PTC E-News 13

PEI Public Transit Coalition Electronic News 13

1 Local

1.1 Charlottetown Bus Service Upgrades
1.2 Update from Saskatoon, Steering Committee Meeting and Upcoming Events
1.3 Perhaps Public Transit Could Help in Summerside?
1.4 Another David Suzuki Sighting on PEI

2 National

2.1 Was BC Ferries Warned Before the Tragedy?
2.2 Politics and the TTC Labour Dispute
2.3 A Model Feasibility Study for Prince Edward Island

3 International

3.1 U.S. Mayors Voice Their Environmental Concerns
3.2 Curitiba, Brazil: A Public Transit Model from the "Developing" World
3.3 The Energy Crisis: Two Viewpoints from Two Different Perspectives-
A Conservative U.S. Solution and a Socialist Suggestion


1 National

1.1 1.1 Charlottetown Bus Service Upgrades

From The Guardian
Saturday, June 10, 2006

Revamped Bus Service Makes it Easier for Commuters

Charlottetown Transit extends hours on University Avenue Route, adds bus frequency in peak hours

Charlottetown Transit is promising that a revamped service will make it easier for commuters in the capital city to take the bus to work.
The multi-route bus service, begun nine months ago by Mike Cassidy and Bobby Dunn, is extending hours on its #1 University Avenue route so that business will roll from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and adding extra bus frequency during the peak commuting hours.
" We will be making some changes to respond to the needs of people working for the provincial and federal governments who told us that they need to be able to be sure they can get to work by eight o'clock and go home around four in the afternoon," Dunn said Friday.
Effective Monday, Charlottetown Transit will add two extra peak hour runs to its morning and afternoon service and rework some routes to make the trip in and out of town.
" In some of the suburbs we're telling people they might have to come out to the main drag, but we can have you downtown in under 15 minutes," said Dunn.
Copies of the new schedule and route information will be available Saturday afternoon at Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Charlottetown, at City Hall, West Royalty Pharmacy, Parkdale Pharmacy, and Trius Tours offices.

1.2 Update from Saskatoon, Steering Committee Meeting and Upcoming Events

Frustration. This is what I felt upon my return from the 2006 CUTA Annual Conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from May 27-31. Although many of the keynote addresses, workshops/seminars and roundtable discussions on media relations and small systems issues provided wonderful insight into the nature and difficulties facing our public transit infrastructure in Canada, it was frustrating for me to hear, upon introducing myself to transit industry professionals, politicians and transit operators, " what exactly is a public transit coalition?" However, the positive reinforcement I obtained from many of these inquisitive delegates made my appearance worthwhile in Saskatoon and provided our coalition with the incentive to keep moving forward in our quest for Island-wide public transit. Seeing so many successful systems represented in Saskatoon and being privvy to the unveiling on behalf of several transit operators (namely TransLink Vancouver, Saskatoon Transit and York Region Transit) of new and improved bus rapid transit and rail-link services showed me the importance of our industry to all communities and highlighted the enormous shift which is occurring in many of Canada's mid-sized and larger urban centres toward a more eco-friendly, commuter friendly and community-developing public transit initiative. Stay tuned for an in-depth report on Saskatoon coming soon to the website!
The Steering Committee of the PTC met at the PEI Council of the Disabled boardroom on Friday, June 2, 2006. The minutes from that meeting have been posted on this site!
Finally, to new business. David and I will be assisting a number of functions coming up later this month, namely follow-up meetings with our workshop delegates in Souris and Western PEI, as well as a number of key meetings with Ryan Gallant of the UPEI Student Union (concerning the U-Pass issue at the University), Mike Cassidy and Bobby Dunn of Charlottetown Transit, MLA Olive Crane and Minister Gail Shea. We're hoping to not only help the Student Union at UPEI facilitate the introduction of the U-Pass for its students, but in speaking to Gail Shea and Olive Crane our plans for a provincial-municipal co-operative effort in an Island-wide transit feasibility study can be better directed and, ideally, implemented.

1.3 Perhaps Public Transit Could Help in Summerside?

Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Wellness Centre traffic causes safety concern

By JIM BROWN

Brian Bernard says he hopes and prays he won't witness a serious accident near his house, close to where the Summerside Wellness Centre is located.

Motorists are travelling at excessive speeds, making dangerous U-turns into traffic, parking in private driveways and not using turn signals properly, says Bernard, who has lived on Notre Dame Street with his wife Judy for 10 years.

Both sides of St. Lawrence Street, Greenwood Drive and much of Notre Dame Street are jammed with parked cars during much of the day, said Bernard.

"It's the kids I'm really worried about. They're just running in and out of classes (at the pool)."

Bernard said he complained to police Friday but has yet to see a ticket on anyone's windshield.

Every day, it seems, there's another close call.

He keeps his first-aid kit next to him, just in case.

Notre Dame Street, from Notre Dame Takeout to Greenwood Drive, is becoming known as "the Notre Dame International Speedway," said Bernard.

