pay-to-drive fees considered and more green city stuff

[angela bischoff]

Today's (Friday's) Toronto star poll reads:

"Is it a good idea to impose road tolls as a way to fund public transit?"
Vote now!

http://www.thestar.com/#
Scroll down, left hand side.

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Canadians Reject Harper's Climate Change Targets

Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research

According to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies,

- 60 per cent of respondents reject the Canadian government’s proposal of
intensity-based targets.
- 60 per cent of respondents think Canada’s energy policy should not be
closely tied to the United States.

<http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/16087>http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/16087

--------------------------------------------------

Canadian Greenhouse-Gas Plan Won't Meet Targets, Study Says
By Alexandre Deslongchamps

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's plan for
reducing greenhouse-gas emissions won't succeed in meeting his declared
targets because of timid policies introduced in its new regulatory plan
for large industries, says a new analysis released Tuesday by the C.D.
Howe Institute.

<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=amWvMC4B1EXI&refer=canada>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=amWvMC4B1EXI&refer=canada

--------------------------------------------------

MassTransitMag.com |

Sustainability News
NYC Mayor Pushes Traffic Fee Proposal

AP Online
via NewsEdge Corporation

NEW YORK_Traffic congestion and devastating pollution are among the
"inconvenient truths" of our age and could be eased by imposing
pay-to-drive fees on Manhattan motorists, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a
legislative panel Friday.

Bloomberg, who normally takes the subway to work, told the lawmakers he
got stuck in traffic three times on his way to the special hearing.

His remarks were greeted by a roaring ovation from supporters who included
environmentalists in bright green T-shirts handing out fresh green apples
before the hearing.

"The threats to our city, and our planet, are inconvenient truths that we
can no longer avoid facing, and that we can no longer wait for Washington
to confront," Bloomberg said, referring to the title of Al Gore's
Oscar-winning global warming documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth."

Under Bloomberg's proposal, cars entering Manhattan south of 86th Street
would be charged $8 per day, and trucks $21. Under a three-year pilot
program, the fees would be collected only during the worst traffic hours,
from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Two major roadways flanking the east and west sides
of Manhattan, FDR Drive and the West Side Highway, would be exempt.

Some lawmakers in the city's outer boroughs and bedroom communities do not
support the so-called "congestion pricing," saying it would punish many
drivers.

"This is a tax on middle-class people," said state Assemblyman Richard
Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat who chairs one of the committees that held
the joint hearing. "This will stop the Chevrolets from coming in, not the
BMWs."  <snip>

Backers say the fee plan would cut traffic jams and pollution while
generating money for mass transit projects - nearly $400 million in its
first year alone.

<snip>

<<AP Online -- 06/11/07>>


-------------------------------------------

City considers road tolls in emission-cutting plan

Jun 15, 2007 04:30 Am
JIM BYERS
DONOVAN VINCENT
Toronto Star, CITY HALL BUREAU

Tolls on Toronto-area highways, a ban on gas-powered lawnmowers and leaf
blowers, a requirement for hybrid taxis and a massive retrofit of city
buildings are all needed to slash greenhouse gas emissions in Canada's
biggest city, according to a Toronto city report. <snip>

Deputy mayor Joe Pantalone told the Star he can see governments charging
drivers a dollar or two a day to drive on GTA highways. "It doesn't make
sense for Toronto or Mississauga to (charge tolls) by
themselves."Pantalone said the toll would have to raise a significant
amount and proceeds would need to be dedicated to building new transit.

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/225631

---------------------------------------------

Cities consider energy districts to ensure reliable power

Worried about aging and unreliable electric transmission systems, some
U.S. cities are considering creating micro grid districts, in which
neighboring companies band together to produce their own electric power.
The concept is already popular among communities in Europe, and a similar
version of it is being used in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Published by AP,
 <http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007104200019>http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007104200019

--------------------------------------------

THE NATURE OF THINGS
(Sunday June 17 at 7pm on CBC-TV)
BUILD GREEN
In Build Green, Canada's best architects hype their green creations. From
retro-fitting a hip, old Montreal housing complex with state-of-the-art
sustainable energy systems, to pitching hay for strawbale houses, to
building transportable "mini-homes" with their own small power plant,
Build Green takes a close look at the materials and means we'd be foolish
not to adopt.
http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/buildgreen/index.html

---------------------------------------------

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