Who's Driving Car-Culture
The European Union's TINA plans for roadbuilding across Central and Eastern Europe, and introducing the MATE map; The Autosaurus Awards; World Bank Robbery : how international lending institutions dictate transport strategy; How to make a Pedal Powered Sound System and Fake Parking Tickets.
Contents
Feature Articles- MEET Tina AND HER MateS
- THE AUTOSAURUS AWARDS
- DINOSAURS, POLAR BEARS, CHEERLEADERS... AND HOCKEY STICKS
- WORLDWIDE BANK ROBBERIES- CULPRITS CAUGHT RED-HANDED
- Introduction
- Studies and Reports
- Skills Sharing
- Letters
- Cartoons
- Car Cult Review
- Industry Watch
- World News
- Action
INTRODUCTION
WHO'S DRIVING CAR CULTURE? The old dinosaurs of car culture are pushing forward their plans, but you are out on the streets confronting them. Well, we hope so...In this issue we look at the European Union's plans for Central and Eastern Europe-the so-called TINA report. You may have heard the lovely name but do you know what it implies for the environmental future of the E.U. accession countries? Check it out (see page 8).
Then there's the World Bank's transport scene. Great "green" projects feature in the play "Our Dream Is" by marvellous actors of the Bank and the companies it supports (see page 22). Other "simply-cannot-miss" items are the World Car-Free Day Update, instructions in Skill Sharing for a pedal-powered sound system and two pages swarming with new resources that you should order right now! Well, we think this issue is damn good, modest as we are, but we have to praise you as well: your actions have filled four pages! Amazing! So keep up, read up and, most of all, enjoy whatever you do or read. And don't forget to tell us, all right?
STUDIES AND REPORTS
The Only Good Cyclist...
Right of Way, the group famed for stenciling pedestrian memorials in New York City, has published its second report, "The Only Good Cyclist: NYC Bicycle Fatalities-Who's Responsible?"
It analyses fatal bike crashes with automobiles in New York City streets and contradicts the claims of police that three-fourths of accidents were cyclists' fault. On the contrary, going through police crash reports from 1995 to 1998, the group found that drivers were fully responsible for 57 percent of the crashes and partially responsible for 78 percent.
The report, including complete methodology and analysis, is available at www.rightofway.org, as well as the group's first report, "Killed by an Automobile," which analyses pedestrian fatalities.
Safety in the Streets Around the World
An extensive article looking at pedestrian/bicyclist safety has been published by John Pucher and Lewis Dijkstra in Transportation Quarterly. It examines trends in fatalities, accidents, and fatality rates around the world, looks at a broad range of policies that affect cycling safety, and how they differ among countries.
"Making Walking and Cycling Safer: Lessons from Europe" is available at http://policy.rutgers.edu/papers.
Flying Found Worse than Driving
One passanger flying from London to Miami emits as much CO2 as the average British motorist driving for a whole year.This was revealed in a study called Aviation and Global Climate Change published by Friends of the Earth, the Aviation Environment Federation, the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection, and HACAN/Clear Skies.
It also shows that: the world's 16,000 commercial jet aircraft produce more than 600 million tonnes of CO2 every year, nearly as much as all the countries of Africa put together; the number of people flying will almost double in the next 15 years; tourist destinations such as the Maldives could be submerged because of sea-level rises caused by climate change; airlines pay no tax on the kerosene they use and therefore do not have sufficient incentive to conserve fuel or increase passenger load.
For more info, e-mail info@foe.co.uk.
Environmental Reforms of Transport Market
Reforming the transport market could solve a variety of problems while achieving economic, social and environmental objectives.
A paper by Todd Litman identifies distortions in the current market, explains why they exist and offers strategies that could reduce them.
Three potential state level reforms are discussed in terms of their impacts on e.g. vehicle travel, emissions, congestion and consumer expenses. The study states that these reforms would surely bring far more benefits than their initial costs would be.
The study "Transportation Market Reforms for Sustainability" is available on the web page of Victoria Transport Policy Institute www.vtpi.org.
Choking in Madrid
Ecologistas en Acción has published a study on air quality in Madrid, analysing the oficial data collected by 25 monitoring stations.
They found that in 1999 the stations registered a total of 1,674 cases of exceeding limits established by E.U. directives on various air pollutants (NOx, SO2, ozone, particulates, etc). The obvious conclusion of the study was that car traffic was responsible, and that restrictions to car use should be enforced.
See www.nodo50.org/ecologistas.
A Very Public Solution
"There is no relationship between population density and the quality of public transport." So claims a Melbourne University academic, Dr. Paul Mees, also of the local Public Transport Users Association. Although Toronto is comparable in population density to Melbourne, its public transport works fine while the Melbourne's is appalling. And in the parts of Melbourne with good public transport, it's been due to historical accident rather than density.
"Successful public transport systems have everything planned as a system," Mees continues. In Toronto there is only one planning section in their public transport agency dealing with all types of vehicles being used in the city. Buses and trams meet trains so that people can change easily and they all run frequently even at night and weekends.
Mees' book, A Very Public Solution, does not concentrate on the mentioned cities only; it quotes many more examples from all over the world, compiling an impressive bibliography of studies, articles and reports.
The book is published by Melbourne University Press. Paul Mees and the Public Transport Users Association can be reached at 353 Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy 3065, Australia or at mees@coombs.anu.edu.au.
The Same Old Story
Public transport in the United States is getting a smaller share of federal money than highways. Have you always thought that but could not get any figures to support your feeling? Here you are. The state-by-state analysis by the Surface Transportation Policy Project finds that in the last two years, the portion of federal spending going to new road capacity grew 21 percent while spending on other transportation modes fell by 19 percent.
The study puts its findings into context by citing the latest transportation research, public opinion polls, and examples of the types of transportation investments made in the 1990s. The study "Changing Direction" is available on the web site www.transact.org.
The Days of Warming
A draft federal report on global warming predicts widespread impact on the United States. According to "Climate Change Impacts on the United States," drought-like conditions will hit every region of the country, sea levels will rise and urban populations may wilt under searing temperatures.
The report is the first national assessment of how global warming might affect the country and economy. It predicts little impact on the U.S. economy as a whole, but predicts a rough time for some communities. It was prepared by an advisory panel that included government officials, academics, and representatives of industry and non-governmental organisations.
SKILLS SHARING
A RECIPE FOR PEDAL POWER
Recycling the remains of the automobile and bringing music and dancing to the streets. What could be more perfect than this easy to make bike-powered sound system?
Bicycle generators can be made for next to nothing and used to power just about anything you want, not just sound systems.
The Ingredients
- An old bike. An excersise bike will do but will mean you are less mobile.
- A fan belt or something similiar.
- An alternator or dynamo-dynamos are better than car alternators but harder to find.
- A car battery. Find out if it has a built-in trans-former or rectifier. If not, you will have to get one separately.
- Lugs for connecting the cables between the alternator and the battery.
- And of course, to make the party happen you will need a sound system, lots of music, happy and willing pedallers, a street and people that want to party.
- Connect the alternator to the bike. This can be done in a number of ways, either welded on, or bolted on through a hole in the bike. It must have leverage to be able to swing into and away from the fly wheel and the fan belt must be able to turn when pedalled from the bike.
- Connect the fan belt to the wheel (fly wheel) of the bike, and onto the smaller wheel of the alternator. It is important that the smaller wheel of the alternator is lined up with the fly wheel-otherwise the belt will come unattached.
- Connect a battery to the alternator. It is important to have a battery in between the alternator and the load, be it a sound system, toaster or whatever, as this soaks up extra voltage and provides steady voltage for the equipment. Check whether the battery has a diode output. A diode allows electricity to flow one way and not the other-most vehicle alternators and dynamos should already have them fitted.
- Using a permanent magnet alternator or dynamo as a generator means that, to wire it up, the positive and negative terminals of the battery and alternator have to be connected. To prevent loss of energy between the battery and generator, keep the cable lengths as short and thick as possible.
It may be necessary to give the field coil inside the alternator a gentle helping hand to get the magnetism going before pedalling. This need only be for a short time and a switch can be connected to the front of the bike that can easily be disconnected and reconnected.
In order to find the correct terminal for the field coil (can be difficult to find), touch the wire from the positive terminal onto each of the spade terminals. The field coil terminal becomes apparent when the alternator is much harder to turn when pedalling. This only needs to be done at the beginning of pedalling.
Once you have connected everything up, it is time to start pedalling and partying.
Mixing
In theory you should be capable of producing about 12 volts DC, or 720 watts. However it's unlikely that you will actually produce that much, as some energy is lost in the equipment. It should, however, be enough to power a car stereo that can handle impedances as low as two ohms. This, connected with a four-ohm base speaker with a pair of satellite mid-range speakers, means you can be a mobile sound unit. The whole rig can feasibly fit on a bike trailer and run on the energy you generate from the bike.
In order to power loads that require more energy, you can increase the number of bike generators connected to the same battery or increase the number of batteries. Car batteries are self-regulating, so you cannot overcharge them.
This is an outline of how to create a basic bike-powered system. There are several refinements that can be made. For example, if you are using a car alternator, having gears makes it easier to pedal. But that's another story... n
With thanks to Richie@greenloops and Chog@kreaktivnii. If you are concerned about playing with electrical gadgetry, please ask someone to help you.
ENDLESS FUN WITH FAKE PARKING TICKETS This one is truly "hours of entertainment for the entire family," as those old TV commercials used to boast.
This authentic-looking "parking ticket" (above) has been found adorning windshields all over San Francisco. Who knows who could be responsible for such illegal activity...Well, we have our ideas. The mail-in part of the ticket, pre-addressed to the mayor's office, comes complete with this pre-written message:"Dear Mayor, Board of Supervisors, and City Planners: This is just a short note to let you know that I would drive my car less (or not at all) if there were more bike lanes, traffic in residential neighborhoods was calmed and if MUNI [the tram system] actually was fixed and expanded. San Franciscans deserve alternative transportation choices without the risk of life or the loss of time. Sincerely, [blank]."
On the ticket's second sheet is a list-disguised under the heading "Request for Review"-of facts and figures on the environmental and social cost of driving, ending with the statement "Use the attached postcard if you wish to protest to the City of San Francisco."
The Adbusters fake parking ticket (below) has on its back side a late-19th-century prediction (proven accurate) on what the automobile would do to society:
"It will create giantised cankers of cities, false opulence of suburbs, ruinised countryside, and unhealthy conglomerations of specialised farming and manufacturing. It will make every man a tyrant." Further down, in all caps, reads: "If You Dispute This Fine, the Trial Will Be Held in Your Own Conscience."