Bernard supports the new Wellness Centre, but he wishes visitors would show more consideration for people who live in the neighbourhood, by driving their cars into the parking lot behind the building and not using the disabled parking spaces in front as a pick-up and drop-off zone.

Bernard, who has a disability himself, says he approached able-bodied motorists only to be told they were just waiting for their child.

Sometimes the response is harsher.

Coun. Brent Gallant says he has talked to Bernard and plans to take his complaints to the city's police services committee, which meets next Wednesday.


Garth Lyle, who chairs the police services committes, says he has seen some of the illegal practices Bernard talks about, including the misuse of disabled parking spots.

A recommendation currently before the police services committee calls for parking to be eliminated on one side of St. Lawrence Street.

Lyle says police want to deter people from illegal parking and other practices but at the same time a balance has to be struck.

"We don't want to give people a bad experience by ticketing them (excessively)."

Lyle and Gallant believe the problem will be eased once construction on the new rink next to the Wellness Centre is complete, offering more attractive parking options.

1.4 Another David Suzuki Sighting on PEI

Full house at Suzuki's lecture

By AMBER SHEA
The Journal-Pioneer

There were people covered in tattoos, people dawned in business suits, they were ages 10 to70, but they all had one thing in common - They came to listen to David Suzuki.

On June 11, Suzuki stopped into the Rodd Hotel in Charlottetown to give a two-hour presentation on his new autobiography and the importance of Mother Nature.

By about 6:45 p.m., there were about 350 people packed into one of the meeting rooms at the Rodd and soon after Suzuki entered the room, a hush fell over the crowd.

Throughout most of the presentation Suzuki remained lighthearted while he told the story of how he became enthralled with the environment and the interesting people he met along the way. But near the end, the cheer drained from his voice and it boomed throughout the room as he encouraged the crowd to stand up to the what the Canadian government is doing to the environment.

"I dont' believe for one second that what we're about is a one per cent reduction in GST," Suzuki said referring to the government's current goals.

Suzuki, who is also the founder of the Suzuki Foundation, proceeded to talk about Sustainability Within A Generation a report produced by his foundation.

It is a list of nine goals Canada can achieve by 2030 that would aid the environment.

He said the plan is being adopted by organizations in the United States and Australia, but the Canadian government refuses to meet with Suzuki to discuss implementing the strategy in Canada.

Suzuki said when he contacted Prime Minster Steven Harper to arrange a meeting, he turned him down flat.

Suzuki said he has met with numerous Canadian groups to discuss the plan and all have agreed with its goals.

So obviously it is something Canadians want, he said.

The government is ripping up the Kyoto Protocol and gutting the environment department and its funds, he said his face growing red.
Canadians need to remind Harper about the importance of the environment and the need to preserve it for future generations.
He noted that Brian Mullrooney was the best Prime Minster for the environment because Canadians made Mother Nature a priority.

"I don't think for a minute he cared about the environment," Suzuki said.

It was Canadians that made it an issue he could not ignore and that can happen again, he said.

Suzuki's tour ends today in Halifax.


