In a speech on Wednesday at a GM auto plant in Wisconsin, Barack Obama outlined his economic agenda for the country. He described his stimulus plan, promising to boost green jobs, help the middle class, dole out tax cuts, negotiate worker and environmental protections in upcoming free-trade agreements — and, to help pay for much of it, end the costly war in Iraq.

The environmental highlights of the speech are below (audio available here):

Decades of trade deals like NAFTA and China have been signed with plenty of protections for corporations and their profits, but none for our environment or our workers who’ve seen factories shut their doors and millions of jobs disappear; workers whose right to organize and unionize has been under assault for the last eight years …

[Lobbyists have] been allowed to write an energy policy that’s keeping us addicted to oil when there are families choosing between gas and groceries …

[When I am president, infrastructure repairs in the country] will be determined not by politics, but by what will maximize our safety and homeland security; what will keep our environment clean and our economy strong …

When I am president, I will not sign another trade agreement unless it has protections for our environment and protections for American workers …

I believe that we can create millions of … jobs around a clean, renewable energy future …

I know that General Motors received some bad news yesterday, and I know how hard your governor has fought to keep jobs in this plant. But I also know how much progress you’ve made, how many hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles you’re churning out. And I believe that if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to re-tool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years. The question is not whether a clean energy economy is in our future, it’s where it will thrive. I want it to thrive right here in the United States of America; right here in Wisconsin; and that’s the future I’ll fight for as your president …

My energy plan will invest $150 billion over 10 years to establish a green energy sector that will create up to 5 million new jobs over the next two decades — jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. We’ll also provide funding to help manufacturers convert to green technology and help workers learn the skills they need for these jobs. …

I’ve paid for every element of this economic agenda by ending a war that’s costing us billions, closing tax loopholes for corporations, putting a price on carbon pollution, and ending George Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.

Focus the Nation, a series of climate-change-focused educational events on over 1,000 campuses across the United States, is basically the student-centered cousin of Step It Up. And if you were one of the thousands who attended SIU (or SIU 2), you know that raising climate consciousness doesn’t have to be a drab affair. It can be a colorful, creative, youth-infused party of a time. Enter Focus the Nation.

Hoping to pick up where SIU left off, Focus the Nation is gathering together thousands of students and teachers for climate festivities, billing it as the largest teach-in in U.S. history. It all goes down Jan. 31. (Or, you know, whatever the kids say these days.)

In the lead-up to Jan. 31, over 1,000 campuses will be marking the occasion with a variety of events that promise to be as varied as the schools and students themselves, with the common theme of doing something already about the climate crisis. Two Missouri schools have decided to truck in 15 tons of coal for their Focus the Nation event that will serve as a life-sized visual aid showing students what their school consumes to produce just one hour of electricity. Other schools are planning everything from theatrical demonstrations to climate-themed plays to speeches by big-name celebs, greens, and politicians.

Then of course there are the teach-ins. Professors will devote a portion of their regular class time on Jan. 31 to teaching students about some aspect of climate change or let students out early to attend other climate-focused events. On Jan. 30 there’s also a pre-teach-in pep rally webcast featuring Ed Norton, Van Jones, and Hunter Lovins.

Focus the Nation organizers are treating the multicampus events as the most important climate activism in a long while, which it may well be — a vital, nonpartisan, feel-good time centered on confronting one of the most complex, potentially dire, intensely, gravely, astutely, acutely moral issues of our time (to paraphrase the Goracle).

Should be a kick in the pants … see you in class.

Sure, most assaults are verbal and harmless-ish, but then there are the ones that aren’t. This article from today’s Los Angeles Times leads with a list of one guy’s experience in L.A.:

Scott Sing has had a tire iron hurled at him, a water bottle thrown at his head and been bombarded with racial epithets. And all he was trying to do was ride his bike on Los Angeles city streets.

