Liberal enviro-extremists are coming for us.

It's coming - EPA/DOT joint transportation agency policy bill telling us when we can drive, what kind of vehicles, how much we will be allowed to drive and how we will be punished financially for being gross GHG emitters. This scheme will "reward" (force) high density development near transit hubs and will be funded by a higher diversion of our dedicated and firewalled USER FEES to pay for trains & buses instead of roads and bridges. The goverment will be able to force their technology nannies into cars because they now own big stakes in GM and Chrysler.

This is serious **** people. Don't ever let me be in a position to say "I ****ing told you so and you did nothing to stop it."

Daily News from InsideEPA.com - Monday, June 01, 2009
EPA Focus On Vehicle Miles, Congestion May Preview Highway Bill Goals
The Obama EPA is vowing to focus on reducing congestion and vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs), which sources say may preview the goals of pending legislation to reform surface transportation policy that lawmakers are preparing to introduce as early as this week.
Activists are praising the agency's shift from “vehicle-only” GHG reductions to looking at the broader transportation system, and one source says the focus on reducing VMTs and congestion as a major transportation policy is likely to be evident in the upcoming bill to replace the Safe Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which will expire on September 30, 2009. The White House says Congress and the Obama administration are working closely to craft the bill.

EPA Chief Counsel Bob Sussman outlined some of the agency's transportation policy principles at the Intelligent Transportation Society of America's (ITSA) June 1 annual meeting in National Harbor, MD. Sussman said it is particularly crucial to avoid a return to the higher VMT levels that existed before the economic downturn. Less VMT means a lower overall total of miles driven and, by association, a reduction in mobile source emissions.

“We cannot afford to go back to business as usual when the economy picks itself up off the floor, so it's up to us to make sure the transportation system is sustainable,” Sussman said.

Still, the administration continues to oppose a novel proposal to finance the transportation system by collecting fees based on VMT, a White House spokesman June 1 told Inside EPA. “The administration is working closely with Congress to solve this difficult problem and ensure that states have the resources they need to maintain our roads and highways,” the spokesman says. Environmentalists and some lawmakers say VMT-based financing would reduce GHGs by discouraging driving, particularly in areas and times of peak congestion.

Sussman said President Obama and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson are both committed to addressing both climate change and transportation policy during their tenure. “Implementing the president's commitment will be a shared responsibility of the [Department of Transportation (DOT)] and EPA, and we're confident that our two agencies will collaborate and work together effectively,” he said in a presentation at the meeting.
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The source says that Obama's smart growth-friendly appointments at DOT also indicate that the upcoming transportation bill will target infrastructure reforms as a way to reduce GHGs from transportation.

Appointed officials with expertise in smart growth -- which generally encourages high-density metropolitan development near public-transit infrastructure -- or progressive transportation policy include Under Secretary of Policy Roy Kienitz, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy nominee Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy David Matsuda, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy nominee Beth Osborne.

“Those four key policy slots are basically filled by people who have made a career of paying attention to balanced transportation policies that would seem to give people better travel choices and reduce people's forced dependence on cars . . . and who tend to be favorable to looking at performance-focused transportation investment and rewarding statesand regions that are smart about how they spend their money . . . so I think we'll see more of this in the administration's interaction with Capitol Hill," said the environmentalist.
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Soon after, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) -- a member of the House Energy Independence & Global Warming Select Committee -- released a funding proposal to install equipment in cars and collect fees based on a car’s mileage, or other options. Funds raised through the system would be used to pay for infrastructure upgrades, as well as to provide low-emission transportation options.

Introduction of the reauthorization bill is expected as early as this week. “At this point [the bill's introduction is] still a moving target, but now we're looking at having a roll-out sometime the first week in June,” said a House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee spokesman May 21, adding that lawmakers expect to mark up the bill in the second week in June and send the bill to the House floor in the third week in June.
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DOT's new Research & Innovative Technology Administrator Peter Appel, recently confirmed by the Senate, also pledged to advocate for smart infrastructure to reduce environmental impacts of transportation. “We haven't even scratched the surface for the potential of environmental applications,” he said.

Appel explained that infrastructure technology can increase capacity and flow on existing infrastructure by allowing drivers to make “truly informed travel choices,” and vehicle technology such as wireless communication and on-board diagnostics can enable the vehicle to reduce emissions by adjusting engine and fuel use to different driving conditions. -- Molly Davis

612009_transportation
H.R.2454
American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)

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`SEC. 841. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS THROUGH TRANSPORTATION EFFICIENCY.