2 National

2.1 Was BC Ferries Warned Before the Tragedy?

Insider says he raised alarm on B.C. Ferries
ROD MICKLEBURGH
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
VANCOUVER — Not long before the Queen of the North passenger ship ran into a rocky island and sank, B.C. Ferries' safety director warned of "catastrophic incidents" if the fleet's safety practices were not improved, according to a writ filed in B.C. Supreme Court yesterday.
In the writ, Darrin Bowland, who resigned his $100,000-a-year management post shortly after the sinking, said the tragedy "could well have [been] prevented" if senior executives at B.C. Ferries had heeded his alarm.
"Safety protocols and practices associated with [the] fleet were woefully inadequate," Mr. Bowland charged.
As well, once the ship went down with the loss of two lives, senior management prevented him from conducting an internal inquiry into the accident, he claimed.
The serious allegations are contained in a suit for damages Mr. Bowland has launched, arguing that the ferry corporation's "refusal to remedy problems that put the public at serious risk" made it ethically impossible for him to continue in his job.
The writ (the B.C. term for a statement of claim), comes at a time when B.C. Ferries is already feeling heat over alleged safety deficiencies in connection with the sinking.
The Transport Safety Board recently sent an advisory to fleet president David Hahn after finding that some crew on the bridge at the time of the collision were inadequately trained on new steering and navigation equipment.
In what now seems like a prescient speech to the Nautical Institute one week before the ferry mishap, Mr. Bowland had expressed concern over the increased complexity of such equipment and said training standards weren't keeping pace.
The ferry, carrying 101 crew and passengers, went drastically off course as it headed south from Prince Rupert through the narrow Inside Passage in the early hours of March 22.
The large vessel crashed into Gil Island at high speed and sank in deep water an hour later, the first sinking in the history of the province's large ferry fleet.
Passengers Gerald Foisy, 46, and his companion, Shirley Rosette, 42, did not escape.
Mr. Bowland was hired in January as B.C. Ferries' director of health, safety and the environment, after 11 years' service captaining luxury liners in the Caribbean.
After a review of fleet procedures, according to his writ, Mr. Bowland went to senior management and warned them of the "strong likelihood of catastrophic incidents" without immediate improvements to safety protocols and practices.
But fleet managers ignored the warning and failed to support his attempts to improve safety conditions, the writ said.
After the sinking, Mr. Bowland went to Prince Rupert to begin an internal inquiry, but was prevented from doing so by senior management, the writ continued. He resigned a few days later.
A press released issued by B.C. Ferries said he resigned for "personal reasons," raising an inference that he had somehow been at fault in the sinking of the Queen of the North, according to Mr. Bowland's writ.
Yet management knew that he quit over "the negative experiences he had . . . concerning critical issues of public safety," he contended. "The press release was false and misleading."
As a result, Mr. Bowland claimed, his reputation has been tarnished and he has been unable to find a new job.
His lawsuit seeks damages for negligent misrepresentation, wrongful dismissal and loss of reputation.
B.C. Ferries declined comment on Mr. Bowland's charges, none of which have been proven or tested in court.
"We do not discuss personnel matters or issues before the courts," said spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.
Asked whether the public should be alarmed by ongoing allegations of the fleet's poor safety practices, Ms. Marshall replied: "We feel we are one of the safest operations in the world."
The Transportation Safety Board, meanwhile, is continuing its investigation into the sinking.
A submersible will be sent to the sunken ship this week, with investigators hoping to focus on newly installed equipment on the ferry's bridge.
Evidence to date indicates that the vessel's electronic chart system was turned off at the time of the accident because crew members found its nighttime glare too bright.
They were unfamiliar with dimming adjustments on the new navigational aid, the TSB has said.

2.2 Politics and the TTC Labour Dispute

TTC issues moved to the rear
Politics weakens growth strategy
Who will make the case for transit?
Jun. 10, 2006. 01:00 AM
KEVIN MCGRAN
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
Rick Ducharme's ouster as chief general manager and Howard Moscoe's lame-duck status as chair of the TTC couldn't come at a worse time for commuters who hope The Better Way will one day live up to its moniker.
Issues that go to the core of the TTC's growth strategy — the future of the Scarborough RT, expanding the streetcar network, the purchase of new buses, streetcars and subways — are at risk of being sideswiped by labour woes and political interference as the upper echelon of the TTC lurches from crisis to crisis.
Political meddling here is nothing new. Because of it, the TTC has ended up with things it didn't really need, like Mel Lastman's Sheppard subway, and things that weren't properly thought through, like Bill Davis's Scarborough RT.
It has also killed things that could have proved beneficial, like an Eglinton subway to the airport, stopped by Mike Harris. And given TTC users things they could have done without like the service cuts and fare hikes through the 1990s.
Ridership is again on the increase, rising from 390 million per year in 1999 to an expected 430 million this year. Finding more ways to move more people has become essential.
For riders, transit issues ought to revolve around arrival dates for more streetcars, buses, subways, transit lanes and subway extension. All that's been sidetracked by the wildcat strike and ensuing political fallout.
"Frankly if we spend the next six months talking about labour stuff, there's going to be far more important stuff not being on the table," says transit advocate Steve Munro. "There are far more fundamental issues regarding medium- and long-term budget planning and capital works planning. If we are serious about improving the transit system, we've got to spend some money on it."
The TTC now lacks the strong leadership necessary to make that case. Ducharme, with his transit experience, and Moscoe, with his political sense and street smarts, formed a formidable pair. Now Ducharme's gone, and an under-pressure Moscoe is offering to give up his post in November.
That's bad news for riders because deals on the table to improve transit are more likely to be deferred when debated this summer by the city's budget advisory committee. The powerful fiscal hawks on that committee will have an easy time with weakened transit advocates, forcing delays to purchasing new buses, subway cars and streetcars, saving money through deferral, rather than focussing on transit priorities.
One front-burner issue: Scarborough's transit future. Will residents of the city's poorest-served transit area get a subway, a refurbished RT, or a streetcar network? With the current RT reaching the end of its life about 2015 time is running out.
It's a decision that will affect the city for decades. The province has undermined the process by giving $1 million to the city to conduct an environmental assessment to put in a subway, and the city hasn't even reached a conclusion. Will the issue even get a proper debate and resolution in this climate?
A debate is growing around Moscoe's deal with Bombardier for that Quebec-based company to be the sole source of TTC subway cars, a means to fast-track the modernization of the Yonge-University-Spadina line.
Councillors who were quiet on the issue before are comparing it to the MFP leasing boondoggle that embarrassed the city under Lastman. By the time Bombardier comes through with its offer, those left on the commission may liken it to political poison in an election year.
Ironically, the deal — struck to protect unionized jobs in Thunder Bay — may end up as collateral damage due to the TTC's labour woes. A project that had momentum may be stalled, who knows for how long.
The same thing could happen to the TTC's desire to get rid of streetcars and replace them with a modern fleet of light rail vehicles. The budget committee would rather the TTC refurbish the current fleet, extending its life for 10 years. That's bad news for those backing accessible transit, and for streets constantly in need of reconstruction because of the weight of streetcars.
What strong voice will make the case to build streetcar lines in the redeveloped port lands? Ducharme made the case that if streetcar lines don't go in concurrently with housing development, then folks moving into this downtown area will need to have two cars like everyone else.
Convincing the budget committee to give the TTC more money in this climate is laughable. And it's doubtful the TTC will find a strong voice to replace Ducharme until the labour issues are resolved.
That's too bad. There are already few enough voices advocating bus and streetcar priority on city streets. Ducharme and Moscoe were two such advocates. Ducharme is gone, Moscoe hanging on by a thread.
And commuters are paying the price.