You get the idea-yet another way to break through people's closed minds, just like "subverted" advertisements. If people know that they are about to receive a radical message, their brains often tune out to insulate themselves from ideological shock. But if you can disguise a radical message in a medium they won't suspect, minds can be opened. Not that we're about to incite our readers to engage in illegal behaviour, of course...
- RG
LETTERS
Hooked on Bikes
When I was reading about the car-driving addiction in Car Busters #7, I could not help myself thinking about bike-riding addiction. I have not read any article or research on this issue, so my comment is based on my personal experience only.
I have been a cyclist for three years now and I think I am addicted. Last year, for six months I was cycling each day around 30 km, but then I went to a summer school, and each morning we were taken by mini-bus to the university. After a few days, I began to be really nervous, not only from not being able to autonomously decide about my daily routine (loosing my freedom), but also from lacking the adrenaline-the excitement, the fear and the pleasure I had been experiencing on a bike.
I notice as well that if I leave my town and go somewhere else without my bike-even for one day-I start missing it. I keep on staring at other people's bikes, wanting to get on one. The anxiety I feel when my bike does not function is the same kind of anxiety that I have experienced (and seen other people experiencing) when suddenly a computer or modem is out of order. I feel I won't be able to do anything at all until I fix my bike. Once I fix my bike, life becomes normal again.
The first component of this addiction is the independence (from public transport, friends with cars...) that the bicycle gives us, and once we have experienced that independence, it is very hard to get used to living without it.
The second component is increased adrenaline. In my opinion, the more we get into exciting and dangerous situations (the more adrenaline we produce), the more adrenaline we need.
And the third component is the overwhelming feeling of moving beyond the natural speed of walking or running.
Thinking about it, I can easily see these three components applying to car-driving addiction as well, although that addiction has many other components.
Ana Miskovska Kajevska
Skopje, Macedonia
Scandal is Not Helpful!
I feel that violence and vandalism are the wrong methods of bringing attention to the global car-free movement.
Nobody likes opinions forced upon them. A scandalous/creative movement will not accomplish anything if it makes people angry. Angry people will react in angry and violent ways. If you walk over a car, the owner gets mad and beats people up. If bike lane symbols are painted in a car lane, it may cause accidents and death. How would you feel if car owners vandalised the "Car Busters" office?
It is better to get attention through peace and kindness. Many old people would join Car Busters. They cannot drive.
Also join forces with other groups with similar views in other countries.
Petra Rosová
Prague, Czech Republic
[Ed. response: We did not wish to give the impression that we encourage violence. We think that the best non-violent direct action tactics avoid making people angry, and focus on humour, creativity and maximum impact. However, when they are shocking and outrageous, to make a point clear, it can cause the viewer to react angrily-it is a sign that you have broken through their complaisancy.]
The First Willing Participant
Hi, my name is Suzanne Hunt, and I work at Broadway Bicycle School in Boston. We are interested in organizing something for World Car-Free Day in September.
I am currently receiving your e-mails, and wanted to let you know that we'll do something. What that something is exactly, we don't know yet. We'd love suggestions.
I just subscribed to your mag, so hopefully I'll get the latest issue soon. Thanks for the great work.
Suzanne Hunt
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
And Some More on World Car-Free Day
I really want to eliminate cars from the cities, that's a key thing to do for all the reasons you certainly know. I feel lonely here and want to join a group of people aiming in that direction, to reclaim our streets, or at least to get rid of aggressive car drivers who threaten the life of citizens. I'd like to organize a gathering in Montreal on the Car-Free Day (Sept. 21, 2000) with people of a group to walk in the streets and attract TV cameras, with signs, and ask government to do something to eliminate the car monopoly on our roads. Let's walk on our planet.
Louis-Luc Le Guerrier
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
[If someone out there is willing to help Louis-Luc, or if you're planning any action, contact us and we will forward your details to him. He will surely appreciate it.]
Hola, trabajo en la organización en Catalunya del dia europeo sin coches, estoy muy interesado en recibir información de vuestra jornada, asi como las acciones que propondreis para el dia 21 de septiembre. Vuestra idea, tendrá tanto o más repercusión que la jornada del dia 22, aunque pienso que las 2 són necesarias.
Un abrazo y mucha suerte,
Salvador Fuentes Bayó
Programa de Mobilitat i Accessibilitat
Servei de Medi Ambient
Diputació de Barcelona
Hi guys, here in North Spain, in the city of Gijón (Asturias) we will try to organise the WCFD on September 21.
We are bike messengers and we'll try to join ecologists and other cyclist people. We will let you know more about it soon. Bye!
Óscar Suárez
Gijón, Spain
Bicycles, Suits, Kilts and Conferences
As one of the organisers of the Velo-city conference next year (Edinburgh and Glasgow, September 17-21) I was amused to read your account of Velo Mondiale [in your July monthly bulletin].
Yes, the cycle movement does have rather more shirts and ties now (although I was the one in a kilt). But we would certainly be happy to have you involved next year. Your comment about workshops that were more like lectures was one that I heard a lot. I can't promise that we will be radically different, but we do want to spread the event beyond the conference.
Keep in touch, and can you let me know if World Car-Free Day is likely to coincide with our conference next year.
Ian Maxwell
Edinburgh, U.K.
CAR CULT REVIEW
Cars will "eliminate a greater part of the nervousness, distraction, and strain of modern metropolitan life."
- prediction, Scientific American magazine, 1899
Bored of Disneyland?
Then take your kids to Car City!
Autostadt is the newest attraction for the German public-a 25-hectare park with sculpted hills and a canal-that has everything for the car lover.
Featuring all Volkswagen's brands-Audi, Bentley, Volkswagen, Seat, Lamborghini and Skoda-it is not a museum. It aims to educate and entertain visitors, and persuade them to buy a car.
On arrival visitors walk through a chamber in which they experience wind, cold, heat and vibrations-the tests a car undergoes before approval for sale. Then there's a 12-metre-long model of an engine, which you can take your kids through and show them how an engine works. What fun!
Quite spectacular are the glass towers. Two towers, each almost 50 metres tall, stand full of new cars waiting for their owners. They can take up to 400 cars each; four more towers will be built soon. The inspiration for this great new park comes from Japan and the United States-Disneyland, as well as Coca-Cola and Nike's visitor centres.
And if that is not enough, a new car factory in Dresden is being built out of glass-there visitors will be able to watch a car being made over a cup of coffee.
- Magazin Dnes
Damn the Environmentalists, Full Speed Ahead!
I want you to close your eyes for a moment.
Now, imagine you are a cute and furry little animal with bright eyes and fine white whiskers protruding from your deliciously button-like pink nose. You are scurrying home to your cute and furry family when suddenly an Audi comes speeding by at 70 mph and you smack against its fender, leaving a slight dent and an unsightly smear before your bloodied, lifeless body is tossed onto the shoulder of the road, where it dries into a sort of small-furry-animal jerky and is eaten by crows.
This sort of scene takes place thousands of times a day, but it doesn't have to. We're bigger than them, stronger than them, and smarter than them, so what right do those puny creatures have to impede the courses taken by our vehicles? And, for that matter, what right does anything, be it tree or rock or building or large body of water or simple lack of streets, have to block the traffic flow? This and many other problems could be solved were the governments of the world to unite in a worldwide paving programme.
Countless millions in the world are dead set against this idea. Does that make it wrong? Obviously not. They may miss their gardens, parks, majestic forests, mountains and all that other jazz, but they'll get used to it. Asphalt, being black, is going to absorb an enormous amount of heat, increasing the planet's temperature by God knows how many degrees. Therefore we will need to increase the power of our air conditioners dramatically. These will produce nearly twice as many chlorofluorocarbons as existing air-conditioning units. The unique ability of CFCs to destroy ozone, as witnessed by the depletion of the ozone layer, will be harnessed to counteract the fetid clouds of smog pouring from the oil refineries into our atmosphere-the main component of smog is ozone. Perfect solution.
A paved earth would save countless hours of labour. Tasks that used to take up most of a summer's day would become little more than "When I was your age..." stories, told to young children by their disgruntled grandparents. Mowing the lawn, trimming the hedges, weeding the flower bed, even raking leaves-all these would be obsolete and unnecessary. Lawnmowers would lie rusting and decrepit, nothing but relics of an outdated past. The time once spent on these projects could be used for tending underground hydroponic farms or fixing potholes.
People all over the world suffer from allergies to a variety of spores, pollens and dander. In a world covered by asphalt there would be no ragweed, no pollen floating through the air to clog up your sinuses. The air would flow through you like diamond snow. Nothing but the sharp scent of gasoline and newly laid blacktop warping the beams of the internal combustion sun.
That is my dream. A planet of endless flatness, nothing but transportation desert, burning, black, and barren. People speeding along in sleek steel vehicles, no need to turn signals or traffic lights, the wind in their hair, the bleak landscape flowing by at Mach 3, the freedom and exhilaration that comes only with speed glowing in their eyes (or are those tears from the enormous wind that is driving their nose hairs into their foreheads?). There is no need to stop and smell the roses. There are no roses. Yes, this is my dream. I wake in the middle of the night with a single opal of a tear on my cheek and the word "beautiful" hanging wistfully from my lips. One world, one people, one slab of asphalt.
- Unknown author writing to the Car Talk Radio Show website
Turn Your Car into a Mobile Billboard
"Autowraps brings together people who want to earn extra money while driving in traffic and companies who want a unique medium to promote their brand or product."
"It's advertising in the fast lane," says Jim Kennedy, Autowraps' chief marketing officer. Even if you are trapped in gridlock.
As long as you drive 1,000 miles per month, you can get paid to have your car turned into a mobile billboard.
The only grounds for refusing an advert is a moral disagreement with an alcohol, tobacco or sex-related advertisement. But once the programme is large enough, Autowraps hopes you will even be able to choose which advertisement you want on your car. Imagine!
- Autowraps.com, Adbusters
INDUSTRY WATCH
Dig This! What do you get if you tear up 8.5 miles of countryside, trashing 358 acres of land containing three special sites of scientific interest, 10,000 trees and two civil war battle sites and pour concrete over the whole lot?
In the illogical, road-fanatical world of England, believe it or not, you win an award.
Environment-wrecking Mott Mac-Donald, the organisation responsible for this solid achievement, won the Concrete Society's Millennium Award. And as they have spread the stuff over half of China, Hong Kong and Malaysia, to name but a few, perhaps it's no wonder.
In fact, the only place they have not yet concreted is a park in southern Mongolia-but only because they haven't heard of it yet.
These stonehearted tree killers were the Newbury Bypass over-all winners. They also took away the civil engineering category and were awarded a certificate of excellence. n
- Schnews
Schnews, a British monthly activist bulletin, is available via e-mail or on this web site: www.schews.org.uk.
Ford Makes Shocking SUV Confession
Allegations by environmentalist and anti-car campaigners received a boost this May, when Ford finally admitted at its May shareholders' meeting that 4x4s are extremely dangerous and damaging to the environment.
"Ford…which depends on SUVs for much of its profit, acknowledged today that they cause serious safety and environmental problems," as the New York Times summarised.
Ford was the proud recipient of the Earth Day 2000 Greenwash Awards, presented by Corporate Watch, for a massive new environmentally themed advertising campaign and sponsorship of Time magazine's "Heroes for the Planet" special issue. When issuing the award, Corporate Watch pointed out that the rise of the SUV has meant the lowering of fuel efficiency at Ford. In the ten years since global warming first became an issue, fuel efficiency at all the major auto makers declined as a result of building more SUVs. Ford's decline was the worst of the major companies.
SUVs have cornered just over 50 percent of the market in America and are expanding into Europe, "spouting three to five times more pollution than the average car beast, [and] capable of killing at just 16 kilometres per hour," as an article in Car Busters #8 stated.
Admitting its products are harmful is a big step forward. Ford's dilemma is what to do now. You've guessed it! In the same breath that Ford admitted that its vehicles were bad for the planet, it said it would continue to make them.
According to Bill Ford, CEO and chief environmentalist at Ford, part of the reason is that "if we didn't provide that vehicle, someone else would."
The dilemma cries out for a solution. Fortunately, there is one at hand; Corporate Watch argues that the time for regulation is nigh.
"Ford's bombshell announcement is really a disguised cry for regulation so that it can improve the environmental aspects of its products substantially without leaving GM and Chrysler behind," suggests Corporate Watch.
- Corporate Watch
Corporate Watch can be reached at 16B Cherwell St., Oxford OX4 1BG, U.K. or via www.corporatewatch.org.
Pipeline Politics
Premier Oil's construction of a major pipeline in Burma has caused an uproar amongst environmental and human rights campaigners.
The pipeline would stretch from the Andaman sea to the border of Thailand-threatening the fragile ecology of the area.
Despite pressure from the U.K. government advising Premier Oil to cease its activities due to appalling human rights abuses, the project continues. Charles Jamisen, Premier's CEO, argues that his company's involvement in the country is helping to bring about necessary changes.
This "help," according to observers, allegedly includes aiding and abetting the military in a war against Burma's civilians. "An estimated five million people have been forcibly exiled in 'satellite townships,' where they are compelled silently to construct Burma's new facade of 'economic growth,'" says John Pilger in Hidden Agendas.
Essential to the oil development programme, though vigorously denied by those commercially involved, is Burma's construction of a major railway. This is being built entirely by slave labour, with children as young as ten making up a significant part of the workforce. As they work they are watched over by the "State Law and Order Restoration Council." Those not working to standard are punished by torture and death.
Labourers are extracted from villages nearby; refusal to take part is not an option. If a whole village refuses to take part, the head of the village is publicly beaten.
The villagers themselves have no idea what they are working on.
"We were told nothing," one Burmese woman remonstrated. "We overheard we were building a railway so that a company could run a pipeline through."
Refugees who escape the oppressive regime to Thailand fair no better. The Thai government, who will be the largest importer and consumer of oil, has a history of returning refugees in exchange for natural resources. In 1993 Thai troops burned down two large refugee camps in connection with the pipeline. An estimated 60,000 people a day are forced to work on the railway; every 18 months about 300 die. n
- Free Burma Coalition
More information on the campaign:
www.freeburmacoalition.org.
Yet Another Bloody Pipeline
Not content to be outdone on the environmental and human rights abuses front, a consortium of companies including Exxon-Mobil, Chevron and Petronas are waiting for confirmation of funding from the World Bank for an 11,000-km pipeline stretching from Chad to Cameroon's Atlantic coast. The project involves the drilling of 300 oil wells in Chad's southern Doba region.
NGOs opposing the pipeline say the project will cause environmental and social damage. The pipeline, attendant roads and construction sites will threaten biodiversity, intensify deforestation and could result in the extinction of the Baygeli pygmy tribe whose tribal grounds would be desecrated by the pipeline.
The companies involved in the consortium all have dubious backgrounds: Petronas has already been questioned due to violations of human rights in oil fields in Sudan; Exxon-Mobil has already been implicated in murders of local people in the Doba region of Chad; Chevron is currently being sued for violations of international human rights over its alleged complicity in Nigerian police killings. Despite the U.K. government's opposition to one dodgy pipeline in Burma, U.K. International Development Secretary Claire Short has thrown her weight behind this one.
"Chad and Cameroon are two desperately poor countries," she said. "In oil they have an incredibly valuable resource that can be used to accelerate their economic development and reduce poverty."
Building the pipeline will cost some $US3.7 billion, and the World Bank is providing loans and assistance worth around $US365 million. Yet the total revenue that Chad and Cameroon can expect to make within 25 years totals just $US2.5 billion. Much of this revenue will be chanelled into paying back Cameroon's crippling foreign debt-to, oddly enough, the World Bank.
- KB
BP-Amoco's New Strategy: Hot Air and a Whole Lotta Gas
Surprise, surprise. BP-Amoco is capitalising on the new-found fear of the possible effects of climate change on company profitablility.
"BP-Amoco is considering a massive expansion of its renewable energy programme over and above the $250 million it has already earmarked to spend over the next five years," says The Guardian. "In a move that will delight its environmental critics, such as Greenpeace, the major oil company plans to approach leading investors to see whether they would support a significant change of tack."
Selling oil or gas is a tough business. For what you have to sell is a product essentially no different from that of your competitors. Oil and gas companies have to find every possible opportunity to differentiate their product and to build up their brands. And climate change provides just one such opportunity.
Since 1995, when John Browne took over as CEO, BP has branded itself as the environmental oil and gas company. It has won numerous awards, including the 1999 Earth Day award. Becoming far bolder than other oil companies, which simply sponsor environmental projects (such as Shell's Better Britain Campaign), BP now intends to approach investors about the expansion of renewable energies.
What might those investors think? According to financial analysts at Merrill Lynch, BP-Amoco "has transformed itself from a regional, mainly upstream [exploration and production] company, to a global energy powerhouse in two years."
Yet this transformation has nothing to do with renewable energy. Rather, it refers to the expansion of BP's downstream activities, especially in petrol retailing.
With production moving increasingly into "frontier" areas, where indigenous peoples and fragile ecosystems are threatened, the danger of inciting the next big environmental or human rights campaign is always a risk for an oil company. However, it is from risk that money is made. And with BP's environmental branding, it is in a position to gain advantage over its competitors from these threats to the industry's image.
The reality of BP's commitment to renewables can be seen in the figures: its much-trumpeted £750 million investment in photovoltaics company Solarex in 1998 amounts to just 0.8 percent of its recent oil and gas buying spree: £67 billion spent on Amoco in 1998, £16 billion on ARCO and £1 billion on Mobil Europe's downstream assets in 1999, £3 billion on Burma Castrol and £600 million on a stake in PetroChina in 2000. The real shift is not to renewables but to gas. According to Merrill Lynch, "Perhaps the most dramatic turnaround has been in natural gas...[BP] is now potentially one of the top three global gas players." Indeed, the Financial Times reports that gas is by far the biggest growth market in the energy sector, as countries switch from the more expensive coal, encouraged by electric power companies.
For BP, trumpeting a concern for climate change has clearly succeeded in diverting environmental criticism-as the quote from The Guardian above shows-while at the same time setting the company apart from its competitors, making the brand itself a more profitable commodity.
- James Marriott and Greg Muttitt, Corporate Watch
WORLD NEWS
UNITED STATES
How to Kill a Car II: Golf Balls Dimple Vehicles
Sixty-one golf balls landing in the parking lot of a car dealership clubbed the business for $1,300 in dents, dings and broken windows. The police and the business' manager doubt the incident resulted from a few wayward strokes.
Employees at the business found the golf balls the morning of May 29 along with damage to two vans and a car that were parked in an area for cleaning prior to being put on the sales lot. All the balls had a red stripe.
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 5
A Pay Raise For Not Driving to Work
Maryland has brought into law a measure that gives employers a strong positive incentive to pay their employees added income if the employee agrees to give up their parking spot at work.
It is also the first law in the U.S. to extend tax credits to non-profit organisations. The measure, supported by both business and environmental groups, will help address traffic and air pollution problems and give a special pay boost for lower wage workers while saving employers' money.
"With this law, Maryland has established a new national model for smart commuter incentives. It is a lot cheaper, faster, and more effective way to address congestion and pollution problems than building new highways," said Michael Replogle, transportation director of Environmental Defense.
- Environmental Defense, May 11
SWEDEN
Stockholm's "With My Car Day"
The Swedish capital is not going to hold the "In Town, Without My Car Day" on September 22. One of the Municipal Councillors has explained that such stunts only create trouble and he believes that the day might make people more negative to the E.U. Paradoxically, the initiative of the E.U. environmental commissioner Margot Wallström was refused shorlty after the mayor of Bogotá, Peñalosa, and his counsel, Mr. Britton, received the Stockholm Challenge Award for Environment for the Car-Free day of Bogotá. - Svenska Dagbladet, June 22
MALAYSIA
No More Car-Free Days
President Estrada has issued a series of memorandums rejecting a proposed car-free day and suspending the Saturday "odd-even" scheme being implemented by the Metro Manila Development Authority on three major roads in Metro Manila.
In justifying his order to scrap the day's "odd-even" scheme, Estrada said Saturday was the "only day when salaried workers and employees can attend to their personal chores."
- The Manila Times, April 6
ITALY
Car-Free Italy
The fifth Car-Free Sunday took place on June 6 and turned out a success. More than 200 Italian cities were car-free; and only three out of 20 regional capitals did not join in. The new Italian Environment Minister Willer Bordon had announced this additional Car Free Sunday as soon as he was nominated. Then he allocated millions of Euros to information projects focused on sustainable mobility and to further development of car free days. Thus Italy will experience four more Car-Free Sundays in autumn this year, including the European one.
