Theodore Kheel, 96, labor mediator, dies - RailwayAge Magazine

Theodore Kheel, 96, labor mediator, dies - RailwayAge Magazine: "Longtime labor negotiator Theodore Kheel died Friday at age 96. Kheel was a well-known figure in New York City, even to the general public, for his roles in mediating labor conflicts and/or strikes by the newspaper, teaching, and subway unions throughout much of the latter half of the 20th century, gaining the trust of both labor and management.

In later years, Kheel became an advocate for free public transit within New York, and with the help of transit advocate Charles Koumanoff and others, and funded largely by Kheel himself, advanced a plan for congestion pricing in Manhattan which would fund such a measure. "

Christie Kills Hudson Train Tunnel - NYTimes.com

Christie Kills Hudson Train Tunnel - NYTimes.com: "The largest public transit project in the nation, a commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River to Manhattan, was halted on Thursday by Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey because, he said, the state could not afford its share of the project’s rising cost."

Christie is right. Ambitious rail projects should not be superimposed on the current unsustainable autosprawl system. We should use those $billions to make local urban public transit fare-free. Then when we have reaped the tremendous savings from ending the auto mess, we can implement rail projects.

NJ governor puts a halt to major public transit project | Grist

Ambitious rail projects without bus and streetcar support make easy targets for fossil-fuel trolls. We need basic public transit first. Then rail. Fight for free buses.

NJ governor puts a halt to major public transit project | Grist: "ARC (it stands for 'Access to the Region's Core') had been in the works for 20 years and was slated to cost $8.7 billion, a pricetag that was to be split between the federal government, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the state of New Jersey. It would have created a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River -- doubling commuter rail capacity between New Jersey and New York, one of the most heavily traveled and economically vibrant corridors in the nation. It would also have created 6,000 jobs annually. (Here's some audio from the hopeful groundbreaking a year ago.)"

Texting not a problem where youth do not drive

Clive Thompson to Texters: Park the Car, Take the Bus | Magazine: "The answer, of course, is public transit. In many parts of the world where texting has become ingrained in daily life — like Japan and Europe — public transit is so plentiful that there hasn’t been a major texting-while-driving crisis. You don’t endanger anyone’s life while quietly tapping out messages during your train ride to work in Tokyo or Berlin.

Rich Ling, a sociologist who studies the culture of texting, grew up near Denver but now lives in Oslo with his family. He told me that Denmark has so many buses and streetcars that teenagers often don’t bother getting their driver’s license until later in life. “My daughter is 18, and she’s only sort of starting to think about driving,” he says. As a result, texting while driving “isn’t as big a deal.”"

Ridgewood Patch, NJ - New Free Shuttle Project for the Disabled, Seniors to Run From Ridgewood Train Station

Ridgewood Patch, NJ - New Shuttle Project for the Disabled, Seniors to Run From Ridgewood Train Station: "According to the McNerney, the project 'will provide an excellent source of free public transportation for employees and residents of the region linking it here to the Village of Ridgewood train station.'

Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R-39) of Montvale said the corporate sector in the Montvale office complex area have long talked about some way to get the traffic off the road while also bringing County residents to the area."

Global Warming and Heat Waves - National Wildlife Federation

Global Warming and Heat Waves - National Wildlife Federation: "More extremely hot summer days are projected for every part of the country, and 30 large cities are especially vulnerable, detailed in a new report from the National Wildlife Federation and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

'Global warming is bringing more frequent and severe heat waves and the result will be serious for vulnerable populations,' said Dr. Amanda Staudt, climate scientist, National Wildlife Federation."

Global warming good for farming?

NASA - Drought Drives Decade-Long Decline in Plant Growth: "Earth has done an ecological about-face: Global plant productivity that once flourished under warming temperatures and a lengthened growing season is now on the decline, struck by the stress of drought.

NASA-funded researchers Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running, of the University of Montana in Missoula, discovered the global shift during an analysis of NASA satellite data. Compared with a six-percent increase spanning two earlier decades, the recent ten-year decline is slight -- just one percent. The shift, however, could impact food security, biofuels, and the global carbon cycle.

'We see this as a bit of a surprise, and potentially significant on a policy level because previous interpretations suggested that global warming might actually help plant growth around the world,' Running said."