I see things like that being so complex that by the time they implement it, figure out it doesn't work, cancel it, redesign and re-implement it, that I'll be dead.

yea I'll probably be dead too because they will probably come to my house and ask for my gun first

Pretty much exactly the response I expected. I hope you're happy when you drive into freeway speed control zones where Big Brother limits your car's output.

OK, tell us how we can stop this crap! I will NOT be installing any type of VMT monitoring equipment in my cars.

GTS Dean said:

“Those four key policy slots are basically filled by people who have made a career of paying attention to balanced transportation policies that would seem to give people better travel choices and reduce people's forced dependence on cars . . .

Click to expand...

That's some assbackwards thinking. I bet in most cases people aren't "forced" to depend on their cars, but rather prefer to use their cars than other forms of transportation (people want to be free, independent, go on their own schedule, etc.). Public transportation isn't effective in most of the U.S., and can't be effective, due to the way people are spread out. It works fine in areas of dense population, which is why it is fine in various European and Asian countries (not to mention, they are used to and accept less independence).

In my area, there are some people who are continually trying to put in a light rail system, but because it can't have enough coverage, it will necessarily be supported by buses, and take forever to use. Not to mention, the bus system already is a money loser, and further, the airport in the middle of the area doesn't want a light rail stop because they make most of their money from parking fees! So it's pretty much a poor idea, yet like a dog on a bone, you can't shake these people off the idea even with all the facts going against them.

Stan Wilson said:

OK, tell us how we can stop this crap! I will NOT be installing any type of VMT monitoring equipment in my cars.

Click to expand...

Not to worry, it'll be a felony to drive without them

George Orwell missed the date!

GTS Dean said:

Pretty much exactly the response I expected. I hope you're happy when you drive into freeway speed control zones where Big Brother limits your car's output.

Click to expand...

It's just a matter of some people believing it will happen, and some not.

I do not believe it will happen in my lifetime.

So ignorance is bliss, and I'm therefore happy?

slaughterj said:

That's some assbackwards thinking. I bet in most cases people aren't "forced" to depend on their cars, but rather prefer to use their cars than other forms of transportation (people want to be free, independent, go on their own schedule, etc.). Public transportation isn't effective in most of the U.S., and can't be effective, due to the way people are spread out. It works fine in areas of dense population, which is why it is fine in various European and Asian countries (not to mention, they are used to and accept less independence).

In my area, there are some people who are continually trying to put in a light rail system, but because it can't have enough coverage, it will necessarily be supported by buses, and take forever to use. Not to mention, the bus system already is a money loser, and further, the airport in the middle of the area doesn't want a light rail stop because they make most of their money from parking fees! So it's pretty much a poor idea, yet like a dog on a bone, you can't shake these people off the idea even with all the facts going against them.

Click to expand...

We have what I call the Hooterville trolley in San Jose. It is a light rail system that works for some but not for many. I live 2 miles from the southern end of the line. My job is 18 miles away. If I drive my car with no traffic, I can be to work in 15 minutes. With typical traffic 25-30 minutes and with bad traffic, 45 minutes to hour. If I ride the Hooterville Trolley, 1 Hour and 15 minutes to get to work. 15 minutes of that time is on my bicycle.

One time, I rode my bike all the way home and beat the time it would have taken to ride the trolley by 10 minutes....

For me, the trolley is a tremendous folly. A serious waste of time, money and energy. Another by product of the trolley, is that it seriously screws up the traffic pattern along the route. I have sat idling at a left hand turn signal thru 3 or 4 traffic cycles because these trolleys have the right of way Yet we pay millions to subsidize this and many other worthless ideas.

Government is not the cure, it is the cause of what ails us!

There is just no good news anymore. They can take my gun and viper keys from my cold dead hands. Or tax me into the poor house as the case may be.

It'll happen. It'll happen soon and 52% of America will be kissing the President's feet for doing it. First...National Health Care. Second...Transportation. The ground work is laid. Transportation will be the next imperative event that we need to get done asap and we only have a 2 month window of opportunity to get it done kind of thing.

It's already started out here in Kalifornia. There is a bill moving through the legislature that will require ALL cars to pass smog- Right now it is limited to post 1975 cars. This will effectively kill the whole collector car society in the state, as we all know that the older cars never came with smog equipment, and have NO chance of passing some draconian mandate dicktated out by our FAR left leaning loonies up in Suckramento

The car guys are doomed if this passes

If you want to see this brave new world right now come to the SF Bay Area and experience what a nightmare and disater it is for moving people and cargo about. frisco was laid out with many wide boulevards and the traffic grid worked until the social engineers from Bezerkely started messing with it. Today they are dismantling this grid street by street, taking out taffic lanes and giving it to bicyclists who do NOT exsit! This is nuts! They are creating deliberate congestion because they HATE cars! The social engineers want to make vehicular traffic conditions as onerous as possible. HELLO--this is NOT Amsterdam!

