Min Reyes » Archive » a silent story of invisible people

Min Reyes » Archive » a silent story of invisible people: "a story not mine to tell
but it must be told
for some stories are buried with bodies
and while remaining untold
not the rotting flesh nor bones, nor the silent soul
will stop haunting those who seek truth"

'via Blog this'

CONSEIL REGIONAL DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT DE MONTREAL | Crise des infrastructures de transport : Sans investissement massif dans les transports collectifs, le sud du Québec sera paralysé

CONSEIL REGIONAL DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT DE MONTREAL | Crise des infrastructures de transport : Sans investissement massif dans les transports collectifs, le sud du Québec sera paralysé: MONTRÉAL, le 24 août 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - TRANSIT, l'Alliance pour le financement des transports collectifs au Québec, a été créée aujourd'hui à Montréal, afin de décrire l'état de la situation et tenter d'influencer les décisions budgétaires publiques. Ses membres fondateurs ont rappelé que si la présente crise du réseau routier révèle le sous-investissement chronique en matière de grandes infrastructures de transports, les transports collectifs subissent cette même dynamique.

CTV Ottawa- Arrests made at oilsands protest in Washington - CTV News

CTV Ottawa- Arrests made at oilsands protest in Washington - CTV News: Alberta's embattled oilsands are at the centre of a mass protest that began this weekend with arrests in front of the most prominent government building in the United States.

Crowds descended upon the White House early Saturday morning, prepared to spend two weeks hosting daily sit-ins to denounce a proposed pipeline that would transport oil from Alberta's infamous tarsands to a refinery in Texas.

Green Policy Asks: To Make Public Transportation Fare Free! | Green Party of Manitoba

Green Policy Asks: To Make Public Transportation Fare Free! | Green Party of Manitoba: "The City of Winnipeg should hold off on plans to spend as much as $10 million on new electronic equipment for collecting bus fares from Winnipeg transit riders, says James Beddome, Leader of the Green Party of Manitoba.

'Any commitments that Winnipeg's Council has made in this matter should be delayed till after the public has had an opportunity to vote for zero fare bus service in Manitoba, by voting Green with their October 4 election ballots,” said Beddome.
“I fully anticipate that the Green Party of Manitoba will raise the issue of fare free bus service in the next general election,” said Beddome
“Free public transportation is as Canadian a concept as user free public education, and user free public health care,” Beddome went on to say."

Futurity.org – Tundra fires may speed climate change

Futurity.org – Tundra fires may speed climate change: "The 2.1 million metric tons of carbon released in the fire—roughly twice the amount of greenhouse gases put out by the city of Miami in a year—is significant enough to suggest that Arctic fires could impact the global climate, says Mack, an associate professor of ecosystem ecology at the University of Florida."

Free transit in Kingston? Let's do it!

Photo from skew-t

What if Kingston… – Kingstonist: "Do you think many Kingstonian’s would relinquish their automobiles in favour of a free, lifetime public transit pass?  Would taxpayer funds be better spent on offering free transit service rather than spent on lane expansions and third crossings?  Not only do I think the answer to both of those questions is yes, but I believe the positive ramifications would far exceed beyond curing traffic congestion and greenhouse gases, as the result could include more bike lanes, business opportunities for car sharing, and increased levels of personal fitness.  By leading the way and becoming the first Canadian city to adopt a free transit system, Kingston could set itself apart from other sustainable wannabes and reap the benefits."

The Radio Ecoshock Show: KILL THE CAR

The Radio Ecoshock Show: KILL THE CAR: "It is a mark of our deep insanity that politicians keep promising and building more roads, highways, freeways, and bridges for the last days of the private car, the last decade or two of oil. Tell them to stop! Stop wasting our money, the last of the oil, our atmosphere, and our future!"

Speak up for pedestrians - Cars are not gods

Drawing Attention to Pedestrian Safety is Appropriate – From My Bottom Step: "The incidence of vehicle/pedestrians collisions, and the percentage of those collisions that result in injuries to pedestrians, is apalling.

What’s even more apalling is the apparent lack of police enforcement of pedestrian rights in this City and the way that pedestrian issues are given so little attention by our City Council."

