[Sosfbay-discuss] Boxer wants to hear from us so tell her we want green transportation!

[Fred Duperrault]

Edward,  Your (this) letter to Sen. Boxer  is right on.  I hope she is 
sincere about taking your and other such incontrovertible advice from 
knowledgeable constituents.

I'm going to write her and include a copy of your letter.  I'll praise 
its authenticity while urging her to use her powerful chair to advance 
such critical change.

Thanks for taking action!

Fred Duperrault

The following is from Senator Barbara Boxer. Let her know what you 
think. After her message is what I wrote to her.

Dear Friend:

Traffic and air quality are issues that impact all Californians.  We all 
hope to quickly and safely travel to work or school and then home to our 
families.  We also all depend on clean air that is too often degraded by 
cars, trucks and trains.

As the Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public 
Works, one of my most important priorities for the coming year is to 
authorize a new federal highway, transit and highway safety bill.  The 
aim of the bill is to improve surface transportation nationwide, which 
can help improve our air quality as well.  My committee has begun the 
process to write the next bill.  I am writing to you both to offer some 
information about the process and to ask for your thoughts about the 
focus and priorities of the bill.

Recently, I held briefings in California to hear from transportation 
officials in California about their priorities.  With the following 
links, you can watch video of the two briefings in Sacramento and Los 
Angeles and read the testimony of the witnesses:

Field Briefing in Los Angeles 
<http://boxer.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=1999878088.196899.427&gen=1&mailing_linkid=11500>
Field Briefing in Sacramento 
<http://boxer.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=1999878088.196899.427&gen=1&mailing_linkid=11501>

I also want to hear from you.  I want to know your priorities for the 
next federal transportation bill.  I hope you will use the instructions 
at the bottom of this page to send me your thoughts about what the 
transportation priorities for the nation should be for the coming 
years.  What can be done to best reduce congestion?  Do you want more 
public transit?  What should be done to more quickly move freight across 
the nation?  While these are not easy questions, I would like to hear 
from you.  By considering the thoughts of Californians, I think we can 
craft a better bill for the nation.


Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

 

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

To respond to this message, please click here 
<http://boxer.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=1999878088.196899.427&gen=1&mailing_linkid=11503>.  
This link will take you to a webpage where you can reply to messages 
that you receive from Senator Boxer’s office.



Dear Senator Boxer:

As one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, 
California is poised to take a leadership role in stopping global 
warming even if the United States does not. However, real change will 
need to happen in Washington DC to tackle this issue, so I am thankful 
that this is an issue that we both care about.

First, we need to seriously fund public transit and high speed rail in 
California and in major metropolitan areas instead of spending billions 
in the coming years expanding our highways and airports.

Second, we need to put serious pressure on the auto industry to produce 
green vehicles. Plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle technologies were 
available a decade ago, but GM decided to scrap the EV1. Learning from 
past mistakes, we need to increase our CAFE standards for cars to 60mpg 
and 45mpg for light trucks by 2012 if we are to reach the target of an 
80% reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. The current plan 
for 80% by 2050 is not enough if we are to stop global warming, even 
though vague and distant goals may be more politically convenient.

Lastly, we need to show the world that we mean business when we talk 
about getting rid of our addiction to dirty fuels such as oil. There is 
too much talk about biofuels such as ethanol and other unclean, 
non-sustainable energy sources for our nation's vehicles. We need to 
seriously invest in converting to a solar economy with 100% electric 
cars. Gasoline, ethanol, and hydrogen are not the ways of the future, 
despite what big auto and oil companies are telling Congress and 
ordinary Americans. We also need to adopt a nuclear-free energy policy, 
a policy that the Republicans are going to do a major push for in the 
near future. The Democratic Party CANNOT give in to nuclear lobbyists 
and the conservative agenda!

Thank you for prioritizing the future of transportation in our country 
and I hope to hear your thoughts about these matters soon.

Sincerely,

Edward Chow



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