Apart from claiming to be the first person in Italy saying that Car-Free Sundays are not enough, Minister Bordon also said: "Mobility has become something theoretical: in theory we are free to use our car, but often we remain blocked in traffic congestion. It is not only a health and environmental problem; but it also involves life quality in whole, and even other aspects like economy or the protection of monuments and our artistic patrimony."
- Federazione Amici della Bicicletta
HONG KONG
Driving Against Air Pollution
Drivers from more than 10 unions clogged downtown Hong Kong traffic on May 7. The protesters, in some 20 taxis, trucks, minibuses and tour buses, took about an hour to drive 2.8 miles through the business district, slowing the late morning traffic.
They demanded more government help to cut air pollution by converting their vehicles from using diesel to cleaner liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and upgrading the LPG distribution infrastructure.
- Earth First! Action Update, June-July
INDONESIA
Earth Day a la Jakarta
On April 22 around 1,000 pedicab drivers commemorated Earth Day by pedaling their becaks on the city's main thoroughfares, even though existing law actually prohibit them from passing through these streets. State Minister of Environment, Sony Keraf, tried to boost the commemoration of Earth Day by calling on people to refrain from using automobiles on Sunday.
President Abdurrahman, aware of the appeal, refused to do so. "I must go to Surabaya. It's impossible for me not to use a car. You should have informed me about the programme much earlier," the President said with a smile.
The inhabitants of the capital showed mixed feelings about the appeal, some of them quite happily following it and others citing various reasons why they could not.
- The Jakarta Post, April 23
INDIA
Children's Manifesto
A cycle rally of hundreds of school children from Delhi culminated at the Prime Minister's residence on Earth Day, April 22.
As a part of the Right to Clean Air campaign by Centre for Science and Environment, a delegation of 22 children presented the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with the Children's Manifesto on Clean Air. On behalf of all the children of India they expressed their concerns on the growing problem of air pollution in Indian cities and their right to clean air.
The manifesto was an appeal for a more secure and sustainable future. It aimed to draw the attention of the government and automobile manufacturers to the serious issue of deteriorating air quality in towns and cities of India.
- Centre for Science and Environment
ASIA
Car-Free Asia
Sixteen cities in South Korea went "car-free" on April 23 to celebrate Earth Day. In Seoul a major thoroughfare, Sejong Street, and the surrounding area was filled with an environmental fair, including a bicycle parade and environmental art exhibit, to draw attention to air pollution problems. Japan, Indonesia and Nepal
also participated in car-free days as part of an Asian focus on air pollution.
- Eric Britton, Ecoplan
NIGERIA
Funeral Turns into a Festival
Ken Saru Wiwa's body has finally been laid to rest. An estimated 10,000 people gathered in Bane-Wiwa's native village-to mourn the executed leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), to celebrate the return of his remains to Ogoni, and to vow that the struggle will continue. Four days of activities preceded the burial, including tree planting, the opening of a memorial student activity center, and an interdenominational church service on Easter Sunday.
On the day of the burial, Ogoni people danced and sang songs to commemorate the MOSOP activist's soul and his fight against Shell. "It was a sad day, but there was also happiness-the pride of people who know they have made history," said Anne Rolfes who attended the burial ceremonies on behalf of Project Underground. Other reports from Nigeria describe a massive caravan of people and cars that blocked traffic for over four hours.
"To be an Ogoni used to be a shameful thing," said one Ijaw woman at the ceremonies. "At university, you wouldn't want to go out with an Ogoni boy. They didn't want to speak their language. But Ken changed the thinking...Now they hold their heads up and say 'I am an Ogoni.'"
- Project Underground, April 24
Fuel Price Woes
A 50 per cent rise in fuel prices in Nigeria in early June sparked riots and a general strike across the south-western part of the country. In response the Government has relented and imposed a much smaller price rise.
Indonesia is also struggling again with the thorny issue of its huge subsidy on fuels. It is an enormous drain on Government resources at a time of continuing economic crisis. And most of the benefits of the subsidy seem to go to the wealthier parts of the population. Yet no one seems to have an answer on how to phase out the subsidy without hurting the poor and endangering the fragile political stability.
- SUSTRAN News Flash, June 14
VIETNAM
Hanoi on Buses
A bold plan for buses to meet one-third of Hanoi's public transport needs by the end of this year has run out of gas. The plan approved by the government two years ago promised to increase the number of buses to more than 1,500 operating on 66 routes. This would require total investments of VND 493 billion (US$35.2 million), which is apparently lacking.
However, bus managers in the city have tried hard to make full use of what little investment was received and there are now 31 bus routes where there were only 13 before the decision was made. Unfortunately, they also lose a lot during operation because conductors often do not give tickets to passangers and keep the money.
As it stands, all three bus companies in Hanoi have to rely on sideline businesses to run their services, from producing children's toys to garaging cars and operating maintenance workshops. That's despite the 1999 annual report showing that a record of 11.5 million passengers used the service, up 30 percent from previous years.
- SUSTRAN listserve, April 19
PHILIPPINES
Fun Walk with the Mayor
The city of Naga embarked on clean air and climate action initiatives with nonmotorised transport at the helm. Entitled "Fun Walk and Bicycle Padyak Environ-Run," the City Government of Naga led hikers, cyclists, cops on bikes and "padyaks" (foot-pedalled sidecars) around the Central Business District of Naga on June 27 to July 2 in commemoration of Environment Week.
Naga City officials have realised that promoting non-motorised transport (NMT) would reduce the use of motorised vehicles and subsequently reduce emissions and congestion. Engaging the NMT actors then would raise their awareness on their contribution to the community and environment.
The Environ-Run therefore started off with a Foot Parade by participants from the 27 barangays. The padyaks were arranged according to their Padyak Associations carrying billboards with slogans on transport and environment. Cyclists then were led by the Cops on Bikes, barangay captains, cycling enthusiasts, along with no less than the City Mayor and Councilors.
- City Government of Naga and Cities for Climate Protection Campaign
AUSTRALIA
Dangerous Safety
New Australian draft road safety strategy puts most priority on car occupants and explicitly aims to discourage vulnerable road users, such as cyclists.
Although in 1999 the Minister for Transport and Regional Development launched a national cycling strategy promising to promote cycling and improve cyclist safety, just a year later the same minister's department prepared the national road safety strategy. It identifies cycling as less safe than motorised transport and says that transport and land use planning should discourage less-safe transport modes.
A senior member of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) even said that promoting cycling and walking might be "health" and "environment" policy but it is not transport policy. The Bureau obviously ignored submissions from cyclists all over Australia. Fortunately, at the last minute State transport ministers in Australia declined to endorse the strategy.
- SUSTRAN News Flash, June 14
ACTION
STREET PARTYING ALL ACROSS EUROPE
Romania: Timisoara, April 15. The first ever Romania Street Party took place as the culmination of the Towards Car-Free Cities II conference.
Tinerii Prieteni Ai Naturii organised the action: finding a street, booking a DJ, and arranging police permission.
On the day, the late arrival of the police to block the street led us to try and do it ourselves. We encountered incredible driver aggression: they drove across the pavements, they drove the wrong way around the roundabout, they drove straight at us at high speed until we were forced to leap out of the way, or they drove slowly, pushing through the lines until we found ourselves sitting on a car bonnet being carried down the road! They were willing to risk our lives, but not to be told by us that the street was closed.
So it was quite a relief when the police arrived, and we could concentrate on painting the new pedestrian crossings and bike lanes and dancing in the street.
A crowd gathered-amused and bemused by our antics, they seemed to enjoy the fire shows, the car monster attacking pedestrians (see photo) and the giant puppet breaking and having a quick roadside repair. Several street children joined in the dancing, while the local cyclists' group showed their support by taking advantage of the car-free street to ride up and down and perform bike tricks.
And at the end of the party as I tried to cross the now-cleared street to get my belongings, one policeman shouted that I couldn't cross. Not there anyway-and he pointed to one of the zebra crossings we had just painted and told me to use that!
- Debbie Waters, Car Busters
Scotland: Glasgow, May 27. A successful street parade and party was held with over 100 people. It finished at Gartocher Terrace, Glasgow, after going via Shettleston Police Station. It was cup final day so there were no police (often 200 officers attend much smaller demonstrations).
Ireland: Dublin, May 27. Ireland's very first Reclaim the Streets party started in confusion, as two different locations were given. The samba band didn't show, the sun didn't shine, and the bouncey castle didn't come. But it didn't matter as they did have an old banger car equipped with a sound system. By 3 p.m., Dublin traffic was brought to a standstill. As hundreds of protesters rolled the car down to block the bridge, the air was filled with the sound of drums and cheers. "Reclaim the Streets" banners were flown, everyone danced onto the street, and blew bubbles to the surprised, immobile cars on O'Connell Bridge. They held the road for an hour before heading off on a parade through the town, blocking the traffic for another hour or so before the rain got too much.
Czech Republic: Brno, May 27. The second annual Brno Street Party began in the park. The sun shone, the band was late, and people danced in the fountains. The issues of the day reached beyond car culture with info stands by groups such as Earth First!, Amnesty International and your very own Car Busters.
About 4.30 p.m. protestors stormed into the road-claiming it in no time at all (a more amazing thing than you might believe if you've never seen right-wing, Czech riot police getting pissed off in their heavy clothes on a hot summer day finally getting a chance to take it out on the "anarchists"!).
Four guys with drums played music. People danced. Others made speeches. The street was blocked for an hour, before the party went on a roving walk around town, blocking several key streets for the next two and a half hours.
A moral victory to the protesters was had when the roving party found itself blocking a bus. A pathway opened by magic to allow the bus through. Except for the police line that is. They refused to let the bus through despite the protesters' calls, chants and songs.
Anti-Car in Nizhny Novgorod
Wanting to highlight the dangers of car culture, and encourage people to take a role in the way their cities develop, we organised a day of action against cars.
On April 27 we hit the streets in gas masks. Banners had such slogans as "Cities Are For People, Not For Cars"and "1 tram=250 Fewer Cars." We decorated a tram with bright balloons and "Transporting Without Polluting" slogans, and gave people in trams sweets to thank them for their ecological choice. Leaflets contained information on organising car-free zones, detecting living zones and more.
Is the problem serious? You can ask the parents whose children were injured in traffic accidents on their way to school, you can remember doubling of childhood asthma during the last five years. You can ask residents whose yards and green zones suffer from garages and parkings.
- Irina Fufayeva, Ecopolis
The Dolls That Do
Having tried repeatedly to stop the irresponsible parents parking on the zig-zags outside my kids' school-talking to the drivers, phoning/writing to/hassling the local school, police and council-with no respose, a few of us decided to do a protest action.