A perfect example of this is a street I grew up on, Arguello Blvd. Coincidentaly, it runs right in front of Senator Diane Feinstein's beautiful mansion. It used to be a wide four lane boulevard with smooth running traffic. They took away a full 50% of it's capacity and gifted two of it's four lanes to bicyclists who come by once in a blue-moon. This has been happening all over frisco for years now and there is a master-plan to increase it exponentialy.

The radical bicycle coalition is also shutting down the Emabarcadero, which runs along the waterfront, on weekends. This is on an "experimental" basis. Trust me, these "experiments" always become permanent, after the peasants have been conditioned like Pavlov's dogs. In the meantime, businesses along this vital artery are suffering many harmful effects with no concern from schitty hall. The radicals hate businesses here accept for the Draconian taxes they extort from them. The reason we have congestion in frisco is because the gov never makes new parking lots although it charges a humongous 25% parking tax.

To exacerbate the piss-poor people moving, they will be eliminating bus lines due to the excuse of the economic crisis gov created with a bloated civil service system--we had a Muni Bus shop employee who used to come to work to punch the clock in his pajamas and then go back home to bed--and he was the foreman.

On Friday's, during the hight of the commute, the city fathers bestow our public streets to a group of radical bicyclists, for an event called critcal mass/mess! They tie up downtown traffic while they cavort in the streets, sticking it to motorists who paid for those streets with fuel tax dollars.

If you are stuck in a taxi trying to get to the airport during this event, good-luck. This has been happening for many years now, with the full approval and admiration of schitty hall. More importantly, a huge police presence is required to protect these yo-yo anarchists from being mowed down by the irate motorists fumeing while their civil rights are being violated. These police officers coud be sorely used elsewhere to protect the taxpaying citizens subject to rampant crime nearby. Oh, did I mention this is Seantor Nancy Pelosi's hometown?If you want to see this brave new world right now come to the SF Bay Area and experience what a nightmare and disater it is for moving people and cargo about. frisco was laid out with many wide boulevards and the traffic grid worked until the social engineers from Bezerkely started messing with it. Today they are dismantling this grid street by street, taking out taffic lanes and giving it to bicyclists who do NOT exsit! This is nuts! They are creating deliberate congestion because they HATE cars! The social engineers want to make vehicular traffic conditions as onerous as possible. HELLO--this is NOT Amsterdam!

A perfect example of this is a street I grew up on, Arguello Blvd. Coincidentaly, it runs right in front of Senator Diane Feinstein's beautiful mansion. It used to be a wide four lane boulevard with smooth running traffic. They took away a full 50% of it's capacity and gifted two of it's four lanes to bicyclists who come by once in a blue-moon. This has been happening all over frisco for years now and there is a master-plan to increase it exponentialy.

The radical bicycle coalition is also shutting down the Emabarcadero, which runs along the waterfront, on weekends. This is on an "experimental" basis. Trust me, these "experiments" always become permanent, after the peasants have been conditioned like Pavlov's dogs. In the meantime, businesses along this vital artery are suffering many harmful effects with no concern from schitty hall. The radicals hate businesses here accept for the Draconian taxes they extort from them. The reason we have congestion in frisco is because the gov never makes new parking lots although it charges a humongous 25% parking tax.

To exacerbate the piss-poor people moving, they will be eliminating bus lines due to the excuse of the economic crisis gov created with a bloated civil service system--we had a Muni Bus shop employee who used to come to work to punch the clock in his pajamas and then go back home to bed--and he was the foreman.

On Friday's, during the hight of the commute, the city fathers bestow our public streets to a group of radical bicyclists, for an event called critcal mass/mess! They tie up downtown traffic while they cavort in the streets, sticking it to motorists who paid for those streets with fuel tax dollars.

If you are stuck in a taxi trying to get to the airport during this event, good-luck. This has been happening for many years now, with the full approval and admiration of schitty hall. More importantly, a huge police presence is required to protect these yo-yo anarchists from being mowed down by the irate motorists fumeing while their civil rights are being violated. These police officers coud be sorely used elsewhere to protect the taxpaying citizens subject to rampant crime nearby. Oh, did I mention this is Seantor Nancy Pelosi's hometown?

When California breaks off the continent and the gasoline pipes don't reach any more then these new bicycle lanes will be fab.

Esoteric agenda, anyone??