2.3 A Model Feasibility Study for Prince Edward Island

As the Public Transit Coalition strives to have a feasibility study conducted for the establishment of an Island-wide transit system, we can take a page from the efforts of the STO (Société de Transport de L'Outaouais) to re-assess their transit infrastructure needs and provide a new template for an ever-growing service in their region. Here's the link:

http://www.sto.ca/rapibus/_images/PDF/systeme_transport_rapide_e.pdf


3 International

3.1 U.S. Mayors Voice Their Environmental Concerns

Mayors Sound Alarm on Rising Fuel Costs, Energy Crisis; USCM Hosts National Summit on Energy and the Environment in Chicago, May 10-11

WASHINGTON, May 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- With record-level gas prices and rising fuel costs in America, The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), led by Conference President Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, hosted an urgent National Summit on Energy and the Environment on May 10 to 11 in Chicago to sound a national alarm on the country's energy/environmental challenges and to stress the importance of energy/environmental conservation. Approximately 35 mayors joined with industry experts and the private sector to discuss a broad range of topics including air quality, climate change, alternative energy sources, alternative vehicles, public transit and green housing and buildings.
"Mayors are very concerned about the recent spike in fuel and energy costs and the financial burden it places on American citizens and their families. We know that aggressive action is necessary to turn this tide, and we are taking the lead in addressing the nation's energy challenges to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. We can not wait on the federal government; we must do what mayors do best and act now," said Conference President Beverly O'Neill.
The nation's mayors have heard President Bush's declaration that America is "addicted to oil," and the Conference is on the forefront of the national effort to find comprehensive, long-term solutions to move the country from this energy crisis toward energy independence.
Already, mayors have implemented innovative programs in their cities that provide short-term solutions to energy dependence, and released a best practice guide that outlines these programs at the Summit. Numerous cities like Chicago, Ill., Austin, Texas, Los Angeles, Calif. and Charlotte, N.C., contributed to the guide that illustrates specifically how mayors are dealing with this crisis on a local level.
Mayor Daley underscored the importance of the best practice guide saying, "There are things that mayors can do to help our constituents deal with the energy crisis. And that's why we're having this conference - to share ideas on how we can conserve energy and encourage the development of new forms of energy."
During the Summit, the mayors also pledged to develop an Energy/Environment Conservation Action Agenda to be issued at the Conference's Annual Meeting in June in Las Vegas, Nev. Among the items to be included in the Action Agenda, the mayors are calling for the following six initial steps to help alleviate energy problems:
1) Invest more money in transportation options including public and mass transit, bike paths, etc.
2) Encourage at the local, state, and federal level the building or rehabilitation of more energy efficient buildings in both the public and private sector.
3) Encourage automakers to make more energy efficient cars as well as encouraging individuals to buy vehicles that are more energy efficient including alternative fuels, hybrids, and plug- in hybrids.
4) Encourage more investment in renewable and alternative energy through additional incentives.
5) Encourage more mixed-use development to allow people to have more walkable communities.
6) Encourage the public and private sector, as well as citizens, to do their part in conserving energy.

3.2 Curitiba, Brazil: A Public Transit Model from the "Developing" World

The Curitiba Transport System in Brazil: An Example of Universal Design within Developing Economies

By Verônica de Lima Camisão Costa

In the area of accessible transportation, we have the example of Curitiba, with approximately two million people. It has Brazil's most accessible transport system, due to the adoption of an Integrated Transport Network. Public transportation in general and especially the solutions aimed at the disabled have been a priority inn the city's public transportation system which is done through an Integrated Transportation Network (Rede Integrada de Transporte - RIT).

Accessible Transportation: The Example of Curitiba

With various means of transportation now available, the disabled traveller has multiple options: for example, a person in a wheelchair can call the multipurpose vehicle-taxi, go to a tube station to take a Ligeirinho bus, and commute to another Ligeirinho at an integration terminal or another tube station to reach the desired destination.

