15 minute cities designed to restrict your mobility
The 15-Minute Trap
Flawed climate data used to create 'crisis,' curb your travel freedom
Scientists Expose Major Problems With Climate Change Data
‘Climate activism has become the new religion of the 21st century—heretics are not welcome and not allowed to ask questions,’ said astrophysicist Willie Soon.
By Alex Newman Epoch Times, February 28, 2024
Temperature records used by climate scientists and governments to build models that then forecast dangerous manmade global warming repercussions have serious problems and even corruption in the data, multiple scientists who have published recent studies on the issue told The Epoch Times.
The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) holds the same view, and its leaders are pushing major global policy changes in response.
But scientific experts from around the world in a variety of fields are pushing back. In peer-reviewed studies, they cite a wide range of flaws with the global temperature data used to reach the dire conclusions; they say it’s time to reexamine the whole narrative.
Is your car spying on you? Yes!
Link to article here.
Stop Your Car From Spying on You
Modern cars are smartphones on wheels, but with less protection for your data.
Your Driving History May Be Transmitted and Stored
"Car companies are collecting information directly from internet-connected vehicles for use by the insurance industry," Kashmir Hill reported this month for The New York Times. "Sometimes this is happening with a driver's awareness and consent…. But in other instances, something much sneakier has happened."
Most drivers fear autonomous vehicles
AAA survey: most US drivers fear self-driving vehicles
(The Center Square) – AAA’s latest autonomous vehicle survey shows most U.S. drivers express either fear (66%) or uncertainty (25%) about fully-self-driving vehicles.
However, semi-autonomous technologies such as reverse automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assistance continue to drive consumer interest.
"There has been an increase in consumer fear over the past few years," Director of Automotive Engineering Research for AAA Greg Brannon said in a statement. "Given the numerous and well-publicized incidents involving current vehicle technologies – it's not surprising that people are apprehensive about their safety.”
The company said U.S. drivers also believe AEB will stop the vehicle when another car, children, adult pedestrians,or bicyclists are in front of or behind the vehicle.
However, recent AAA research found reverse AEB systems prevented a collision in only one of 40 test runs in the context of the backing-up scenarios involving a subject vehicle crossing behind the test vehicle and only 10 out of 20 test runs with the stationary child target behind the test vehicle.
TURF wins in court on Prop 2 case....AGAIN!
Appeals Court Sides With Taxpayers on Debt-Raising Constitutional Amendment
The 7th District Court of Appeals says a 2021 statewide constitutional amendment failed to inform voters of its tax implications.
Link to article here.
Citizens are celebrating as a court sided with taxpayers this week on a constitutional amendment which was proposed in 2021 and would allow counties to issue more taxpayer-backed debt. In its ruling, the Court set a rule ensuring voters are entitled to more information when proposals will impact taxpayers.
Proposition 2, which passed with 63 percent of the vote, would authorize counties to issue bonds—taxpayer-backed debt—to fund infrastructure and transportation projects in underdeveloped, unproductive, or blighted areas and to use increases in property taxes from those areas to pay off the debt. This is known as “tax increment financing” and is a tool currently reserved for cities.
Grassroots groups filed a lawsuit alleging the Proposition 2 ballot language that was put before voters failed to comply with common law requirements and was substantially misleading because it neglected to inform voters that the proposal involved debt and property taxes.
Courts have previously ruled that ballot propositions must be described with “such definiteness and certainty that the voters are not misled.” But the Proposition 2 language only said it would allow counties to “finance development,” and it neglected to mention debt or taxes.
Court Sides With TURF and Taxpayers
Grassroots Groups Prevail in Appeal Challenging 2021 Ballot Proposition Language
The 7th Court of Appeals issued its opinion in favor of the contest, which could void the election.
- January 26, 2024
The 7th Court of Appeals in Amarillo ruled in favor of grassroots groups that challenged constitutional amendment ballot language from the November 2021 election.
The True Texas Project (TTP), Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF), and Grassroots America – We the People sued the Texas Secretary of State to have the 2021 approval of Proposition 2 declared void by Gov. Greg Abbott, claiming the ballot language was “incomplete, inaccurate, and did not adequately describe what the electorate was actually voting on.”
Proposition 2 allowed counties to create transportation reinvestment zones (TRZs), a power they did not previously have. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, a TRZ is a kind of tax increment financing district where a “zone is created, a base year is established, and the incremental increase in property tax revenue collected inside the zone is used to finance a project in the zone.”
The proposition did not include language about the use of increased ad valorem taxes to pay bonds or notes issued by the county in the TRZ district. A similar measure in 2011 that included such language was voted down.