James Hansen slams Keystone XL Canada-U.S. Pipeline: “Exploitation of tar sands would make it implausible to stabilize climate and avoid disastrous global climate impacts” | ThinkProgress

James Hansen slams Keystone XL Canada-U.S. Pipeline: “Exploitation of tar sands would make it implausible to stabilize climate and avoid disastrous global climate impacts” | ThinkProgress: "The Canadian tar sands are substantially dirtier than conventional oil as the chart above shows (longer analysis here).  They may contain enough carbon-intensive fuel to make stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide at non-catastrophic levels all but impossible.
And that is the point of Dr. James Hansen in a must-read essay on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline to bring that dirty fuel into this country, “Silence Is Deadly: I’m Speaking Out Against Canada-U.S. Tar Sands Pipeline.”"

New Transit Planning Tool - Mapnificent!

I just heard (on Twitter) about a great new tool - Mapnificent - for transit users like me. Type in an address, pick a time estimate, and you'll see how far you can go in that time on your local transit system.

So, just to compare, here's what I can get to from Bow Cliff Seniors in 15 minutes:

And here's what I can get to from my neighbourhood in 15 minutes:

Of course, this is an estimate and doesn't take delays/etc. into account. Still, I can see it being a useful tool for trip planning when thinking about changing work/home locations, for nonprofits thinking about where to locate in relation to clients, etc. 

(Cross posted at Witch-Ways, where I've been crafting magic on the internet since 1994.)

Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism, Public Forum May 12 Toronto

Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism, Public Forum May 12: "In North America, human beings have become enthralled by the automobile: A quarter of our working lives are spent paying for them; communities fight each other for the right to build more of them; our cities have been torn down, remade and planned with their needs as the overriding concern; wars are fought to keep their fuel tanks filled; songs are written to
praise them; cathedrals are built to worship them." Read More on Facebook

CAA-Québec - Take advantage of free public transit on April 22!

CAA-Québec - Take advantage of free public transit on April 22!: "The Avec un ami (with a friend) initiative, proposed by Quebec Earth Day, is a first-of-its-kind campaign across Quebec to promote public transit use. Eleven Quebec transit networks are offering people the chance to try their services free of charge on Earth Day, April 22."

Métro Montréal - La piétonnisation bientôt en marche

Métro Montréal - La piétonnisation bientôt en marche: "Les automobiles seront de nouveau exclues des rues Sainte-Catherine et Saint-Paul cet été. L’arrondissement de Ville-Marie a annoncé jeudi, que ces deux artères seront réservées aux piétons à compter du 18 et 20 mai, respectivement. Elles le demeureront jusqu’au 13 et 26 septembre."

Choices (Political and Transportational)

I'll admit it - I have a political crush on NDPer Megan Leslie (who's running for re-election in Halifax). Why? 

• She was voted "Rookie MP of the Year" in 2009.
• When she spoke on Bill C-449 (giving seniors free access to transit in off-peak hours) she talked about the impact of free transit ("Free transit would greatly increase the quality of life by removing the terrible choice between rent, food, or heat and bus tickets.") and called for the development of a National Transit Strategy for Canada.
• She's had some great clips recently on CBC because of her role as NDP spokesperson on health.

But, most of all, she's running a carbon-neutral campaign that includes transit, cycling and carsharing. It's nice to see someone who actually gets it - how we do the work matters as much as the work we're doing. I look forward to the day when this is the norm, not the exception. Until then, I'll work on convincing people that I'm not a saint just because I use Calgary Transit to get to work-related events, ok? (I'll point out the other reasons instead, hehe.)


**Bonus points for her reference of climate-change discussions in this election campaign as an "issue of inter-generational equity" because, really, isn't it?


(Cross-posted at Witch-Ways, where I've been crafting magic on the internet since 1994.)

Calgary - How about totally free public transit?

The first step is to send a strong signal to people by making hopping on a bus or train absolutely free. Cost is not a deciding factor for a lot of people, but it is for some and, more importantly, anything that makes it easier and more attractive to take transit should be adopted.

The second step is to dramatically increase the places transit goes and how often it goes there. Don’t think you are making a big difference by adding a new leg to a light rail system when you really need a dozen new short and long legs that cover a city like a web. We need busses going up and down major streets every five minutes at all hours of the day. It has to be easy to jump on transit and easy to get to all sorts of places from anywhere in the city.

The third step is to build related infrastructure such as multi-level car parks at train stations, pedestrian tunnels and bridges, and express bus terminals.

Read more: How about totally free public transit? | Troy Media Corporation http://www.troymedia.com/2011/03/11/how-about-totally-free-public-transit/#ixzz1GIYFyqcd