Well, it took some time coming, but we did it, and made a pretty sizeable spectacle, prompted by the offer of national TV coverage.
We had two new permanent signs made, two feet by four feet each. And some banners naming and shaming the persistent offenders, quoting the H Code, and asking local police and council if they care.
But the thing that really wound people up was the dolls. We had bought some old dolls from Oxfam, and broken their necks, then painted tomato ketchup on them, added 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize rosettes with registration numbers of the top offenders (we had monitored over two weeks). Then we awarded them to the winners like they give out the Oscars.
The main difference being that the winners' speeches were not quite as polished...Golly, I never heard such abuse!
Only now, suddenly, the problem is an issue on everyone's agenda-parents, the school and the council. So it worked.
- Unknown writer, via Urban Cyclist U.K. listserve
Pro-Roader Gets Pie in the Face
On June 28, two protesters pied Tim Eyman, one of Seattle's biggest pro-roaders. He is behind a newly proposed transport measure, Initiative 745, which would require that 90 percent of public transportation funds be spent on roads and car ferries. It would reduce funding for public transit, light rail, van pools and bike paths.
"This was not throwing a pie," said Monte Benham, Eyman's right-hand man. "It was a push in the face. They smushed it into his face."
The pie incident, which the police consider a third-degree assault, happened as Eyeman was delivering a batch of signatures in support of the transportation measure which he wants on the November ballot. It was performed by a pair standing out of a crowd of a several dozen people protesting the initiative. Minutes after the attack, Eyman walked to the nearby news media offices to show the damage to reporters. His face, neck and polo shirt were still dripping with pie. He was unable to identify the fruit in the pie, only guessing it was either strawberry or cherry.
The two piers sprinted away, so they could not help him to tell.
- Seattle Times, June 29
Not to be Outdone
Another pie-in-the-eye was thrown by Dutch Earth First! (GroenFront!) activists on April 28. Their target was M. Hart-Nibbrich, the chief spokesperson of the Betuweline Project-a planned cargo-railway route between Rotterdam, the world's largest port, and the Ruhr, Europe's largest industrial area. It's the fifth project in Trans-European Network system. Originally budgeted at about five billion euros, it's calculated to now cost up to ten billion. It also threatens rare animals and will cause habitat destruction. And increased pollution if it is finished.
The immediate incentive for the pieing was the courtcase against ten Betuweline activists. Eight were fined 300 euros for tresspassing, and two were fined 450 euros for public violence. The district attorney isn't satisfied with the fines and is appealing the case, hoping for a prison sentence.
- Groen Front
And Even the Officials Played
Saturday, June 10, saw our Day of the Environment, celebrated with several actions. The main event was a mass bike ride through the city-the whole centre of the city was closed to cars by City Hall during our ride. A mass of bicyclists toured the city ringing their bells, demanding bike lanes and other rights and facilities.
Angry drivers had to sit in their cars and watch the cyclists touring the city. We explained to them that if the city is owned 365 days a year by cars they shouldn't be angry if, just once a year, it is owned by cyclists and pedestrians.
Other actions also took place, such as cleaning up green areas near the city-and even the Director and the Chief Inspector of the regional Environmental Protection Agency (and families) joined in! Many school children were involved in the eco-painting and eco-short story competitions: they were given T-shirts and other symbolic prizes. We also had an open-air music festival.
This was the third edition of the Marsul Biciclistor (March of the Cyclists) and we hope to spread this kind of action to other cities. They are easier to organise than typical Critical Mass rides, because Romanians are still quite hard to convince to openly fight for their rights and participate, if necessary, in an action that is not particulary approved of or supported by the authorities.
- Radu Mititean, Napoca Cyclotourism Club, Cluj Napoca, Romania
Couch Potatoes...
April's Critical Mass action in Santa Cruz was a great success. It was called the Earth Day Eve Global Warming Critical Mass. Eighty riders showed up with signs, the local TV stations actually did a good job covering the event and it got a nice photo in the local paper. On the TV news they said, "Contact your Senator and urge them to ratify the Kyoto Protocol."
We rode to the local Chevron station (among other places) and shut it down for a good 20 minutes, then we rode over to Shell and gave 'em hell! And, yes, there was even one woman on a couch on a bike trailer.
- Bill LeBon, Ozone Action
Prague 2000: A Call to Action
Car Busters has found itself in the thick of it again...In September, 15,000 delegates from the World Bank and IMF will gather for their 55th annual meeting. The agenda?: the further liberalisation of the world economy by defining new loan priorities and structual adjustment conditions.
Over 20,000 people will converge in Prague in support of the huge wave of global resistance that is rising up against the destructive consequences of economic globalisation. And to express their demands for global justice and equality.
The week-long convergence starts September 22 with a counter summit and a political arts festival, and culminates on September 26 with a global day of action.
For more info and to get involved: Initiative Against Economic Globalisation; Prague2000_cz@hotmail.com; web: http://inpeg.ecn.cz; tel: +(420) 604- 556309.
Belfast: Europe's Largest RTS?
On July 12, Northern Ireland held Europe's largest Reclaim the Streets event. Though not originally planned as a typical street party-style event, ten solid days in early July saw numerous barricades placed across roads in dozens of neighborhoods and major roads. Streets were shut down across the entire province in small villages and on major motorways.
I had a lovely time cycling the city, which is usually completely choked with stinky cars. Women and children largely staffed the barricades and roadblocks in the day time, and young boys played football on streets that would normally have been busy with polluting cars. Even the six-way intersection at Shaftsbury Square in the city centre as well as Northern Ireland's top three motorways were completely shut to traffic as thousands came out in support of a major campaign to block cars.
All of you seasoned Reclaim the Streets campaigners are likely drooling with envy by now, but in all honesty the reason behind the demonstrations was not car-related at all, but because the Protestant Orange Order was forbidden by the government from holding an annual march in a Catholic area.
Even serious anti-car radicals might cringe at the result: over 90 cars and trucks were burnt out at barricades as a part of 10 days of rioting; 2,000 fully armed troops were called in; police patrolled in bomb-proof Land Rovers with three tons of steel plating. A man was killed and dozens of police were sent to the hospital.
Well, if only the violent sectarian part were removed, and a bit of eco-consciousness added, Northern Ireland would have a Reclaim the Streets movement to be reckoned with!
- Jason Kirkpatrick
FEATURES
MEET Tina AND HER MateS
by Debbie Waters
Pandering to road lobbies. Serving business interests.
And destroying our environment and local communities in the process. Is this what the European Union is for?
All the criticism, lobbying, protests and actions that have surrounded the Trans-European Network (TENs) for transport have failed. Failed, that is, to prevent the expansion of this European Union-sponsored initiative from carving up Europe's countryside into new and widened motorways.
Dictating Transport Policies
October 1999 saw the publication of the Transport Infrastructure Needs Assess-ment (TINA) Report for 11 Central and Eastern European countries, all applying for European Union membership.
Accession to the E.U. is essentially a process of candidate countries conforming to European Union laws and structures. Which gives the E.U. the perfect opportunity to dictate to Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia exactly how they should shape their transport policies over the next 15 years. And by implication the next 50, as the forced importation of Western European car culture will be difficult to overthrow.
And dictate they will. Once upon a time the Swiss held a national referendum and voted to ban all lorries from passing through the Alps. Their intention was to protect their environment and heritage, but businesses complained. The E.U. brought all its pressure to bear on them and the ban was dropped.
The same will happen to any of the nations subject to TINA if they vote in "green" governments that value environmental protection over pandering to the wishes of road-dependent Western European businesses. Why, after all, should any business switch to rail or river transport of goods if they can get the E.U. to force other nations to do as they are told, and build them roads instead?
"The [TINA] projects are for the interest of long-haul transit traffic from the E.U., often ending a lot further than the countries who build them. We are building the infrastructure for the E.U. to transport their goods."
- Ferenc Joo, Hungarian Traffic Club
Roads, Glorious Roads…
The TINA assessment began with the assumption that the transport links in the CEE nations must be compatible with the existing TENs network plans. After all, a European-wide network is the aim. A short history of the TENs reveals their failings: first suggested in the Maastricht Treaty in 1991, TENs were created in the back rooms of power in Brussels. They were not put forward to a vote by the European Parliament, the only democratically elected body in the E.U., until 1995. The ministers attempted to introduce stricter environmental controls, but their amendments were twice rejected. And it is no wonder that the environ-ment sank to the bottom of the priority list and motorways rose to the top, given the intense lobbying of the European Roundtable of Industrialists. Consisting of 50 "captains of industry" from Europe's largest multinationals-including Fiat, Daimler-Benz, Shell and BP-this high-profile lobby has pushed for large-scale road construction since its 1984 "Missing Links" report. In 1991, the Roundtable was one of seven road lobby groups in the Motorway Working Group, created to define the Trans-European [Road] Network. Of course, not one environmental organ-isation was invited to join them.
Not surprising then, that the TENs include approximately 75,000 km of roads. And in order to be "compatible" with the TENs, TINA had to link to these roads. So the 18, 683 km of roads in the TINA network would have been inevitable even if there had been no further road lobbying. But, of course, there was.
"TINA is really ridiculously called the Transport Infrastructure Needs Assessment-I'd rather call it a wish list of the road building lobby."
- Mari Jussi, Estonian Green Movement
Behind the Via Baltica (one of the backbone corridors included in TENs, connecting Helsinki with Warsaw) is the Finnish road lobby. The holy trinity of road lobbies: a construction company, Lemminkäinen; a design company, Viatek; and an oil company, Neste. So are we surprised to discover the plans include a threat to the Rospuda River Valley, one of the most precious peat bog systems in Poland? Botanists call this region "The European Diamond" as it is the only place where you can find the musk orchid "Herminium monorchis." It is just one of many special ecosystems and natural parks and reserves that the TENs and TINA are threatening.
Rail? No, More Roads!
But wait! The TINA network includes 20,924 km of, mostly existing, railway lines-more kilometres than the road network. Isn't this showing a commitment to sustainable transport?
Well, let's see. The TINA report notes that railways are more "energy efficient and environmentally friendly," and the 50-80 percent drop in rail traffic across Central and Eastern Europe should be reversed. But (because folks, there always is one...) Europe's railways "lack interoperability." A strong focus on rail transport would require restructuring across Europe. "International experience suggests that railway restructuring is a long term process," difficult and expensive to achieve. And its is not worth going to all that trouble when we need roads.