Constitutional amendment challenged by TURF, other groups gets oral arguments
Link to article here.
Challenge to 'Misleading' 2021 Texas Ballot Proposition Continues on Appeal
Grassroots groups have challenged the validity of the ballot language.
TURF has its day in court on Prop 2 case
Watch the video interview here.
Grassroots Fight Back Against Debt-Raising Constitutional Amendment
A lawsuit alleges misleading ballot language for a constitutional amendment authorizing additional debt.
Grassroots organizations are continuing their fight to strike down a constitutional amendment passed in 2021 that would allow counties to issue more taxpayer-backed debt.
Proposition 2, which passed with 63 percent of the vote, authorizes counties to issue bonds (debt) to fund infrastructure and transportation projects in underdeveloped, unproductive, or blighted areas.
A lawsuit alleges that the ballot language that was put before voters failed to comply with common law requirements and was substantially misleading due to an omission of the phrase “ad valorem tax increases.”
Courts have previously ruled that ballot propositions be described with “such definiteness and certainty that the voters are not misled.”
In 2011, the same ballot proposition was put before voters with language noting the tax implications and failed to pass.
Deadly toll road: When private companies take over our public infrastructure, everyone loses
Link to article here.
The Death Toll: An Expensive Tollway’s High Cost in Human Lives
State Highway 288 was built by a private equity firm, letting TxDOT abdicate its responsibility to both drivers and construction workers.
Texas Observer
December 11, 2023
The sun was sinking toward the horizon when brothers Alejandro and Juan Simental drove their pickup less than 10 minutes from a Motel 6 to their job site: a pricey new toll road they were helping to build alongside busy State Highway 288. A week before, they had left their home in Arlington to work in the flat southern edge of Houston’s suburbs, the bustling intersection of State Highway 288 (SH 288) and Beltway 8. That’s where their employer, Choctaw Erectors, a steel construction company, was subcontracted to help build the Texas Department of Transportation’s latest privately operated tollway.
They shared their no-frills motel room with a coworker, sleeping only a few hours just to get up and work again. Their shifts were punishing—nine to 12 hours, often overnight, seven days a week. But that evening, as the Houston sky gradually dimmed to a streetlight-stained dark gray, Alejandro, Juan, and five others on their crew established a rhythm. Alternating thumps and whirrs sounded as they laid and bolted corrugated metal decking, piece by piece, onto the tollway’s four bridge girders, 85 feet above the ground.
As the sun began to rise on June 21, 2019, Alejandro, 21, who stood around 5 feet 3 inches tall and was stocky like his brother, was working on a section of the bridge just a few feet away from Juan. There were about 15 minutes left in their shift when Juan reached the end of the first girder. Realizing that the 6-foot double safety lanyard he wore, which was tied to a safety line, did not allow him to reach the second girder more than 7 feet away, Juan briefly unhooked the lanyard from his safety harness and walked across the steel decking.
Foreman Jorge Carlos was the only one to hear the scream as Juan tripped and fell 85 feet, head first. Seconds later, realizing his brother had fallen, Alejandro let the metal sheet he was holding drop from his hands and clatter to the ground. He rushed to an elevated boom lift that lowered him to his brother’s side.
Blood was already soaking into the soil. To the west of Juan’s feet lay his white hard hat and his right brown slip-on boot. His black plastic headlamp was still glowing. Co-workers gave Juan CPR. Police arrived in four minutes, the medic nine minutes later. That was too late. At 4:58 a.m., just two minutes before their shift was to end, Juan was pronounced dead. He was 22.
Auto dealers bolt on Biden mandate for EVs
Link to article here.
Biden's EV Plan Faces Opposition From Thousands of Car Dealers
An open letter was signed by more than 3,800 dealerships across the country.
By Jack Phillips
Epoch Times
November 28, 2023
Several thousand car dealership owners around the United States have signed an open letter to the Biden administration, saying they oppose the aggressive push for electric vehicles, in another sign of growing concerns about the market for EVs.
"The reality, however, is that electric vehicle demand today is not keeping up with the large influx of BEVs [battery electric vehicles] arriving at our dealerships prompted by the current regulations," the dealers said. "BEVs are stacking up on our lots."
They noted that in 2022, there was considerable "hype" around EVs and that "early adopters formed an initial line and were ready to buy these vehicles" as soon as they were being sold.
The Battle to Kill the Kill Switch
What did taxpayers get from the 88th Legislature on transportation?
