[Texgreen] Past the tipping point already?

Tue, 9 Oct 2007 20:39:15 -0500

Here in Austin the road lobby pressured our local MPO (including our =20
"anti-global warming" mayor) into approving $1.45 billion dollars =20
worth of toll roads last night. Toll road loans mean that the =20
politicians will have an interest in trying to sustain traffic =20
increases to serve sprawl for decades to prevent bond default. The =20
way TxDOT plays the game is by pretty openly saying we'll cut off =20
your state funds unless you approve the roads we want:

<http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/=20
10/09/1009tolls.html?=20
COXnetJSessionIDbuild56b_prod=3DdQGCHL0XbTvkc1hyXDVyZDYM0nnhZt3WnTnNSgQdyq=
=20
G4TfJWLj7p!244068605&UrAuth=3DaNaNUOcN]UbTTUWUXUVUZT[UTUWU]=20
U_UZUaUaUcTYWYWZV&urcm=3Dy>

Its like an extortion racket with a token public input process in =20
which Austin area special interests linked mostly to real estate and =20
banking help organize media campaigns like "TakeOnTraffic" to =20
pressure the public into thinking, against all evidence, that =20
building roads to serve low density future development can actually =20
relieve congestion.

The main hope for policy sanity is that the bond lenders will wise up =20=

in the next few years before the federal environmental permits allow =20
the road promoters to issue the bonds, if they can find lenders. =20
Deficit funding for toll roads depends on both cheap oil and easy =20
credit, so its a race against time, even with the public being ignored.

-- Roger

                 =20
*********************************************************************

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3D3706143

Scientist: Greenhouse Gas Levels Grave
Scientist: Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Already Beyond 'Worst-=20
Case' Scenario

By MERAIAH FOLEY

The Associated Press

SYDNEY, Australia

Strong worldwide economic growth has accelerated the level of =20
greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere to a dangerous threshold =20
scientists had not expected for another decade, according to a =20
leading Australian climate change expert.

Scientist Tim Flannery told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that an =20
upcoming report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change =20=

will contain new data showing that the level of climate-changing =20
gases in the atmosphere has already reached critical levels.

Flannery is not a member of the IPCC, but said he based his comments =20
on a thorough review of the technical data included in the panel's =20
three working group reports published earlier this year. The IPCC is =20
due to release its final report synthesizing the data in November.

"What the report establishes is that the amount of greenhouse gas in =20
the atmosphere is already above the threshold that can potentially =20
cause dangerous climate change," Flannery told the broadcaster late =20
Monday. "We are already at great risk of dangerous climate change, =20
that's what these figures say. It's not next year or next decade, =20
it's now."

Flannery, whose recent book "The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing =20
the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth," made best-seller =20
lists worldwide, said the data showed that the amount of carbon =20
dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions had reached about 455 =20
parts per million by mid-2005, well ahead of scientists' previous =20
calculations.

"We thought we'd be at that threshold within about a decade, that we =20
had that much time," Flannery said. "I mean, that's beyond the limits =20=

of projection, beyond the worst-case scenario as we thought of it in =20
2001," when the last major IPCC report was issued.

The new data could add urgency to the next round of U.N. climate =20
change talks on the Indonesian island of Bali in December, which will =20=

aim to start negotiations on a replacement for the 1997 Kyoto =20
Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Flannery said that the recent economic boom in China and India has =20
helped to accelerate the levels of carbon dioxide and other =20
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but strong growth in the =20
developed world has also exacerbated the problem.

"It's a worldwide issue. We've had growing economies everywhere, =20
we're still basing that economic activity on fossil fuels," he said. =20
"The metabolism of that economy is now on a collision course clearly =20
with the metabolism of our planet."

A spokesman for Australia's IPCC delegate, Ian Carruthers, said he =20
was not available to comment on the report because it was still in =20
draft form.

Copyright =A9 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures=