-- Josh wrote: > > Pat, > > My household of one, with one car, averages only > 7,000 miles a year. However, in years (usually every > other year) in which I travel to Toronto I put on an > additional 3,000 for that trip for a single occupant. > I would hope that if the Midtown Greenway gets completed > to the river, or even better over the river with the > railroad bridge I will bike frequently in the summer > months on a dedicated bike way.
That's pretty good. On the Midtown Greenway, I remember making a few posts on convering it to a bikeway back when Ted Mondale was talking about making part of it a trolley route. I took a bunch of pictures of the "Greenway" during Jan-Feb 2000. It got a bit complicated around the old Sears building. I biked a lot from 1979-Mar 2000, while living in St. Paul. I wanted to see a bike trail connections between Uptown, downtown Minneapolis, the U of M's, the fairgrounds, and the State Capitol/downtown St. Paul. I thought the connecting point might be near the tracks a couple blocks north of Selby and west of Snelling, near Pierce. > So how can we provide financial incentives for people > to limit their driving? Are we thinking of a tax > credit/rebate idea? The link on "Conserve, Now" by Mike Neuman identifies where some of the money would come from to fund the rebates for low miles traveled. In reply to the question "How do we communicate that global warming is a local need?" Mike wrote: There are many ways to spread the word that global warming is an problem every community needs to pay great attention to. Some ways are best done by working with others in a group setting, while other things can be done by an individual. Examples might include: Write letters to editors; Hold public meetings, lectures, teach-ins, demonstrations; Contact local officials; Distribute literature. I have been working in a small group (of about 10 people) taking actions for about 3 years now. We've contacted several thousand people in one way or another over that time, and I've had 20+ letters to the editor published in our local newspaper and in the Milwaukee paper, too. We've also worked with other organizations in getting our message out, such as the Union of Concerned Scientists. We've contacted our state and federal representatives as well. Not all our letters to the editors get published, but enough of them do to make the activity worthwhile. Depending on the newspaper's circulation, you can reach thousands of people from the local area that way. Below is an article I wrote for our "Preserve Our Climate Coalition", which is the name I proposed for our group about 2 years ago. The article was published in one of Madison's two local newspapers, and it has also been published on Madison's Independent Media Center website. (There are similar indymedia sites for most larger cities in the world.) I would highly recommend this approach for other locations. All it takes is one or two people to initiate it. To get started, all we did was run an ad in the local paper, on the community radio station in Madison and put up a few posters. At the first meeting, we agreed on a schedule for meetings for the next 6 months. We started with about 20 people from the community that way. Some folks decided it wasn't for them, so we've had about 10 of us meeting monthly for the last 3 years. We also have about 50-60 people on our "PreserveOurClimate" listserv (yahoo). Some of them post comments but don't attend the meetings. They do come to events that we schedule in the community though. Please feel free to send the article below to others you think might be intested in viewing it. You can even send it directly from the web site: <http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php? ref=tct:2004:12:04:395747:EDITORIAL> (see top of article) Good luck if you try to make this approach work in your community. You are welcome to use our group's name (POC) if you'd like to. If you do, just add a dash (-) followed by your city's name. The POC - Madison coalition also has a web site with a number of links we thought visitors and members might be interested in. Our website is located at: http://www.madison.com/communities/preserveourclimate Mike Neuman ------------------ "As Global Warming Threat Grows, Individuals Can Make A Difference" by the Preserve Our Climate Coalition - Madison, Wisconsin Published in: The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: 9A Saturday, December 4, 2004 Madison Independent Media Center http://www.madison.indymedia.org/ December 7, 2004 Summary: We are concerned the Bush administration has been ignoring sound science in deciding not to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and other sources. The recently released Arctic Climate Impact Assessment concluded that there is indeed a very real threat of more rapid global warming in the coming decades, due mainly to the buildup of billions of tons of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The Bush administration rejected the Kyoto Protocol, which would have required the United States to reduce by 2008 our annual greenhouse gas emissions to levels 7 percent below our 1990 emissions. Main Text: The Arctic climate report offers sobering confirmation that the Earth's climate is drastically changing, largely the result of humans burning far too much fossil fuel (oil, coal and natural gas). To help prevent the worst of the impacts of global warming, scientists say we must greatly reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases. According to the climate report, the Arctic is warming rapidly. The loss of ice cover is stressing animal life, such as polar bears, which depend on the sea ice for hunting and movement to obtain food. The Arctic's warming is creating monumental changes for the native Inuit population, who depend on traditional fishing methods and safe ice. On Alaska's western shores, early ice-out and rising seas are contributing to heavy erosion and costly scouring of extensively inhabited