Or the person can take the multipurpose vehicle-taxi to one of the special buses on the conventional line stops close the institutions for the disabled, and back.

Policies concerning attendance to the disabled are implemented and managed by the Department for Support and Assistance of the Disabled which reports directly to the Mayor's Office.

1. Direct Lines

The Direct Lines are part of the public transportation system in Curitiba. They are part of the RIT, the Integrated Transportation Network, utilizing regular stops.

On these lines the fare is collected before the passenger boards the bus to reduce boarding/alighting, duration of stops (since passengers embark and disembark through a level platform), and the numbers of stops thus increasing operational speed.

Buses on the Direct Lines stop at the tube-stations which consist of a steel and glass cylinder equipped with a turnstile both in the front and rear areas, a place for the fare collector and an attendance area for easy operation.

The established routes pass through RIT's Integration terminals located on the city's development axes and points where urban activity is massively concentrated.

To enable disabled persons to use the Direct Lines the tube-stations were equipped with hydraulic elevators to simplify the access to the station. Wheelchair users arrive at the tube-station and position their wheelchair on the lift which is operated by the fare collector from within the tube-station. The platform rises until it levels with the station enabling the disabled passenger to enter the station and pass through a small gate next to the automatic fare-collection machine, without paying the fare. As soon as the bus arrives at the tube-station, the passenger enters through the level platform and positions the wheelchair in the proper space, facing one of the doors.

The tube-station elevators are also used for baby carriages, elderly people, and temporary disabled persons (people with cast, etc.). In certain integration terminals access is done through ramps, with an 8% slant at the most.

2. The Double-Articulated Bus

To replace old Express bus lines in one of Curitiba's main transportation routes, the North-South line, a new technology was introduced: the so-called double articulated bus. The new lines were introduced within the city's strategy of facilitating the transit of the physically disabled throughout the city by means of its transportation system. The 25-meter double-articulate bus has capacity for 270 passengers per trip.

The bus provides increased comfort and faster trips, and has room to easily accommodate two wheelchairs. Boarding and alighting is the same as in the Direct Lines: through tube-stations at the regular bus stops and platforms at the integration terminals. Every tube-station is equipped with a hydraulic elevator at the intermediate stops. The platforms are provided with ramps (8% slant) and handrails to ensure easy access to the physically disabled, senior citizens, pregnant women or baby carriages. The stops along these lines are totally integrated to the RIT, Integrated Transportation Network, system covering over 300 kilometers, which provides easy access to disabled passengers.

3. Multipurpose Vehicle - Taxi Specially Adapted For Disabled Persons

To provide better service to the physically disabled besides making the access to the tube-stations easier, URBS has developed the multipurpose vehicle-taxi service. The vehicles were specially adapted for disabled persons, equipped with an electrical-hydraulic vertical elevator, a maneuvering area, and room for two wheelchairs plus support equipment, horizontal handrails, wheelchairs fastener, and safety belt.

The multipurpose vehicle-taxis have a distinct lay-out for easy identification: a black and orange checkered stripe (typical of the local taxis) printed on the side, the physically disabled access international sign printed in orange, and the taxi number printed on the upper part of the vehicle. The stripes are printed on the front, rear and side parts of the vehicle which has a an illuminated rooftop "taxi" sign.

The service was created in 1991, the vehicles were acquired by local radio-taxi companies who benefited from a Tax Exemption Law for self-employed associates, and licensed for taxi drivers. The fare is the same as that of a regular taxi ride: drivers receive about 10 to 15 calls daily, and taking a client to the desired destination takes about 40 minutes.

4. Special Education Lines
In order to assist physically or mentally disabled students attending special schools, a distinct service was created in 1985, the Integrated System of Special Education School Transportation (Sistema Integrado de Transporte Escolar de Ensino Especial, SITES).

The 18 lines that first integrated the system are now 23, benefiting around 3.000 students. The Special Education routes connect either the homes of the physically or mentally disabled students or pre-established stops to the SITES Terminal.

The students get off at the terminal aided by skilled personnel, then board a bus (the same bus on the district-terminal route) headed for the school. When school is over the bus takes the students back to the terminal where they transfer to a different bus that takes them either home or to pre-established stops.

The SITES Terminal was built by URBS in 1988 with funding from the EBTU/World Bank IV, and specially equipped to provide passenger comfort and safety. Buses equipped for disabled persons on the conventional lines stop at the terminal as well. The cost is subsidized by the entire transportation system, mileage is paid by URBS and operational costs are included in the fare.

3.3 The Energy Crisis: Two Viewpoints from Two Different Perspectives-
A Conservative U.S. Solution and a Socialist Suggestion

3.3.1 A Conservative U.S. Solution

The Supply-Side Cure to the Energy Crisis
Liberals and regulations caused it . . . conservatives and the free market can fix it.