His cycling and running brethren tell similar tales — of being peppered with flying objects, cursed or otherwise assaulted — and those don’t even include the stories of near-misses and actual collisions.

A partial rundown of my own misadventures in bicycle-motorist interactions include being run off the road thrice (Loveland, Colo.; Durango, Colo.; and Skokomish Indian Reservation on Hwy 101, Wash.), hit by cars twice (Seattle, Wash., both times), and had the following items tossed at me from moving vehicles:

• pop bottles (five different times — a favorite of younger kids)
• part-full glass beer bottles (missed both times)
• empty vodka bottle (hit)
• all kinds of trash, including one fast-food bag set aflame
• one full-sized fireplace log

For the well-seasoned cyclist, this is hardly news. This shouldn’t even be particularly surprising to the general public: “Newsflash: Assholes Everywhere, Even in Cars.” I’m sure fellow Gristmillians have scads of similar stories. (Do tell … )

But of course it’s not just assholes that are the problem. Systematic transportation discrimination also contributes to the whole my-road-not-yours mentality (as well as ignorance of state and local traffic laws). After all, if cyclists were meant to be on the road, they’d have been given wide bike lanes, and, well, a bunch of other things. Like the LAT article said:

Judging from the frequent shouted demands to get off the road, many drivers are unaware that cyclists have as much right to the streets as they do.

Driver education wouldn’t stop flying-objects syndrome, nor would it inoculate against assholes, but it’s sorely needed anyway. In the meantime, Critical Mass anyone?

Washington state is one of a half dozen states considering legislation this year to create a "do not mail" list for residents, similar to the feds’ popular "do not call" registry.

And like the telemarketing industry’s cries that it would be utterly destroyed and millions of contented telemarketers would be out of a job, similar forces are mobilizing against the "do not mail" bills, including the Direct Marketing Association, the mail carriers’ union, and others who argue that junk mail is simultaneously essential, irreplaceable, and innocuous.

Bollocks.

Attempting to head off the bills before they pass, junk-mail defenders argue that, like telemarketing, junk mail’s only offense is it can be bothersome sometimes. But unlike dinner-interrupting telemarketing calls, they argue, no one dictates when you check the mail, therefore it can be done at your leisure, therefore it’s not actually that annoying, therefore what’s the big deal?

But of course, the environmental effects of junk mail are more sinister than those of a telephone call. Even if the annoyance of junk mail can be ignored, its environmental impacts can’t be.

But people will try. The National Association of Letter Carriers’ president, William H. Young, recently argued, as paraphrased by a direct mail news report, that "most advertising mailing is printed on recycled paper and postal patrons can recycle that mail." Well, OK then. Recycling has saved the day — twice over — and junk mail can’t be bad if it can be recycled. So why worry?

In short because — surprise! — sending unwanted ads to every household in your zip code is damn wasteful. The New American Dream has been quantifying just how wasteful:

"More than 100 million trees’ worth of bulk mail arrive in American mail boxes each year."

"In 2003, 5.4 million tons of catalogs and other direct mailings ended up in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream — enough to fill over 420,000 garbage trucks."

"California’s state and local governments spend $500,000 each year collecting and disposing of AOL’s direct mail disks alone."

"The production and disposal of junk mail consumes more energy than 2.8 million cars."

Junk mail isn’t innocuous.

But let’s not ignore workers’ complaints. In this case, as in so many others, it’s not a matter of environmentalists vs. workers or even the environment vs. jobs. A closer look shows how they can be intertwined.

It seems the mail carrier union’s main beef with a "do not mail" list is that it can impact their pay. As the Seattle Weekly explains …

… rural carriers, unlike their metropolitan counterparts, get paid based on volume rather than the number of hours they work. Every year, an alternating sample of two or four weeks is conducted to count the number of pieces delivered on each route, determining the salary for the following year; the greater the number, the higher the salary."