shore land. Closer to home, Madison escaped temperatures above 90 degrees this past summer, but the city did have its first "ozone action day" in early September. It is expected that warmer temperatures, combined with increased fuel burning in automobiles and trucks around the city, will cause more ozone actions days and more potentially dangerous heat waves in Madison in the future. Because most greenhouse gases remain in the atmosphere a long time (carbon dioxide lasts 50-200 years), scientists predict temperatures will continue to increase worldwide -- even if emissions are reduced. That is why they say it is urgent that we reduce our emissions now -- to try to slow the projected temperature rise. The Preserve Our Climate Coalition formed here in Madison in the spring of 2001 following release of the International Panel on Climate Change's landmark study. We are a group of individuals, scientists and local organization representatives whose overall mission is to encourage and assist Madison area residents, public organizations and institutions, private interests and elected officials in learning about and confronting the issue of the changing climate. To help reduce the threat from rapid global warming, we urge individuals, families and public and private organizations to minimize their daily and annual greenhouse gas emissions by any means they can. Here are some recommendations: The transportation sector emits the most greenhouse gases (33 percent of total annual carbon dioxide emissions in 2003) in the United States. One of the largest daily sources of individual greenhouse gas emissions is your car. Car pooling, taking mass transit more often, walking, bicycling or just avoiding motor vehicle travel are all viable options to consider before jumping in the car and driving solo. Choosing a more fuel-efficient vehicle, in combination with driving fewer miles per day, can have a compound effect in reducing your daily emissions. Avoiding travel by air will significantly reduce emissions from personal transportation. Purchasing locally manufactured products and foods reduces fossil fuels burned in transportation. Installing low-energy compact fluorescent lightbulbs in your home reduces electricity consumption. Electricity is often produced by burning coal and natural gas. Make sure you don't keep your house too warm in the winter or too cold in summer. Taking steps to better insulate your home will save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced from burning natural gas or oil or using electricity to heat your home. These measures should be considered for commercial, manufacturing and government buildings as well. Meeting your heating and electricity needs by using renewable non- combustion energy (wind, solar, geothermal) will eliminate greenhouse emissions from your home completely. Additionally, it is important to support policy initiatives to raise vehicle fuel efficiency standards, promote expansion of public transportation options, and develop and implement renewable energy sources. We need to use our creativity to develop new and better strategies for reducing global warming emissions while simultaneously improving our lives by reducing pollution and maintaining environmental justice. Any amount we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our area (and the rest of the United States) will contribute to the world's collective fight against worsening global warming. We must begin that fight in earnest, to preserve our climate, starting now. / Members of the Preserve our Climate Coalition who signed this column are Michael Neuman, Susan Nossal, Jon Bishop, Michele Moede, Stephen Burns and Sierra Powers of Madison, Derek Bauer of Oregon and David Steffenson of Columbus. Web site: http://www.madison.com/communities/preserveourclimate <http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php? ref=tct:2004:12:04:395747:EDITORIAL> Pat Neuman Chanhassen -- "Josh Kroll" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Pat, My household of one, with one car, averages only 7,000 miles a year. However, in years (usually every other year) in which I travel to Toronto I put on an additional 3,000 for that trip for a single occupant. I would hope that if the Midtown Greenway gets completed to the river, or even better over the river with the railroad bridge I will bike frequently in the summer months on a dedicated bike way. So how can we provide financial incentives for people to limit their driving? Are we thinking of a tax credit/rebate idea? Could make MN Taxpayer League people happy, so not sure if I would want that :) Josh Kroll Powderhorn Park-Minneapolis ----- Original Message ----- From: "Pat N self only" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 9:10 AM Subject: Re: [TCMetro] Re: Transportation vs. Employment alternatives > > -- "Josh Kroll" wrote: > Coherence and Metro ties are wanted in Powderhorn. > -- > > Anyone, > > How large of a $ rebate would be needed in year 2005 for you to put less > than 7,000 miles on your odometer? Assume you own just one vehicle. > > I think this post has a metro tie because implementation of a concept like > "Conserve,Now" would reduce traffic in the TCmetro area. > > Pat Neuman > Chanhassen, MN > > ________________________________________________________________ > Juno Gift Certificates > Give the gift of Internet access this holiday season. > http://www.juno.com/give > > _______________________________________________ > Twin Cities Metropolitan Issues Forum > http://www.e-democracy.org/tcmetro > Rules: Sign posts with real name. You may not post more than twice a day. ________________________________________________________________ Juno Gift Certificates Give the gift of Internet access this holiday season. http://www.juno.com/give _______________________________________________ Twin Cities Metropolitan Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/tcmetro Rules: Sign posts with real name. You may not post more than twice a day.