By Terri Hall
Founder/Director
Texans for Toll-free Highways & Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (Texas TURF)
June 6, 2023
While the 88th regular session of the Texas Legislature has come to a close, what did the taxpayers get out of it when it comes to transportation and toll reforms? In short, not much. Let’s break it down.
It’s easier to say what didn’t pass first since none of our filed bills even got a hearing, except one, much less voted out of committee. No bill to stop remote kill switches going into all cars after 2026 (currently mandated by the Biden Infrastructure bill), no bill to stop road diets, no bill to protect drivers’ right to repair, no bill to take tolls down once the road debt is paid for, and no toll collections/billing reform, with the exception of immediately notifying drivers when there's a problem with your payment card (HB 2170). Get the scoop on all this essential legislation here.
HB 2170 by Bobby Guerra (D-McAllen) was a huge missed opportunity. The grassroots jumped in to ask him to sign onto our broader toll billing reform bill, HB 2991 by Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian), as soon as his bill got filed, but he never did. Then when his bill was heard in committee, we asked if he’d consider substituting our language for his since his bill’s language was already in our bill, and he wouldn’t. Then when his bill came to the House floor for a vote, knowing it was too late to have our bill make it to the floor, he once again refused any amendments to his bill, including a pared-down version just capping the toll fines/fees and removing the criminal penalty. He refused to budge.
KXAN deep dive into toll billing woes, includes look at pay-to-play
TURF Founder/Director & Texans for Toll-free Highways Founder, Terri Hall was interviewed in this story.
Despite this coverage in the press, none of our toll billing reform bills passed, although HB 2170 (Guerra) was a good start and contained language from our reform bill, HB 2991 (Harrison).
Radical climate agenda passing in Republican House
How Democrats are passing radical climate policies in Republican House
By Terri Hall, Founder/Director, Texas TURF & Texans for Toll-free Highways
May 2, 2023
Texas Scorecard
When Texas State Representative Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) filed a bill to place the state of Texas under a mandatory Climate Action Plan, many across the aisle cried foul. ‘That’ll never happen in Texas. We’re an oil and gas state.’
But the radical policies that come along with a Green New Deal-style Climate Action Plan are being quietly chopped up and parsed out to various other lawmakers who aren’t viewed as far Left as Zwiener, which are sailing through the House Transportation Committee with barely a whimper of opposition from Republicans.
Though Republicans hold an 86-64 seat majority in the Texas House, Democrats still chair significant committees, including House Transportation chaired by Terry Canales (D-Edinburg). While Austin’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) includes intentional slowing of speeds for cars and traffic calming measures designed to restrict the free flow of auto lanes, such climate equity plans can also include increasing penalties on speeding and other aspects of driving. For instance, prohibiting cars from pass pedestrians and cyclists without a specific distance as a buffer. Anything to put barriers in the way of free flowing traffic. Houston’s Climate Action Plan also calls for slower speeds and other anti-car measures, with the express intent of getting people out of their cars and into buses or onto bikes.
TxDOT awash in cash, $15 billion richer
Link to article here.
State Transportation Infrastructure Plan Increases $15 Billion from Record Oil and Gas Taxes
By Brad Johnson
February 27, 2023
The Texan
Planes, trains, and automobiles are on the minds of Texas legislators this year thanks to record projections for the state’s treasury surplus.
Theoretically, the Texas Legislature has a nearly $60 billion estimated surplus at its disposal in the treasury and the Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) — though officials will neither drain the ESF nor spend the entire collective pot.
A realistic, very rough estimate for how much of the tranche will be spent is between $35 and $45 billion for all the various purposes legislators have laid out: property taxes, school funding, utility infrastructure, transportation, and more.
Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced an update to the state’s 10-year transportation plan last week — increasing the plan’s price tag from $85 to $100 billion.
Toll tax for every mile coming? States consider mileage tax
Link to article here.
Pay per Mile: States Move Toward User-Based Road Tax
Hybrid drivers pay twice
By
With each gallon of gasoline pumped in the United States since 1932, drivers have been paying taxes. The revenue is used for road repairs and public transportation such as train and bus systems.
Currently, the federal government takes 18.4 cents per gallon for gas or 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. State gas taxes range from a national high of 61 cents per gallon for gas in Pennsylvania, to a low of 8.95 cents per gallon in Alaska.
But environmentally motivated improvements in fuel efficiency and the move to electric vehicles (EVs) translate to less gas sold, resulting in less tax revenue collected.