By Peter Ferrara

Liberals say oil companies are responsible for today’s high price of gasoline. But, actually, it is the liberals who are responsible. Over the past thirty years, extreme-left liberals have successfully shut down new energy production in the United States. Hyping technologically outdated concerns over coastal oil spills, they have won bans on new oil drilling in the very promising outer continental shelf. Excessive and high-cost regulation has effectively shut down new drilling on the continental inland as well. Ditto for new oil from extensive deposits of oil shale and tar sands in the western U.S. and Canada. And let’s not forget drilling in the all-ice-covered, mostly dark, virtually uninhabitable tundra in the far north of Alaska. Liberals have stopped that, too.

Years ago, the American Left won a continuing moratorium on development of new natural-gas supplies, which caused the price of gas for home heating to soar along with the price of residential oil. Hysterical, uninformed, liberal-left agitation has also long shut down the development of new nuclear power plants in the U.S., even though nuclear power has been used quite extensively for decades in France, Japan, and elsewhere. The U.S. now runs the risk of becoming technologically backward in this area.
1. The liberals also have stoked “Not in My Backyard” concerns in order to stop the building of new oil refineries. More, those refineries that remain have been heavily regulated, with the requirement that they produce alternative gas blends for different parts of the country. The refineries also have been required to blend-in increasingly expensive and scarce ethanol. All of this raises costs and causes shortages, with no significant gain for the environment.
Finally, we now hear liberals screaming loudly about oil-company profits. But according to the Tax Foundation, the government takes about three-times as much in taxes from what you pay at the pump than the oil companies take in profits. Federal, state, and local gas taxes alone total about 46 cents per gallon, on average. Corporate income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and other taxes tack on much more.
Liberals, in fact, have been saying for years that American gas prices are too cheap, and that we should have to pay $4 to $5 a gallon, as is the case in Europe. That would lead to so much wonderful conservation, they say. But now we have just what they wished for. How do you like it?
Frankly, the liberals now have you exactly where they want you: on your way to riding mass transit or even walking miles to work with no individual transportation freedom. Many on the left are simply opposed to modern industrialization period, and see shutting down all energy sources one by one as the way to achieve their extremist goals.
Republican politicians, oddly quiet on all these facts, need to aggressively explain to the public exactly what the causes of the currently catastrophic gas prices really are: liberal foolishness. But even more important, conservatives and Republicans need to campaign on an aggressive program to solve the problem.
Ronald Reagan very openly campaigned in 1980 on solving the last energy crisis by “unleashing the power of the free market” to produce energy. That is exactly what we need now. Indeed, increased energy supplies are the only way to bring down the prices of oil and gas. Windfall profits taxes will only reduce supply and raise prices further by sucking up the capital and incentive to produce new oil and gas. Breaking up American oil companies into smaller and supposedly more competitive pieces will also do nothing to bring down the world price of a barrel of oil. (Breaking up the federal government into smaller, more competitive pieces would likely be far more beneficial.)
Here is a specific agenda: Federal legislation should provide that half the royalties from offshore drilling in federal areas more than 3 miles at sea go to the states on whose coasts the drilling occurs. The other half should go into a pool to be distributed to the other states. This would give coastal states a sufficient incentive to overcome unreasoned local opposition to such drilling.
Of course, we also need to allow drilling in the far-north Alaska tundra. Current estimates (and these pre-drilling estimates always end up being too conservative) reveal that this effectively would add another Saudi Arabia to the world oil supply. More, there is no significant environmental threat attached to the drilling planned in Alaska.
Federal legislation also should seriously streamline the process for building new nuclear power plants. All new construction stopped on this front because the regulatory approval process was starting to drag out more than ten years. One big problem was that extremist groups were allowed to sue and become party to regulatory approval proceedings, at which point they followed a practice of trying to talk the approval process to death with scare tactics and uninformed claims.
Federal legislation needs to shut down the ability of these outside groups to sue in order to stop energy projects across the board. These groups should be allowed to submit comments and briefs in the regulatory proceedings, but no more. Just like the rest of us, they get their big day at the ballot box every two years, and they should not be entitled to an additional day in court to frustrate the public will expressed in those elections.
The approval process for new refineries needs to be greatly streamlined as well. Excessive regulation of existing refineries, which unnecessarily increases costs, should be eliminated. We also need to remove the moratoriums and excessive regulation that halts the production of new natural gas, new inland exploration and drilling, and the use of abundant tar sands, oil shale, and coal.
The market development of new fuels such as ethanol and hydrogen can also help. But there should not be government subsidies or mandates requiring their use. These fuels need to sink or swim in the marketplace on their own.
Of course, all of this needs to be done under requirements to protect the public health and safety and avoid real environmental harm. But such regulation needs to be based on real science, not hysterical, uninformed extremism.
The vast new energy supplies these policies would produce would eventually reduce the price of oil and gas dramatically. As late as 1998, the price of a barrel of oil was still only $13, compared to over $70 today. New nuclear power and natural-gas supplies would take some of the pressure off of oil, contributing substantially to the restoration of reasonable prices. While these solutions are more long-term, the market will see what is coming down the line — a process that will start to have an effect on prices much sooner than is now recognized.
If conservatives and Republicans aggressively pursue this strategy now, it will be a big positive for them in this fall’s elections — rather than the disaster liberals and Democrats now predict.
— Peter Ferrara is a Senior Fellow at the Free Enterprise Fund and Director of Entitlement and Budget Reforms at the Institute for Policy Innovation.

