2010 on track to be hottest year - Americas - Al Jazeera English

Iraqis tried to cool off, as high temperatures hit 

the Middle East and beyond [AFP]

2010 on track to be hottest year - Americas - Al Jazeera English: "The world is experiencing the hottest year on record, the US based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has reported, with large parts of Canada, Africa, Europe and the Middle East�facing abnormally warm temperatures.�

The figures released by the NOAA suggest that 2010 is on course to be the warmest year since records began in 1880."

Free rides offered by El Dorado Transit - Around the valley - Modbee.com

Free rides offered by El Dorado Transit - Around the valley - Modbee.com: "There is such a thing as a free ride on El Dorado Transit on Friday and Saturday.
The transit agency is offering free fares on its fixed routes in El Dorado County and Sacramento commuter routes because of 'Spare the Air' days.
During smog season -- May to October -- the agency offers the free days when the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District forecasts unhealthy ozone levels.

To reduce ozone pollution, people are encouraged to avoid taking auto trips.
Last year the agency offered four free days, with riders taking 4,275 trips on those days, transit agency spokesman Matt Mauk said.
For more information or for trip planning assistance, call El Dorado Transit at (530) 642-5383 or visit www.eldoradotransit.com."

No future in alternative fuels

...As I've posted here before, there is no future in alternative fuels. I support sustainable fuel for the motoring that we'll have to do in the future- and make no bones about it, we will have to do some motoring. Utility workers, for example, require the convenience of some form of motorized transport. However, we also need to be drastically reducing the amount of driving we do, and in most cases entirely eliminating our reliance on automobiles. We don't need to "discover" or "refine" alternatives- they are running around the streets and subways of our cities every single day, in the form of bicycles, electric trains and trolleybuses, and electric commuter trains. We don't need to put something else in our cars, we need to get rid of them entirely, and this is something that the overwhelming majority of posts on the BP oil disaster miss by a mile.... Riding in Riverside

Top Ten reasons to hate cars

Cars are killing our kids. Motor vehicles are the number one killer of California children and UK boys (1). see the rest... onthelevel

The Free Public Transit Movement is Growing

It is catching on. People are starting to see that the private auto is a self-indulgent, anti-social killer. It kills everyday and now it threatens the biosphere itself.

There are many solutions being offered, but the most direct, simple, and effective is to make public transit fare-free.

Our advocates will be at the European Social Forum in July, and will be starting a nation-wide campaign in the UK in October. The campaign is stepping up in Scotland and getting a lot of attention in New Zealand and Australia. It has been strong for years in Brazil where there are MPL chapters in 8 cities. There are activists in Russia, Poland and India.

This movement is going to be huge. And  that will happen sooner if you join.

A lot of green talk. No green progress

Despite the Bay Area’s green reputation, the survey also painted a stark portrait of how stubborn the practice of driving to work alone remains. Two-thirds of those surveyed either worked or went to school. Of those, 68 percent said that they drove alone, with 17 percent reporting using public transit and 10 percent carpooling. NYTimes

It is time to give up the half-measures. We need to make urban public transit fare-free.

State Treasurer candidate advocates free public transportation

...Public transportation should be fully funded by the state and federal governments. Debra Reiger, the Peace and Freedom Party's candidate for state treasurer, calls for free public transportation, not just for BART, but for all agencies in the state...

Mary McIlroy

El Cerrito

ContraCostaTimes