State and federal governments are looking for a new way to fund transportation. Through numerous studies by transportation organizations, they’ve landed on mileage-based user fees (MBUF); vehicle miles traveled fees; road user charges, or highway use fees (HUF). The acronyms all mean the same thing: Drivers pay a tax for each mile traveled.
Tesla battery fire takes 6,000 gallons of water to extinguish
Tesla car battery 'spontaneously' bursts into flames on California highway, firefighters need 6,000 gallons to put it out
By Carlos Garcia
The Blaze
January 30, 2023
Sacramento fire officials said that it took 6,000 gallons to put out a fire caused by Tesla car batteries that had "spontaneously" burst into flames.
The official Twitter account for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District issued a series of tweets documenting the incident near Rancho Cordova in California on Saturday.
"Crews arrived to a Tesla Model S engulfed in flames, nothing unusual prior. 2 Fire Engines, a water tender, and a ladder truck were requested to assist," the department tweeted with four photographs.
"Crews used jacks to access the underside to extinguish and cool the battery. Thousands of gallons were used in extinguishment," they added.
They went on to say that the battery cells continued to combust as firefighters attempted to put out the fire.
Remote kill switches really about taking your car
Biden’s Move to Put Kill Switches in Cars Tied to Global Agenda
All new cars in the United States will be required to install “kill switches” by 2026. These were mandated in a recent infrastructure bill, allegedly to stop drunk drivers. But concerns are going around that it may lead to government abuse, especially as organizations including the World Economic Forum are trying to advance an agenda against cars overall.
In this Q&A with Crossroads host Joshua Philipp, we’ll discuss these stories and others, and answer questions from the audience. Watch it here.
Toyota president says silent majority doesn't believe EVs should be only option
Toyota president says auto industry 'silent majority' wonders if electric vehicles 'are really OK to have as a single option
December 21, 2022TURF bill to prevent remote kill switches in cars gets filed
|
|
|
|
Buttigieg interested in ban on gas powered vehicles
Link to article here.
Federal ban on new gas-powered cars? Buttigieg is 'really interested' in California's new regulation
The Blaze
What did California do?
In late August, the California Air Resources Board approved a new rule banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
The regulation does not ban Californians from driving vehicles with internal combustion engines, but it mandates that any new vehicle sold in the state with a model year of 2035 or later must be free of fossil fuel emissions.
What did Buttigieg say?
The transportation secretary told KTTV-TV last week that he is "really interested" in regulations like those in California. In fact, Buttigieg suggested such a policy may be considered nationally.
"It’s interesting to see how the states are trying to go above and beyond what we’re doing at the federal level," Buttigieg told the news station.
"I’m really interested in these developments, while we continue to set a national policy that’s the baseline for all of this. We need to move in the direction of electric vehicles," he added.
Globalists want to get rid of 90% of cars, make you eat bugs
Link to article here.
The WEF Wants to Reduce Car Ownership by 90 Percent and Nudge People Into Eating Plants and Bugs › American Greatness
As they push for a global transition to a “green economy,” the World Economic Forum (WEF) is seeking to dramatically reduce both meat consumption, and the number of cars on the road worldwide.
The globalists say steps like eliminating car ownership need to be taken to reduce reliance on critical metals in the coming years.
“This transition from fossil fuels to renewables will need large supplies of critical metals such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, to name a few,” the forum said in a report earlier this month. They added that “shortages of these critical minerals could raise the costs of clean energy technologies,” which include cellphones, electric vehicles, wind turbines and efficient lighting.
Journalist spends more time charging EV than sleeping
Link to article here.
Journalist attempts road trip in electric car, ends up spending more time charging than sleeping
The Blaze
June 7, 2022
Wall Street Journal reporter Rachel Wolfe recently ventured from New Orleans, Louisiana to Chicago, Illinois in a brand-new Kia EV6 to test America's current electric vehicle capabilities and public-charging infrastructure. By the end of her exhausting trip, she said the fumes of gasoline — though particularly expensive at the moment — "never smelled so sweet."
Never again. Well, at least not for awhile, Wolfe would likely say if someone asked her to make a lengthy EV road trip another time.
In a column for the newspaper published this month, the reporter chronicled the difficult journey with all of its pitfalls. It included a shorter range than expected, finicky charging cords, loads of slower-than-advertised charging stations, and large swaths of the country without any "fast" charging stations at all, among other hardships.
TxDOT buys into EV craze, to spend $408 million on charging stations
Link to article here.
Texas Department of Transportation to Create Statewide Network of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
According to the draft, it is “a multi-year plan to enable current and future drivers of EVs to confidently travel across the state for work, recreation, and exploration.”