3.3.2 A Socialist Suggestion

A socialist response to the massive rise in fuel prices
A statement by the Socialist Equality Party
26 April 2006

The staggering increase in gasoline prices is taking an enormous toll on working families in the US, whose paychecks are already being eaten up by a host of other rising costs, from health care, to education, to housing and food. In the last two weeks alone, prices at the gas pump have risen nearly 25 cents—to an average of $2.91 per gallon—with prices exceeding $3.10 in California, New York and other states.
Some 70 percent of US adults recently polled said gas prices—which are up 31 percent since last year—were causing them financial hardship. Tens of millions of people in America forced to drive long distances to work, as well as elderly people on fixed incomes, rural residents and small business owners are being devastated, and the crisis could lead to mass layoffs in the airline and trucking industries and throughout the economy.
Underlying this crisis is the fundamental contradiction between the development of the productive forces and the social relations of the capitalist profit system, which finds its starkest expression in the maintenance of a petroleum-based economy that every day becomes more incompatible with human needs and life itself.
After warning that Americans must brace for a “tough summer,” blaming supposed “tight supply” for prices that could reach beyond $4.00 a gallon in the next several months, President Bush responded to mounting outrage by announcing a series of largely meaningless measures Tuesday. These proposals—suspending environmental rules governing gasoline refiners, halting purchases for the government’s emergency stockpile and giving oil companies more time to pay back previous loans of crude oil from these reserves—will do little or nothing to ease prices, while further feeding the profit drive of the energy conglomerates.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, meanwhile, declared that there is “no silver bullet” to bring down prices and advised Americans to tune up their cars and drive more slowly to get better mileage. For workers who are seeing their real wages slashed by the cost of long daily commutes, Frist’s remarks amount to “Let them eat cake.”
While the oil companies and their apologists in Washington have blamed world crude oil prices and environmental regulations for the price hikes, the chief cause is profiteering by oil companies, which are posting record windfalls. Over the last decade, there has been a wave of mergers and consolidations in the oil industry, allowing a handful of monopolies to tighten their grip on supplies, manipulate production levels and drive up prices. The present crisis is the result not of some natural working out of the laws of the market, but rather of definite decisions made by corporate executives who have immense personal interest in the matter.
In the 1990s, oil producers complained of too much refining capacity, not too little, and an “oversupply” of oil that was driving down profit margins. The industry responded by shutting down 25 refineries in the US since 1995 and cutting capacity by 830,000 barrels a day. In addition, competitors conspired to control the amount of oil and gas on the market, eliminate independent producers and consolidate control of supply and pricing in the hands of the oil monopolies.
In 2005, the top five oil companies—Exxon Mobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips—saw their profits surge to more than $111 billion. The world’s largest oil giant, ExxonMobil, made $36.1 billion, the highest amount in US corporate history and more profits than the next four companies on the Fortune 500 list combined. At $339 billion, its revenues exceeded the gross national products of Taiwan, Norway and Argentina.
While millions of ordinary people have been squeezed by rising gas prices, ExxonMobil’s top executives and investors have reaped hundreds of millions in compensation and rising share values. Lee R. Raymond, who retired in December, received more than $400 million in his final year at the company. Between 1993 and 2005, Raymond was paid more than $686 million, or $144,573 for each day he spent leading the Texas-based company. During this time, Raymond engineered the $81 billion acquisition of Mobil—giving ExxonMobil the capacity to produce twice as much oil as the country of Kuwait—and wiped out 10,000 jobs.
Raymond’s successor, Rex Tillerson, saw his pay raised by 33 percent last year to $13 million. All told, the top five executives at Exxon took home more than $130 million in compensation in 2005, own more than $280 million in restricted stock, and have stock options valued at $113 million. The oil bosses throughout the industry have been similarly rewarded as oil prices doubled over the last two years.
These corporations and individuals have reaped massive wealth by exploiting and exacerbating the current crisis. None of them have the slightest interest in mounting the kind of vast social effort that is needed not merely to meet current demand, but, more essentially, to develop alternative safe and sustainable sources of energy.
That the present reliance on petroleum is both unsustainable and a deadly threat is indisputable. The world’s crude oil reserves are finite and will only disappear all the more rapidly to the extent that steps are taken to expand production. At the same time, the burning of these fossil fuels is the central cause of global warming, which—the Bush administration’s suppression of science notwithstanding—threatens to make Earth uninhabitable.
Moreover, the pursuit of this finite resource has given rise to the catastrophic growth of militarism. It is the principal cause of the criminal US war in Iraq, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and those of more than 2,500 US troops. It likewise drives the open preparations for a new war against Iran as well as plans for a military confrontation with China, whose expanding economy makes it a competitor for control of global energy supplies.
The best government oil money can buy