This counterintuitive pay scale need not exist. Pay based on hours worked for everyone seems most sensible and doesn’t needlessly tie mail-carrier welfare to ads printed on what used to be old-growth forest clogging up someone’s mailbox. It would even be possible to write recommended pay-scale reforms language into the "do not mail" bills. Such a simple alteration could turn mail carriers into allies while we all work toward the goal of reduced waste.

Of course, the "do not mail" bills would continue to allow "charities, political campaigns, and organizations that have existing relationships with clients … to send direct mail to people on the [do not mail] list." But businesses could potentially save money by only being allowed to mail to people who want to receive their offers. And while a well-run sweepstakes or two could certainly expand the ranks of people who have a "relationship" with marketing companies, "do not mail" legislation is still a decent idea.

Here’s to de-junkmailing people’s lives.

No idea why I only started doing this recently, and in the winter no less, but there you go. And since I splurged on a set of burly studded mountain-bike tires that should be arriving any day now, snow and ice riding on both trail and street at all hours are up next. That, and on snowmobile trails.

Any others out there who want to join the ranks of proud all-weather winter cyclists, check out this excellent website. And for night riders on road or trail, I can’t say enough good things about NiteRider Trail Rat headlights. For best results, get at least one extra battery (I have three extras) and maybe a fast recharger. Combine with a $30 LED headlamp for the best night cycling around.

Now for the news:

Pound for pound, cycling wins
The U.K. government is floating an innovative idea to tackle obesity, pollution, and transport woes in one go by paying parents to have their kids bike to school instead of taking the bus or other motorized means. Meant to teach important life lessons to children — like living an active life is simple, and the all-important I don’t need my parents or a car to get around — the proposal has stirred controversy among parents and others concerned for kids’ safety. Criticized though it is, sending children out to bike to school and elsewhere around town on a large scale could be the quickest, most direct form of driver education.

Heart and darkness
Blind Kenyan cyclist and mountaineer Douglas Sidialo has announced that he and his guide Joash Aswani will participate in the four-month Tour d’Afrique Bicycle Race/Expedition, covering the 7,500 miles from Cairo to Cape Town across 10 countries, beginning Jan. 13. Sponsored by the Rush Miller Foundation, which provides tandem bikes to the blind, the two men are hoping to inspire cyclists and other athletes around the world. “I have made it my duty to tell people to adopt a positive attitude toward life,” Sidialo said.

L.A. gears
The recent popularity of cycling events in Los Angeles, Calif., including human-transport enthusiasts Midnight Ridazz — a Critical Mass-like rolling party — has led to a rise in pedal-powered consciousness in the city, says L.A. County Bicycle Coalition outreach coordinator Monica Howe. “Los Angeles is really the last big city to realize that bicycling is a good idea,” she says. Though advocates suggest cycling may be making small, important gains in the sprawling city, working with the city government for more and better biking infrastructure is a catch-22, Howe says. “Officials … won’t take the moves to make it safe until there are more bicyclists. Until they see bicycles all over the road, they will continue to regard us as freaks. Yet, those who commute by bicycle today are taking huge risks.” And until cycling is made safer, many potential riders won’t get out of their cars or off the bus. Where’s a bike-friendly Congress when you need one?

Fujis, film
Bike-loving film geeks and film-loving bike geeks, unite! Or, better yet, collaborate on an entry for the Seventh Annual Bicycle Film Festival in 2007. Entries are due by Feb. 17, so if you haven’t already finished that momentous cycling epic you’ve been working on, or that adrenaline-driven home video, time to get rolling.

Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., who helped author the 1991 law that opened the door to federal funding for bike projects, is in line to become chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., a one-time bike mechanic, expects to chair the surface transportation subcommittee.

And Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., founder of the Congressional Bicycle Caucus, will either hold a senior position on the transportation committee or move to the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

All three Democrats are strong supporters of alternative transportation who believe that bicycling can play an important role in moving people, particularly in dense urban settings, and in providing recreational opportunities.

Which is, of course, potentially important and great and wonderful.