For the assessors believe that road transport volumes are going to increase enormously and the only way to avoid problems is to have "sufficient infrastructure capacity." As more cars and lorries are an inescapable fact and bigger, better roads are the only way to prevent congestion there is only one thing to do…
As Neil Kinnock, the then Commissioner for Transport Policy and Trans-European Transport, announced in 1998, "rail infrastructure is well developed and the main need is for maintenance and upgrading, while the road system is less developed. Investment decisions need to reflect this reality..."
Roads won, rail lost. The investments will make that clear. That and the delight of the European Roundtable of Industrialists.
The Costs
For the road network alone, 44,304 million euros are required. Plus 47,596 million more euros for the combined costs of the rail and inland waterway networks, seaport, airports, river ports and multi-modal terminals.
Yet despite this being a European Union initiative, with countries obliged to conform as part of the accession process, the Union is not putting up much of the cash. CEE nations can apply for Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession (ISPA) funds. Half of the 7.3 billion euros available through ISPA funds from 2000 to 2006 will be used for transport. As these funds will likely be focused on large infrastructure projects, mainly new motorways, road construction schemes will be easier for countries to fund than any alternative projects. Which will quickly subvert the intentions of even the best of our governments.
ISPA equals large-scale invest-ments. But even so countries must at least match the ISPA funding. It is expected that the TINA nations will need to use approximately 1.5 percent of their annual Gross Domestic Product until 2015 to pay for their share of the TINA network. If all goes well, accession to the union will boost national economies, causing an average growth rate of 6 to 7 percent to their GDPs for five years. Which will make TINA relatively affordable. But for whom? These growth rates are reliant upon "a strict policy of structural reform." Is this the structural reform that elsewhere has led to the growth of economies at the expense of subsistence farmers who lose their land to large-scale industrial agriculture, or workers who are laid off as factories are automated? So who really pays for TINA? And if nations see no boost in their Gross Domestic Products when they join the E.U.? Then they would need to pay 1.5 percent per year for longer, distracting money that could be better spent elsewhere. Not to mention payment of interest rates. If ISPA funding is refused and public funding insufficient, countries can make up the investment shortfall through loans from International Financial Institutions and other banks. The main lenders are the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the World Bank. These institutions are primarily interested in large-scale infrastructure projects, not sustainable transport; their investment priorities encourage road development over rail and largely ignore public transport or light traffic schemes. Loans for roads will be the easiest to find. Roads win again.
As for the Environment
The TINA group glossed the costs related to the cleaning up of the environment if the network is completed. Destruction of countryside. Road construction through National Parks. Extinction of rare species. A doubling or tripling in car emissions. Acid Rain. Global Warming. The destructive potential is endless and yet these costs have not been investigated.
Environmental Impact Assessments are required. But how useful are they? The decision to build a road is made before an EIA is called for, if it is called for. So EIAs never really consider the alternatives, especially not the possibility of not building. More importance is given to economic than environmental issues. Neither the public nor environmentalists have a voice in a process which is usually conducted by engineers. In the case of the Øresund link in the TENs network, this led the team conducting the EIA to find the complete loss of a species perfectly acceptable.
Moreover, no Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment looked at the cumulative environmental effects of the network as a whole. Bits and pieces may be assessed, but if you fail to assess the whole network you cannot know the real environmental impact.
The value attached to environmental protection, however, is low. In an annex at the back of the TINA report are two tables: the proposed values for maximum tolerable air and noise pollution. TINA suggests obedience to these figures, and E.U. and national environmental legislation, as "compliance with these rules will…reduce the costs related [to] the alleviation of environmental damage." But...
"It must be stressed that most of the above are more pertinent for dense transport networks, as is the case in Western Europe. It will be interesting to try to develop values for less dense networks and remote areas, as is the case in several TINA countries. The relaxing of some standards will have a significant effect in reducing the cost of investment."
- TINA Final Report
Beware Central and Eastern Europe. The standards for environmental protection may be lowered now, whilst your roads are not so full, but once the construction happens and the cars come, what then? Do you think it will be an easy task to get the emission standards raised again? Will the investment costs saved be put aside for cleaning up the damage?
Coming to a Town Near You?
It began in the European Union. It is being extended to Central and Eastern Europe. Where will this massive road network reach next?: "The extension of the TINA network to third countries (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Croatia, etc.) should be an issue for future negotiations with these countries…This process has already begun."
Who is Fighting it?
Many groups are involved in the fight against TINA and TENs. Tactics vary greatly. Some take a very officious approach, for example sending delegates to the Transport and European Union Enlargement Conference, held in March 2000, to argue that the E.U. should not impose its environmental mistakes on Central and Eastern Europe.
Some have taken a very activist stance. Dublin environmentalists, fighting Euroroute 1 connecting Belfast, Dublin, Rosslare and Paris to Madrid, set up a protest camp and even went on hungerstrike when imprisoned. The tree sit has also spread into Poland, in the case of the action camp to defend the Saint Anna's Mountain nature preserve in 1998.
Others have taken a legal approach. The Danish Ornithological Society took out a civil case against their government, claiming a planned motorway was in violation of the Birds Directive.
And even more are working locally and nationally to highlight the violations in the implementation of TENs and TINA: Estonia's Green Movement is, for example, ensuring EIAs and economic feasibility studies are undertaken when their government "forgets" in the hurry to apply for ISPA funding.
"Our group does nothing strictly against TINA/TENs...
So far our project has been opposing the official transportation policy because it involves highways. Not opposing highways directly as part of the TINA. The TINA is not known to the larger public under its name."
- Marcin Harembski, Transport Advocacy Office of the Polish Ecological Club, Warsaw, Poland
But the protests rarely have a cross-border focus. We are fighting a trans-European network of road construction that has full E.U., road lobby and international investment bank support. To achieve success against such powers, protests need cross-border solidarity, yet groups are fighting against their local section and not even naming the problem. TINA. TENs. The public is not alone in not knowing what these acronyms stand for-many of us also do not understand the huge scale of these projects.
Coordinated protests along the entire route of these trans-national motorways could awaken public consciousness. And while protests directed at national governments have their place, coordinated cross-border actions could be effectively aimed at the real culprits. The European Union and their backroom buddies, the road lobby and investment banks.
Find out who is fighting TENs/TINA by turning to our Resources page and picking up a copy of the new MATE Map.
THE TINA FINAL REPORT
- The Report lays out only the backbone network for Central and Eastern Europe-the priority routes. Many countries are applying for ISPA funding for "Additional Network Components." Even more kilometres of roads.
- The Network constists of 18,638 km of roads, 20,924 km of railway lines, 4,052 km of inland waterways, 40 airports, 20 seaports, 58 river ports and 86 terminals.
- Much of this network already exists, but upgrading is required. In the case of motorways, this means increasing the number of lanes, often doubling capacity.
- Hundreds of kilometres of new motorways will be built. Many of the planned routes pass througn national parks, protected areas and areas of Special Scientific Interest.
- It is planned that the follow-up report, the Transport Infrastructure Network Adaptation, will assess the environmental and socio-economic impact of the TINA network.
- But TINA network recommendations are being incorporated into national transport policies, and strategies for the use of ISPA now-even though the socio-economic and environmental impacts will not be known for another four years.
- Yet, despite the environmental damage and costs of construction, the network will not achieve its aims-in 2015 bottlenecks will still exist, and while some areas of the network will have too much infrastructure, others will have too little.
Your Chance to Vote for the Dinosaurs of Car Culture
We at Car Busters think it is about time that The Autosaurus Awards were born. We want to name and shame the dinosaurs in our midst who refuse to admit that the end of the automobile age is coming. To present awards to those responsible for the worst car-related abuses-forcing car culture on other nations, paving the planet, resource extraction in national parks or tribal lands, corruption to prop up car culture or industries, and all their other dodgy trickery.
We ask you to help us in creating the First Annual Autosaurus Awards. Take a look at the following awards categories and then cast your votes for the politicians, corporate leaders, so-called environ-mentalists, media barrons, etc., that are driving the expansion of car culture in your corner of the world. Please include a paragraph or two in explanation of why you have named the person or industry that you have, so we may chose the final winners.
All reasons for nomination should be related to cars, road building, oil extraction or other aspects of car culture-even if the award title does not necessarily demand it.
The Award Categories are as following:
- Most Unbelievable "And Still They Got Away With it" Corporate Act
- Biggest Abuse of Public Trust - Government
- Biggest Abuse of Public Trust - Industry
- "I Love my Phallic Symbols" - Most Vehemently Pro-Car Magazine/TV Programme
- "Sneaking Round the Corridors" - Most Dangerous Transport Lobbying Group
- Most Convincing "Green" Politician to Betray the Environment
- Worst Government-Sponsored Environmental Abuse
- Most Disgustingly Pro-Car Celebrity
- Lifetime Dis-Achievement for Car-Related Destruction
- The Special Autosaurus Award-if there is a specific piece of political balderdash, corporate destruction or abuse, or anything else that you know of, which does not fit into any of these categories but which certainly deserves an Autosaurus Award, then tell us all about it and the worst of all wins!
All responses should be sent to carbusters@ecn.cz, or mailed to Car Busters, Krátká 26, 100 00 Praha 10. Czech Republic. We would appreciate your responses by September 1.
Stop the Presses!
While putting together this issue of Car Busters, two other ideas for awards have come up on the e-mail listserves "carfree" and "access."
Eric Britton of Ecoplan International has proposed a car-free city Annual "Honor Roll"-giving awards to the best cities of the world in which to live car-free.
The second idea is somewhat the opposite of the first, proposing a "Car-Free Hall of Shame" of cities trapped in the old way of thinking, accomodating the car at all cost. The negative orientation and detail of the Shame Awards could be an important contributor in the world fight toward more sustainable transport-since often the positive examples, take Zurich as just one such example, immediately lead most people to mumble, "well, Zurich is different."
See www.ecoplan.org.
DINOSAURS, POLAR BEARS, CHEERLEADERS... AND HOCKEY STICKS by Carbonosaurus Trix
The World Petroleum Congress saw 3,000 delegates from the world's largest oil and gas companies gather in Calgary to compare notes and plot the extraction of the planet's hydrocarbons.
Over 2,500 protesters gathered as well-to put forward the proposition that more oil meant more trouble, and to urge a quick transition towards renewable, clean energy from the sun and the wind.
Street theatre and direct actions were used to peacefully target multinational oil corporations such as Shell, Petro-Canada, Suncor and Chevron for their crimes against the earth and its inhabitants- an environment degraded by oil spills and poisonous fumes, a climate cooking from burning ever more gasoline, and human rights atrocities from slavery in the Sudan to Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others hanged in Nigeria, all for oil.