The idea was conceived after the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law by President Biden in November 2021. The federal law allocated $408 million for Texas to create a network of charging stations.
The White House also stated that, “Texas will also have the opportunity to apply for the $2.5 billion in grant funding dedicated to EV charging in the bill.”
According to their schedule in the draft, TxDOT will submit the plan to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) by August 1, 2022 and, pending approval, will submit their solicitation for charging stations by October 1. TxDOT wants to start awarding contracts to build charging stations in January 2023 and continue for the next five years.
Buttigieg: 'Roads are racist' plan to use road funding to make amends for past
Buttigieg initiative to address racial inequalities in highway systems: 'It's about mending what has been broken'
By Cortney WeilThe Blaze
June 30, 2022
According to the AP, Buttigieg's Reconnecting Communities project aims to reunify historically black neighborhoods divided decades ago when the interstate highway system was developed and restore the civic pride that comes with safe and beautiful green spaces.
“Transportation can connect us to jobs, services and loved ones, but we‘ve also seen countless cases around the country where a piece of infrastructure cuts off a neighborhood or a community because of how it was built,” Buttigieg said on Thursday.
GOP opposes 'road diet' including on SA's Broadway
New Texas GOP platform condemns ‘road diets,’ complicating path for Broadway
July 9, 2022, San Antonio ReportProponents of San Antonio’s Broadway renovation hope Gov. Greg Abbott will back down on his opposition to lane reductions — a key feature of the project’s multimodal corridor — after the November election.
But transportation activists who’ve supported the governor are seeking to tie his hands on the issue as Abbott heads into a tightening reelection race this fall.
Plank 63 in the 2022 Texas GOP platform, released Wednesday, calls for the party to oppose “anti-car measures,” including ‘road diet’ mandates designed to shrink auto capacity and/or intentionally clog vehicle lanes to force deference to pedestrian, bike, and mass transit options.”
Kerrville conservative activist Terri Hall, whose group Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom (TURF) fights toll roads and lane reduction projects across the state, pushed for the plank’s inclusion.
TxDOT stands firm against reducing lanes of highway for bikers, pedestrians
Link to article here.
TxDOT gives cold shoulder to San Antonio’s latest plan to remake Broadway
Mileage tax means tracking your every move, using carbon footprint against you
Link to article here.
Electric Car Drivers: Why You Might Not Be Pumped Over Privacy-Jolting Mileage Taxes
Epoch Times
August 3, 2022
The environmental impact of electric cars may still be unknown, but leaders are growing concerned about the threat they pose to the financing of the nation’s highway system. Because freeways and bridges are funded, in large part, through federal and state taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, the battery-powered future will test whether roads can just be paved with good intentions.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are trying to devise new ways to raise that fuel tax revenue, which in fiscal year 2020 delivered $35 billion to the federal government and an additional $51 billion to state and local governments. But experts say that proposed fixes to the anticipated highway funding shortfall—involving charging drivers for the miles they travel by tracking their movement—pose a significant threat to personal privacy and liberty.
Drivers will be tracked using new carbon reporting systems
Link to article here.
Americans Likely to Be Tracked for CO2 Emissions Under SEC’s New Climate Rule: Consumers' Research
Epoch Times
Will your CO2 emissions data be collected and reported to the government in the near future? A consumer rights group said that a new rule proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would lay the groundwork for doing so.
On March 21, the SEC proposed a rule titled “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors” (pdf). The nearly 500-page rule would require SEC registrants—mostly public companies, investment advisers, and broker-dealers—to report certain climate-related information including their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The GHG emissions are categorized into three scopes. Scope 1 is the registrant’s direct GHG emissions. Scope 2 is its indirect GHG emissions from purchased electricity and other forms of energy. Scope 3 is indirect emissions from upstream and downstream activities in a registrant’s value chain.
EVs pose a dangerous strain on electric grid
Link to article here.
How Mass Adoption of Electric Vehicles Will Impact the Power Grid
Epoch Times
In January 2021, the Biden administration announced its plans to transition the United States to 100 percent “clean” electricity by 2035, and to have half of all new vehicles sold be zero-emission vehicles by 2030.
One hundred percent clean energy by 2035 is an ambitious goal, and adding a considerable amount of electric vehicles (EVs) to the country’s power grid is forecast to increase electricity demands substantially.
For example, in 2021, EV sales reached 6.6 million, according to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). And the increase in just light-duty EVs added 1,700 gigawatt-hours in annual energy load to the U.S. electric grid, according to the independent and nonprofit energy research firm Electric Power Research Institute.