But it makes a person wonder: Other than just your average congressional inertia (and, OK, a pretty heartless Republican agenda in general dominating U.S. government for the last too-long while), I’m flummoxed that more isn’t done legislatively for cycling in the U.S., even under Republican regimes.

Even President Bush bikes regularly.

It’s difficult to think of a more politically innocuous, straightforward, obviously beneficial, and nearly-impossible-to-spin-as-damaging issue (even for John Kerry) than encouraging cycling. But what do I know?

Maybe it’s just a matter of focus, and maybe now that the elections have ushered in a Democratic Congress, mustering the necessary concentration will be easier. There’s definitely a lot to be done, the full-on velorution notwithstanding.

Legislation aiming to improve nearly any piece of this country’s not-bike-friendly infrastructure is worthwhile.

For his part, Rep. Oberstar is apparently working on getting airports to offer bicycle parking.

Just before the election, [Oberstar] announced that he’d push airports to provide bike parking after a bicyclist had his vintage cycle cut into pieces by security officials at the Minneapolis airport. The cyclist, rushing to make a flight, had left the bike locked to an out-of-the-way pole after being unable to find any bike parking.

Mainstream cycling advocacy organizations also have ideas of what can be done, and they’re not tearing-up-the-pavement kinds of things either — they’re simple, direct improvements that would make noticeable difference.

[Andy Clarke, head of the League of American Cyclists] said cycling advocates have a chance to develop a national cycling network and to adopt a program that encourages local planners to include pedestrian and bicycling improvements in road projects. Oregon already does this through its 1971 Bicycle Bill, which requires that at least 1 percent of highway money be used to accommodate biking and walking.

Maybe someone can slip in a national 1- or 2-percent provision in the next sprawling energy bill — a bike rider, so to speak.

The House of Representatives on Monday passed the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, extending current federal law to specifically criminalize not only interfering with “animal enterprises” — a commercial or academic enterprise that uses or sells animals or animal products for profit, food or fiber production, agriculture, research, or testing — but also interfering with organizations that do business with “animal enterprises,” such as their lawyers or insurance companies.

As AP says:

Violators could be sentenced up to a year in jail for economic damages of less than $10,000, and up to five years in prison if a threat produced a “reasonable fear” of bodily harm. Prison sentences of up to 10 years could result if someone is actually injured.

And while AP goes on to say that “the bill specifically condones peaceful animal rights protests,” a look at the bill itself (see: HR 4239) reveals much muddier language. Instead it would allow “lawful economic disruption that results from lawful public, governmental, or business reaction to the disclosure of information about an animal enterprise,” which could reasonably be interpreted to mean things like distributing information.

Sounds OK; organizations can post information about animal-rights abuses on their websites. Awesome. But even passing out leaflets while on an animal enterprise’s property could be deemed “unlawful” if they don’t want you there, leaving open the possibility of being prosecuted under this law for peaceful activity.

Similar scenarios would also likely be included in this broad bill: sit-ins on company property, as these too would likely be deemed illegal due to the whole trespassing issue.

So peaceful, it seems, has nothing to do with it.

Since a version of this crazy-ass bill has already been given the go-ahead by the Senate, the bill has been passed on to President Bush. Any veto predictions?

The Schwinn-Shank Redemption
While the use of prison labor is questionable in any context, about 20 inmates in a South Dakota state penitentiary are reportedly happy to be taking part in a program that puts them to work fixing up old bikes for disadvantaged kids. No word in the media on whether the program is voluntary or not, but given prison wages, there’s probably not much difference in compensation. Now if only there were a program to teach the kids how to stay upright in all that wind.

The other kind of bicycle flasher
Police in Clinton Township, Pa., have been on the lookout for an alleged serial flasher who has been accused of cycling past women and revealing, unsolicited, his naked cycling self. Faced with multiple reports, authorities have been getting serious, if misguided.