This report from the Dinosaurs Against Fossil Fuels gives a great overview of the actions surrounding the event.
Every dinosaur loves a good party. And if you believed the hype, the World Petroleum Congress was shaping up to be one brontosorean bash.
Three thousand dinosaurs were about to descend on Calgary-CEO dinosaurs and marketing dinosaurs, engineer dinosaurs and chemist dinosaurs. They were flying in from Oman and Texas and Toronto, to be greeted by our very own prehistoric Prime Minister, Jean Cretin.
Representatives from many of the largest corporations ever to roam the earth were about to converge on Cowtown, and for a full glorious week, from June 11 to 15, they would haggle over how to suck the earth's remaining fossils from the ground to power the leaf blowers, air conditioners and urban assault vehicles of the privileged world. They'd be comparing various speedy, high-tech ways to pollute the oceans, deforest the land, and poison the air, trampling human rights and aboriginal cultures under their big tough claws.
Hey wait a minute... Dinosaurs competing to heat up the planet and destroy their own species?! Dinosaurs bidding for the rights to burn the bones of their own ancestors?! From their snug lair in far-off East Vancouver, the Dinosaurs Against Fossil Fuels smelled a rat.
Dinosaurs, as everyone knows, aren't very smart. In fact, they have brains the size of walnuts. But every real dino knows, from experience, that extinction stinks. They immediately realised that the dinosaurs arriving in Calgary were imposters-simply humans, acting like pea-brained reptiles. Someone had to save their puny species before they wiped themselves out. It was up to DAFF to set the fossil record straight. To these ends-saving the world and partying-the Dinos, with special dispensation from the ancestors to burn a few fossils for the cause, strapped their bicycles onto a rented Dodge Caravan and set off across the Rockies.
Two days later, the Dinos rolled into Alberta. The next morning, Sunday, six bleary-eyed reptilians woke up on the living room floor of the Calgary Critical Mass house, to the knowledge that in a couple of hours they would kick off the pre-WPC protest frolics with their much-ballyhood All-Dino Anti-Oil Cowboy Revue.
Stomachs aflutter, they executed numerous harmonic renditions of their stirring WPC opus, Dead River Valley, stepping over Evil Brain who was crouching in the kitchen with his hands over his ears. Agent Humble, equipped with digital video camera, portable satellite dish, fig newtons, and corkscrew, straddled the scooter. Suitably practised and fitted out with authentic counterfeit conference delegate badges and straw cowboy hats of Korean manufacture (so as to blend in with the locals), the Dinos mounted their doggies and pedalled over the Bow River into the heart of darkness.
On arrival at the Market, the Dino delegation was warmly received by a few joggers pushing baby carriages, a TV camera crew, and several dozen police officers carrying spring-loaded tear-gas cannisters. As several Dinos rode loop-de-loops through the cobblestoned plaza's Doric columns, a helmeted motorcycle officer approached Carbonosaurus. Whipping out a notebook he began to glean intelligence on the invading hordes of riotous protesters.
"Where are you folks all from?" he began, striking a casual pose.
"We're from the Alberta Tar Sands," responded Carbonosaurus, pointing at her delegate badge.
"I see that. And how did you get here?"
"We came through the pipeline and bubbled out of a geyser."
The officer squinted and delved deeper. "How many of you are coming to Calgary?" he asked, pencil poised. "Thousands!" exclaimed Carbon-osaurus, waving her claws in the air, "maybe millions!"
Looking deeply troubled, the officer holstered his pencil and slipped away to debrief. His dismay was not surprising. In preparation for the impending riots, the Mayor of Calgary had pulled out all the stops, turning the entire downtown into an impenetrable maze of chain-link fencing. The police department employed 600 additional officers. They brought in a special riot-control expert from Scotland Yard, whose heavy accent reportedly rendered his instructions unintelligible to the perplexed Calgarian cops, who had already been subjected to several hours of American training videos. These imparted such tips as: "The protesters may have contacts in the media, and may be well trained in how to deliver 'sound bites,' which will engender sympathy for their cause."
Luckily, our disengenuous reptiles had no such motives, and continued to blithely trumpet their own naivete and point out to the walnut brained motorcycle cops that their bikes were really smelly.
The Dinos proceeded to perform modified old favourites like You Can't Get to Heaven (in a limousine, 'cause the Lord don't sell no gasoline), Dead River Valley, and their gospel anthem, Oleum Petroleum, for the assembled throng of curious shoppers and amused reporters.
After snacking on a stray dachshund, the rowdy reptiles reconvened at the aptly named Convergence Space, where a dangerous mob of banner-wielding puppet-handlers was gearing up for The Counter Petroleum Parade: a Rally for Oil Accountability and Responsibility. The dinos downed a few fig newtons, rested for a spell, and headed off to the parade.
As they wound their way along a sunny bike trail, the sound of chanting grew louder. The Dinos burst through the trees to meet the oncoming parade, and were greeted by cheers and hoots of recognition from the 2,000 or so jubilant marchers, many of whom had previewed Extinction Stinks at the previous day's teach-in.
At the front of the parade were Edmonton's tirelessly phunky Radikal Cheerleaders, boys and girls alike decked out in frisky anarchist red-and-black skirts and ponytails, shaking their pompoms to the beat of catchy chants like "Solar, wind are safe and clean, Let's shut down the oil machine! We are here to let you know The time has come for oil to go!"In a town where boys in skirts can still be mighty unsettling, the sexy Cheerleaders raised more than a few eyebrows.
The menacing marchers included a posse of heavily sweating polar bears, protesting the fate of the melting ice caps. Fortunately, the cartoon-comic End of Oil superheroes were on hand to rescue the polar bears from their melting ice caps.
There was a smiling stilt-walking sun and a weeping earth, strolling windmills, and kids on tricycles trailing balloons on strings. There were many, many cops, looking just a trifle embarassed, possibly because their smart red-and-black outfits coordinated uncannily with the Cheer-leaders' skirts. The parade finally arrived at Olympic Plaza where speeches were made, songs sung, and a football match played between the oil industry and the people of the world, with the Earth as the ball.
Finally the Dinos mounted the stage and sang Oleum Petroleum. Unfortunately, just as the Dinos launched into the climactic 17th verse a phalanx of police swooped down to arrest a youth for wearing a studded bracelet, and everyone left to take photos of the event. The Dinos adjourned for a well-earned supper and an early bed.
Monday at the crack of noon the Dinos joined the Day of Action, a coordinated effort designed to bring the oil industry to its knees. About 300 marchers paraded through the downtown throughout the day, pausing before each towering glass-sheathed oil company headquarters to enumerate its transgressions, entertain the media, and give the cops something to do.
Some played a modified sort of hockey game in the shadow of the Shell tower. It was Earth against (S)hell, and by treachery and greed the (S)hell team was leading. Players for the (S)hell team included Mark Moody-Stewart, CEO, Torture and Bribery. At one point the referees (who represented the government) threatened to penalise the (S)hell team for an oil spill, but (S)hell argued their way out by maintaining that the spill was actually caused by Greenpeace having rammed their oil tanker.
The game proceeded apace with accelerated species extinctions. There was plenty of foul play, especially as the (S)hell team tried to asphyxiate the Earth team with car exhaust and gas well flaring. The Earth team almost succumbed until a sudden infusion of people power turned the tide and brought (S)hell to its knees.
Meanwhile, Radisaurus was making use of a stack of pink "environmental violation notices," which he placed on the windshields of the haphazardly parked police cars barricading the road. This set off a veritable media feeding frenzy. Like supermodels at Cannes, the shy Dinos were swarmed by the micro-phones and whirring cameras of the voracious paparazzi. Such is the price of beauty.
Later, outside the Chevron building, the Dinos happened on a die-in in full wither. End of Oil members were lying down in the intersection to draw attention to Chevron's part in the deaths of peaceful protesters in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, a "guerilla gardening" action was underway at City Hall, where flowers were planted to symbolise a brighter future without pollution.
Having donned power ties to bolster their respectability, the Dinosaurs decided to storm the corporate barricades. Climbing the sandstone stairs, they marched toward the grand doors of Petro Canada, which were guarded by a line of 50 bicycle officers.
The officers stared fixedly ahead while the protesters chanted and swooned. Someone passed a megaphone to the Dinos-always a bad move-who pleaded with the police to admit them, the very founders of the fossil fuel industry, so that they could deliver their important message of extinction to the industry leaders. The crowd broke into a chant: "Let them in! Let them in!"
Sadly, the police remained unmoved, and the Dinos were forced to sing Dead River Valley one last time, to the rabble outside and to the oil execs cowering within.
The day ended with a visit to the Independent Media Centre to launch some video grabs onto the web, and a mellow unwinding party at the War Memorial Park, where folks danced to music generated by the solar-powered P.A., ate free lentil stew and chatted about the peaceable events of the day. A policeman loitering on the edge of the park approached a Dino as he was leaving, and said confidentially: "You guys are great...do you think you could come down to the station and tell our chief to put more bicycle cops on the force, instead of cars?"
Additional information from Wesley Morgan, Elena Cecchetto and Tooker Gomberg of The End of Oil Action Coalition, born in reaction to the Calgary Petroleum Congress. More info: +1(403) 262-2434 or 703-9463, or write to Tooker Gomberg at 1 Havelock Street, Apt. 2, Toronto, Ontario M6H 3B3, Canada; web: www.greenspiration.org.
WORLDWIDE BANK ROBBERIES- CULPRITS CAUGHT RED-HANDED
There is a different type of criminal these days-a particularly skillful brand of con-artist, loaning money to rob the world of its resources, selling dodgy goods made in stolen lands and conning poor old grannies out of a pension.
Why does Car Busters care? What has it all got to do with transport?
the World Bank and IMF push the mandate for a global economy, they press developing countries to turn their land to mass production. Policies have developed that foster unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, directing economies towards export rather than meeting local needs. From mineral extraction, oil exploration, coffee plantations to dam building, all these products and materials need transporting to their markets. Which to the World Bank and IMF means pushing for the dramatic expansion of transport infrastructure.
"The worldwide road motor vehicle fleet is expected to grow 34 percent from 557 million in 1989 to 700 million (end of 2000)," says a World Bank report, charting the trends in transport shift.