The rising gas prices have prompted politicians—Democrats and Republicans alike—to call for investigations into price gouging and, in some cases, even to seek legislation to impose a “windfall profit tax” on the oil companies. Not a thing will come out of this posturing, which is strictly for public consumption.
Big Oil has long exerted enormous influence over both political parties in Washington, but the level of political control it commands today dwarfs what it possessed in the era of John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil at the turn of the twentieth century. With two former Texas oilmen in the White House and the votes of senators and congressmen lubricated with hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions and lobbying efforts directed toward both parties, Big Oil has nothing to fear. Both Democratic and Republican administrations have provided the oil companies with massive subsidies and tax breaks, lifted environmental and safety regulations, and provided the US military as a virtual private army to guard the companies’ oilfields and pipelines throughout the globe.
ExxonMobil’s ex-CEO Raymond, a close ally of the Bush administration, helped formulate policy regarding drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge and opposing any measures to reduce global warming. In 2001, the company was a key participant in Vice President Cheney’s Energy Task Force, which discussed, among other things, the oil fields of Iraq and the danger that, after the end of UN sanctions, the country’s largely untapped reserves might fall into the hands of Russian, Chinese or French competitors, instead of the US or British oil companies.
Last March, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a public hearing to supposedly “investigate” price gouging by the oil companies. Again, Democratic politicians pontificated about “corporate greed” and wagged their fingers at the oil chiefs who testified. In his remarks, Rex Tillerson, the new CEO of ExxonMobil, scoffed at the impotent gestures, reminding the Senators, “I suspect people on this committee benefited from our success last year.” The lifelong oilman knew of what he spoke: among the wealthy Senators assembled on the committee was Arizona Republican Jon Kyl, a large Exxon shareholder who has long championed the industry’s interests.
The program of the Socialist Equality Party
Under conditions in which the living standards of hundreds of millions of working people in the United States are being driven down by the soaring price of fuel, immediate action must be taken to bring the cost of fuel under control.
At the same time, the larger task of developing alternative energy sources and confronting the mounting threat posed by global warming cannot be postponed.
Neither a short-term answer to the present crisis over gas prices, nor the longer-term solution to replacing an unsustainable petroleum-based economy is possible outside of a direct assault on the capitalist profit system and the powerful social, financial and political interests that are behind the policies of Big Oil.
The Socialist Equality Party advances a policy that places social needs before profit interests. We call for an immediate capping of gas prices for individual consumers and small to medium-sized businesses at $1.50 per gallon.
The exploitation of this crisis in the interests of corporate profits and the private accumulation of wealth must be halted. The actions of Big Oil must be approached objectively for what they are: criminal, anti-social behavior. Criminal investigations must be initiated into the practices of the giant oil companies, including the auditing of the personal accounts of all leading executives. The massive profits recorded by the oil companies during the past year as well as the obscene multimillion-dollar compensation packages paid out to executives must be expropriated and placed in a publicly controlled fund.
These short-term measures must be combined with a fundamental change in the financial structure and organization of the energy industry. The American people and, in fact, the people of the world are being held hostage to the profit interests of vast energy conglomerates that threaten the globe with declining living standards, environmental destruction and war. It is necessary to break this stranglehold by nationalizing the energy conglomerates—that is, converting ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, etc., into publicly owned and democratically controlled utilities.
This would begin to make available the financial resources that are needed for launching an internationally coordinated, multitrillion-dollar effort to develop alternative energy sources and confront the danger posed to the environment and mankind’s future.
In opposition to the deliberate “fixing” of the market to enrich the wealthy elite, the exploration, development and use of energy supplies must be guided by a rational international plan that is publicly debated and democratically approved by the working class. This plan must meet the needs of the world’s people for low-cost, environmentally safe and renewable energy.
In their efforts to secure vast profits, the energy monopolies and the auto industry have long conspired to prevent the development of reliable public transportation, and, in the past have dismantled existing transit systems. A rational plan for energy use must include the pouring of billions of dollars into urban mass transit and light-rail systems, as well as developing fuel-efficient vehicles.
These ideas are not utopian but absolutely necessary for the future of humanity. They require, however, that working people assert that their rights—to a decent standard of living, secure jobs, a clean environment and a future free from war—take precedence over the profits and property rights of the America’s ruling elite. To achieve this, the working class must build its own political instrument—a mass socialist party—to end the monopoly of the two big business parties and the outmoded and bankrupt capitalist system they defend. This is the perspective of the Socialist Equality Party and our candidates who are running in the 2006 elections.