I'm frothing mad right now. Last night I was listening to local NPR on my drive home from downtown Los Angeles when I nearly crashed my car after hearing this report. (
RealAudio file)
Please listen to the report if you, like me, are interested in high-speed rail as a green techology that can help the US end its dependency on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions , and improve our quailty of life.
Then please follow me below the fold for more, including what you can do to help.
Apparently Californians are being deprived of cheap, efficient, energy-saving high-speed rail in a back door deal between the legislature and the governor. The plan to build a bullet train between San Francisco and Southern California
has existed for a long time now. We were deprived of a vote to fund the system the 2004 ballot, despite polls showing
strong support, and now it seems like the legislature and the governor have schemed together to take high-speed rail off the 2006 ballot. For too long, Californians have been screwed out of environmentally conscious, energy saving high speed rail by bought and paid for politicians.
Frankly I think this is more than a state issue. We need to stand up to big oil and push for environmentally sound transportation that supports energy independence and reduces emissions of greenhouse gases. This is the kind of populist policy that people-powered movements were born to take on, and California needs your help to do this.
So if you live in California, or are simply a fan of high-speed rail or care about environmentally sound transportation policy in the United States, get on the phone and tell the Legislature and the Governor to let the voters, not the oil companies, decide.
Here's some contact info:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
Contact info for State Legislators
Here
And Contact Phil Angelides and challenge him to call out the Governor on high-speed rail
1331 21st Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 448-1998
info@angelides.com
Maybe this is the issue that can steer him to victory this fall.
UPDATE: Text of the bill here