Another report, studying the situation in Russia, notes that trucking activity is expected to triple in Central and Eastern Europe within 20 years, making "a shift from rail to road traffic…inevitable." Trucks will provide the perfect "door-to-door" service and greater reliability. Inevitably they will also "accelerate the growth of road traffic" already predicted. Consequently road building, road widening and road upgrading are deemed necessary to get those goods to market. And these roads are not just any old roads, they are superhighways.
In order to justify the building of the new superhighways, the World Bank and IMF constantly present the public relations guise of poverty irradication. The "poor" need roads, and lots of them. Great snakes of tarmac financed by the Bank are apparently the only way to encourage families to grow more crops than they need, to increase their marketing power, and for "concerned leaders to go and listen to the voices of their people."
Trying to justify the road building, Voices of the Poor, a World Bank- sponsored book states "children can't get to school, because the roads are so bad and the nearest school can be up to 70 kilometers away-a young boy with measles died [in Cameroon] because there was not a road to take him to the nearest hospital 100 km away."
But the boy's death was not due to the lack of a road. Rather, the lack of closer neighbourhood health facilities, medicine and essential equipment. Predominantly this is a result of the state's inability to provide adequate health care when 50 percent of the national budget is being used to pay the interest on loans from institutions like the World Bank and IMF.
Building highways does not help the poor or the environment. Frequently, insufficient Environmental Impact Assessments are carried out, leading to new roads ravaging through national parks and sensitive environments. None of which helps alleviate poverty. Infra-structure development is the greatest cause of resettlement caused by World Bank projects, accounting for eight percent. Inevitably, superhighways make the poor poorer. Only the rich can benefit.
The Impact on Rail
Economic and political liberalisation imposed by the World Bank and IMF has created heavy bias in favour of road building. Over 65 percent of the World Bank's transport investments in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s have been for roads and the car industry.
In the process, public transport, especially rail, is suffering. Over 9,000 kilometres of railway line in Central and Eastern Europe have been slated for closure-almost half of Hungary's railway network has disappeared and large cuts are being implemented in the Slovakian services.
In Europe and worldwide, inter-city services and other main lines considered important routes for the transport of goods receive World Bank funding. Yet this is often conditional on the closure of :un-profitable" rural lines. Under such circumstances owning a car becomes the only viable option for rural villagers. But car ownership is not democratic, and neither is the money invested in it: take Haiti for example. Only one in every 200 people owns a car, yet one third of the national budget is devoted to fuel and transportation.
The Dismantling of Urban Public Transport
The same political and economic liberalisation has an additional consequence on urban public transport. As the ability of a country to survive becomes the ability of a country to export, land in developing countries is devoted to the mass production of crops for foreign markets. Former subsistence farmers and their families are forced to leave the land in search of jobs. Within 20 years, more than half the peoples of the developing world are expected to live in cities. Three quarters of the world's megacities, with over 10 million inhabitants, will be in developing countries.
As a consequence, "urban sprawl is likely to extend, encouraging auto dependency, disadvantaging public transport," as those fatalistic World Bankers see it in the World Bank Policy Context - Urban Transport Review: Concept Paper Nov. 17, 1999. But it doesn't have to, as we know. Cities are, after all, the perfect breeding ground for good, sustainable public transport services, for sensitive urban planning, for turning our cities car-free and into places where people can live-not choke.
Yet, the World Bank and IMF policies make auto-dependency the only feasible prospect. How? By financing efforts to transfer enterprises from the public to private sector. By promoting the concept that environmental sustainability can only be practised if it also makes a profit and by creating "competitive market-based transport sector[s]."
Deregulation of public transport often leads to job losses, steep price hikes, the scaling down of services and a deterioration in the quality of vehicles and services. The World Bank shows no remorse, admitting that the "efficient production of transport services may involve the loss of jobs with some social costs and restructuring of prices that may hurt some users."
In Santiago deregulation of public transport was dramatic-within the last ten years prices have tripled, the age of vehicles has increased from 6.95 to 9.51 years. Levels of pollution and congestion are at dangerously high levels, massively exceeding recognised safety standards. All too often as a result of deregulation, public transport is neglected, thus meeting only a fraction of transport needs. And even if the imposed structural adjustment programmes, deregulations, privatisations, etc. do not directly destroy a city's public transport system, the World Bank loan criteria, slanted heavily in favour of the motorised vehicle, will certainly have an impact. Manufacturing cars and building oil pipelines means big bucks; building a footbridge doesn't.
In the so-called "Third World" less than one third of World Bank funds go to public transport. In West Africa, despite the fact that 80 percent of all trips are non-motorised, less than two percent of transport spending goes towards projects that encourage or maintain non-motorised strategies. Instead, the majority of the Bank's annual US$40 billion development budget is used for large infrastructure and highways.
"Our Dream is a World Free of Poverty"
The switch from subsistence farming to a market economy has huge implications to the every-day lives of many people, once normal modes of transport become a threat to these people's very existence.
For, according to the World Bank, walking or biking over long distances reduces employment chances. Not only that, but the World Bank argues that using non-motorised forms of transport means you are more likely to die. Half a million people die annually in car accidents, according to the World Bank Transport Safety Report. Only five percent of these deaths are people in cars-95 percent are pedestrians, one third of which are children. And this report also believes that accident "fatalities have been observed to decline steadily as national income and car ownership rise." So if people could stop sitting on their impoverished arses, get jobs, buy cars, and stop walking and cycling, it would all be alright. Phew!-well done World Bank!
The sell off of public transport, resulting in the "restructuring of prices and services that may hurt some users," and the affects of the notorious structural adjustment programmes on public education, health care, or welfare programmes do not benefit the living conditions of the poorest people. On the contrary they can only lead to further deterioration on the quality of people's lives.
In Russia, the sudden implementation of structural adjustment programmes saw an exponential growth in the number of people living below the poverty line from two million in 1995 to 60 million in 2000. With economic policies that involve strangulating local economies, it's no wonder the World Bank motto for a "world without poverty" remains the dream that it is.
The Environment
If forcing car culture on the developing world is not enough, there is a long list of environmentally questionable projects funded by both the World Bank and IMF. Their turn-it-into-profit maxim has caused environmental abuses ranging from deforestation to salinisation, an increase in pesticide use, CO2 emissions, and heavy industrial pollution, not to mention the eradication of some of the world's most unique areas rich in biodiversity.
Since 1998, however, the projects involving the more controversial environmental problems have been quietly moved. No longer funded directly by the World Bank's IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), now they are funded by the World Bank's private sector lending arm, the International Financial Corporation (IFC), or institutions such as the European Investment Bank, Japan's Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund or Asian Development Bank.
The IFC's loans are frequently going to support a growing trend for private toll roads. According to the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy these "are often subject to weaker environmental diligence, and cost the taxpayers more than traditional highways." In the case of the controversial Corredor Sur Highway in Panama, such IFC funds are paying for a highway that has been deemed environmentally disastrous.
Perfect, the World Bank greenwashes over us-claiming it is improving its environmental record and becoming more socially conscious, while it palms off projects clandestinely to institutions that avoid the public glare.
Globalisation
Fourteen car companies own 80 percent of the world's car market; as deals and mergers are struck, the companies become increasingly aligned with one another. Three of them-U.S. based General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -control 33 percent of the entire world market between them. Consequently the saying goes, "what is good for General Motors is good for America."
Yet national allegiance is not a strong point of these transnational corporations. Manufacture and assembly plants are constantly moved around the world so that companies can take advantage of cheap labour and production costs, or beat tarriff barriers. Industries lobby governments heavily, for new laws and agreements that cut production costs and increase profits-NAFTA, MAI, GATT, etc.-are all examples of legislation designed to protect "trade" and transnational companies at the expense of democracy and the environment.
The World Bank, IMF and its offspring, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), exist to protect multinationals. Together they have legislative and judicial powers that can override the national laws of governments. Any laws. Including those that foster ecologically sustainable and socially responsible industries or maintain public health and educational services. Laws that safeguard workers' rights, trade unions, health, safety and environmental protection and legislation that prevents child and slave labour. The institutions even have the power to impose sanctions if a country remains uncompliant.
The World Bank, IMF and WTO claim their role is poverty reduction. But their policies have often led to exacerbation of poverty as well as environmental destruction. They claim to support democracy, but are themselves unelected and unaccountable for their actions.
Dictatorships that are renowned for appalling human rights abuses have been loaned money by the IMF and World Bank. For example, the Philippines was lent US$4 billion and the former corrupt ruler Marcos allegedly pocketed much of the money for himself. Now the bank demands the loans be repaid-not from Marcos but from the people of the Philippines.
In the relentless quest for economic globalisation, these financial institutions are destroying local and community economies, denigrating public and non-motorised transport systems, displacing people and destroying traditional ways of life, imposing car culture on all the world's nations, destroying national parks and ecologically sensitive areas with massive infrastructure building, generating global warming, climate change, and ultimately creating irreversible damage.
The institutions and politicians are doing very little to change these destructive policies. And we are letting this happen...
- KB
The World Bank was asked a number of times to make comments for this article and did not respond. See page 15 for further details on the up and coming actions in Prague to mark the 55th annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank.
WCN INFOSHOP
In the latest issue:
End of the Road?
Is there a future for the auto industry? Has the car culture reached the end of the road? Simply, is this the end? Indeed, these questions are on the lips of many people.... (more)Groningen. The World's Cycling City
In Groningen, the Netherlands' sixth largest city, the main form of transport is the bicycle. ... (more)Bicycling Empowerment Network. Cycling in Cape Town
Cape Town, and indeed South Africa, has first and third world communities living alongside one another. ... (more)Tackling Urban Sprawl: New Urbanism and Eco-Towns
Can eco-towns stop the sprawling suburbs? Urban sprawl is a modern phenomenon most prominent in the United States and spreading into parts of Europe, it has many consequences which include the rising carbon emissions from modern consuming habits such private car use. ... (more)Fighting the Current. Carfree Activities in Low-Income Cities
What do the cities of Lusaka (Zambia), Manila (Philippines), Hanoi (Vietnam), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Kathmandu (Nepal), and Bangalore (India) have in common? ... (more)From our archive:
Ciclovia! (Carbusters #37)
O-ba-MA! O-ba-MA!; Bicicletada Curitiba; Vancouver: A Two-Wheeled Tour
World Carfree Day 2008 (Carbusters #36)
Bike Sharing; B:C:Clettes; Interview: Professor Knoflacher
Make Love Not Car (Carbusters #35)
World Naked Bike Ride; Towards Carfree Cities Conference VIII; Interview: J.Harry Wray
Carbusters has been funded with support from the European Commission. Carbusters.org reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.