I would like to personally thank those people who have responded with first-hand stories of the folly of mass transit based social engineering schemes. Many seem to be from Kalifornia, which is where Boxer (Chairperson of the Senate Evironmental and Public Works Committee, and member of Science & Transportation Comm.) and Feinstein, Pelosi and Waxman (Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committe) all hail from. If you want to help slow this runaway train, you Californians need to speak to them FOR US. Anyone from Minnesota needs to come down on Rep. Jim Oberstar (Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee) who is leading the charge under Pelosi.

All of these folks, plus hundreds of others need to hear the message loud and clear that gas and diesel taxes paid by drivers should be dedicated to the road system that generates the Highway Trust Fund revenues. By law, these funds are firewalled from being spent outside the DOT, but Congress is talking about changing the 80% Highway/20% Transit split of HTF to 70/30 or worse. They also are talking about funding transit system OPERATION with gas tax money, not just capital new-start expenditures as they are now. We also need to stop ALL of the US Congress from feeding at the pork trough and skimming $ off the top of the system with EARMARKS before the allocation formulas start to work. All it does is ruin any shred of credibility the system has with the public LIKE YOU AND ME.

I am a 4th generation highway contractor and this sort of crap could very likely put me out of business, along with 250 of my employees. These onerous laws will kill America's ability to move people and products to work and market. The information superhighway won't get you from point A to point B.

Ever since our new president took office I feel like I'm living in the old Soviet Union.

Let's get all them other folks off the freeways and roads and out of my way!
Ya hoo!!
PBR

Mass transit. Great. Just more opportunity for terrorists.

Ulysses said:

It'll happen. It'll happen soon and 52% of America will be kissing the President's feet for doing it. First...

Click to expand...

Both ****** and Stalin called these soft-headed, soft-hearted people, "USEFUL IDIOTS".

Chuck 98 RT/10 said:

Mass transit. Great. Just more opportunity for terrorists.

Click to expand...

If the refineries continue to operate, I'll stick to my personal vehicles. With 4x4's we make our own roads.


Seriously though, I still think I'll be dead or in a wheelchair before all this really affects me. And for the younger folk, is it no different than the change I've gone through in my life watching the planet evolve itself? Just a different starting and ending point?

Let's face it. There are those that do things that other's don't like. Just like this crap. It has been and will always be this way. I spend no time stressing about it but enjoy what I've got for now.

Has anyone offered an individual action plan yet? I believe someone asked about that.

dave6666 said:

Has anyone offered an individual action plan yet? I believe someone asked about that.

Click to expand...

I'm ordering a personal space-craft kit I saw advertised in Popular Science. I'm going to christen it the Mayflower II.

Is this the future ?

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAqPMJFaEdY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ear15%2Ecom%2Fforums%2Ftopic%2Ehtml%3Fb%3D1%26f%3D5%26t%3D882013&feature=player_embedded[/media]

Spend some time talking to people from former Iron Curtain countries. If you do you will find that if they follow politics they are very nervous.

More recently a talk show host had a recent PRAVDA article translated.... The article was amazed at how quickly things have changed here in the USA with big "BO" in charge and very negative for the future comparing the future politcal climate to 3rd world countries.

Take it with a grain of salt if you like.

Less government IS better government.

Everyone thinks the Weimar Republic can't happen here.... I hope they are right but it doesn't look thats the way it is headed.

Well said NI-KA, I'm in total agreement with what you say.

I'm not sure who said it first but," You can have the keys to my Viper when you pry them from my cold dead hand!"

Did I miss the PRO-CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN voters and supporters (followers) positive imput on this one? Please enlighten us on how the anointed one and his party are going to improve our lives, not to mention respect our rights and freedoms. Any body hear that flushing sound? Enjoy your Viper while you can!

Update:

It seems that our US Representatives are lining up in droves to earmark their own piggies and the bill hasn't even hit the House Floor yet. At last count, there are approximately 6700 (that's six thousand seven hundred) specific EARMARKS in the House bill and the Senate hasn't even held any committee meetings yet. NOW is the time to put the heat on your representatives to SHUT DOWN highway and transportation earmarks. It is ESPECIALLY important for those who are represented by Democraps.

The Highway Trust Fund will be out of money by July, and projections show that for FY 2010, only around $10 Billion in federal highway match will be available next year to pay for projects already underway. We can either pay as we go and screw down on Pork and Diversions, or we can have highways funded by deficit spending out of the Unified Federal Budget. If we put every single auto driver in a bus or train, we would still have to build & maintain the full state and federal road system to keep store shelves full and mail order boxes coming.