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Bus Powered by French-fry Fat Reaches Asia
Bonnie Alter, treehugger
Andy Pag, an environmental activist, has been travelling around the world in a bus powered by french-fry fat. He left London on September 19, 2009 and has covered 3,000 miles so far.

Part of the Biotruck Expedition, he is attempting to drive around the world emitting less than 2 tons of CO2. What's it like driving in a bus powered by chip fat: "It smells like a bus driver's armpit, but when you are using rubbish you can't expect too much" he said today in Istanbul.

The G20 nations have agreed to reduce CO2 emissions to two tons per person per year by 2050. This is the amount of carbon emissions which scientists have concluded that every person on the planet will personally have to meet by 2050 if we are to stave off the worst impacts of man-made climate change. In the UK and US average levels are currently about 10-15 tons per person.
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The Biotruck Expedition is attempting to drive around the world emitting less than 2 tons of CO2 in order to dramatize what 2 tons of carbons means. They will also investigate how people are using and generating energy, and their attitudes towards carbon emissions.

Since leaving London on the 19th of September, the bus has covered 3000 miles through France, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, the Balkans and Greece to reach Turkey. In that time Pag has collected over 500 litres of chip fat and biodiesel made from used cooking oil to put in his tank...
(19 Oct 2009)

Video Guide to New Bike Lanes in New York City (video)
Michael Graham Richard, Treehugger
Here's What the NYC DOT Has Been Doing to Help Cyclists
It's always great to see cities that are making real efforts to encourage people to cycle. The benefits can be enormous: Healthier people, fewer cars on the road, less air pollution, a more human-scale city that attracts more tourists, etc. In the video above, various officials from New York City's Department of Transportation explain the thinking behind various types of new bike lanes in the city (on the left, buffered, and completely separated).
(19 Oct 2009)

Off the Rails (multimedia)
Wendy Carlisle, Four Corners
Reporter Wendy Carlisle reveals the alarming disconnect between the politicians who claim they are running New South Wales and the people in the suburbs of Australia's biggest city. She talks to business owners who are unable to employ people unless they have their own car because of a lack of public transport, and travels with workers who spend at least four hours a day commuting to and from work. Meanwhile the government is spending billions of dollars on an inner city metro that some experts claim isn't really needed.

In modern politics the New South Wales Government has won a dubious distinction. It is now considered by many voters to be a political joke. Last year the new state Premier, Nathan Rees, announced the government would build an inner city metro. Standing before the media to make what should have been a significant announcement he found himself humiliated. The Premier had come to the media conference without knowing how much the project would cost.

In some states this might have been a fatal political error. Not in NSW. Voters in the state no longer believe the government when it announces major transport projects and the reason is very simple. In the past decade they have been promised two major new rail extensions, a brand new metro going to the city's north, a ferry service that runs on time and much more besides. Virtually none of this has eventuated.

When the metro costing was finally released it raised some eyebrows. A six kilometre stretch of underground rail would set taxpayers back billions. This stretch of rail would service only the inner west of the city - an area already served by buses, light rail and ferries.

This week on Four Corners, reporter Wendy Carlisle, asks how, with the rest of the city mired in gridlock and lacking public transport and rail services, an inner city area currently held by the Labor Party could be so favoured?...
(5 Oct 2009)
suggested by EB contributor Stuart McCarthy. Significant story from Sydney, Australia, about the struggle with public transport projects including video interviews, related reports, and transcripts.