for them to put the entire complex issue of vehicle-dependence, land use, and systems of economy down to being in love with one's car. It is like ascribing the exploitation of female labour to uxoriousness: it doesn't follow, and indeed the opposite might well obtain. A radical reduction in vehicle use is as good for the avid car enthusiast as it is for everyone else, and the reason for this is that a personal fondness for cars is very seldom a fondness for cars as a means of transport. Less traffic means open roads, less danger from other road users, less competitiveness; it can also mean less intrusive legislation, less strict policing, more scope for technological creativity, and more fun. But some in the Carfree movement would ensure that traffic levels always remain high enough to justify taking all the fun out of motoring, just to punish the enthusiast. If they can't have no cars they'd rather have too many, as only a few cars would cause motoring to cease to be a problem and deprive them of a basis on which to object to it. Regards Dawie Coetzee From: Keith Addison[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Wed, 20 April, 2011 19:40:20 Subject: Re: [Biofuel] NEWS - Clean transportation alternative Thanks Hoagy A couple more to add, from World Carfree News #85 - April 2011: http://worldcarfree.net/ QUOTATION OF THE MONTH We will not be banning cars from city centres any more than we will be having rectangular bananas. - UK transport minister Norman Baker, on the EU 2050 strategy for transport, which aims to eliminate conventional cars from European cities. In anticipation of the World Naked Bike Ride (June 12) the Brighton group is planning a special event to raise funds and have a good time. It will take place on Saturday 9th April, from 7.30 to 11.30pm at the Hanover Community Centre on 33 Southover Street. The cost is £7 on door, or £5.50 in advance purchase http://www.edgeoftime.co.uk/index.php?p=t2c=all. WNBR Brightonwww.worldnakedbikeride.org/brighton IMPROVING CYCLING CONDITIONS IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, USA The Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition works to improve cycling conditions in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They celebrate their 1st anniversary this April. If you live in Twin Cities and want to become involved, please contact them or come to one of their monthly meetings. Read morehttp://www.saintpaulbicyclecoalition.org/. VELOCYPEDIA OPEN CALL We are announcing open call for art works for an exhibition: Contemporary art exhibition about bicycle passion and sustainable transport. The exhibition will be held in the Gallery of National Technical Library in Prague in May 2011. Exhibition dates: 3rd May --24th May 2011 Curators: Lenka Kukurová, Milan Mikulás(tík Application deadline: 15th April 2011 Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]. The Velocity conference just took place in Seville, Spain. It has come to light how far this city has come