Police detained several men matching the suspect’s general description. But none turned out to be the suspect, police said.

Look, another guy on a bike! Pervert!

Portrait of a fatal bike-accident victim
Statistically speaking, who’s most likely to die in a cycling accident? No, not sitting presidents. Instead, it’s middle-aged men (between 30 and 49) who have been drinking, riding on high-speed roadways. Researchers in New Mexico reviewed 10 years of state records in a two-year study and came up with some not-quite-fun-but-still-useful stats: Cyclists are more likely to be killed than injured in a crash that happens in the early morning or evening; twice as many fatalities occur in cities versus rural areas; and men are about 10 times more likely than women to die in a bike crash. There are more where that came from. “As we look at the gas/oil crisis, with more people using their bicycles for transportation, we need to think about safer roadways for bicycles,” said report coauthor David Sklar. “Unfortunately, streets are pretty much designed for motor vehicles — they’re not designed for pedestrians, for bicyclists, for everybody together.”

Courting Moots
Turns out motorists don’t have a monopoly on expensive transportation. Who knew? (Well, anyone who’s tried to buy a bike just like Lance’s, of course.) But The New York Times, tapped in as it is to the proclivities of Manhattan’s bourgeoisie, ran a piece last week on the growing market for custom-made boutique bikes headlined “You Paid How Much for That Bike?” The article describes the life and times of a few of Manhattan’s well-heeled custom-bike lovers and collectors, and the companies that pander to them. For the curious, the most expensive bike mentioned is a time-trialing bike selling for $23,000. If any wealthy cyclists are into charity work, I know a poor nonprofit employee who has been eyeing this bike for years. It’s a steal at about $8,000. Pretty please?

Like Chariots of Fire, with less running
Cyclists in North America this December will have one more entertainment option this winter (aside from cycling in weather or, Todd forbid, indoors): going to see the based-on-a-true-story feature film The Flying Scotsman. In 1993, Graeme Obree, a Scot with no previous racing experience to speak of, broke the one-hour cycling record while riding a bike he designed and made from old washing-machine parts. We, as viewers, MAYTAG along as Obree SEARS the competition. No $23,000 bike required.

Meanwhile, bicycle ridership has fallen at roughly the same rate as auto use has grown, and city planners and officials, eager to keep the boom booming, even at great public cost, have been planning to welcome the auto’s continued growth and popularity with more roads.

And though the U.S. still out-cars (and out-roads) China by a wide margin, China’s rapid growth has led to bicycles literally being left by the wayside. Urban planning has turned them into seeming second-class forms of transport. (This sounds familiar, America. As Ginsberg might have said: “America, you’ve given cars all and now cyclists are nothing.”)

But back to China. As the Guardian puts it:

Having spent the past decade pursuing a transport policy of four wheels rich, two wheels poor, the Chinese government has suddenly rediscovered the environmental and health benefits of the bicycle.

As described in the state media, apparently the government is finally trying to do something about the unhealthy shift to autos.

China’s Vice Minister of Construction, Qiu Baoxing, has lashed [out] at city authorities for making it harder for cyclists to get around, saying the country should retain its title as the “kingdom of bicycles.”

The fight to retain that title is being taken to the actual streets, which have been rapidly abandoning bike lanes in favor of thousands of miles of sprawling, dangerous-to-cyclists, car-centric roads.

The Ministry of Construction is firmly opposed to the elimination of bicycle lanes and has ordered cities to restore them, [Qiu] said.

Just as importantly, the country is also reportedly considering disincentives for drivers.

Qiu said worsening traffic jams and air pollution won’t lead the government [to] restrict car ownership but it may discourage driving by charging fees to drive downtown.

Wo ai ni, China.

China has set up voyeur-friendly web cams that stream panda content live from the mountains of Sichuan in four 20-minute segments every day (except for weekends) so that, as Reuters says, “people around the world can spy on pandas doing what comes naturally to them.”  

If you’re thinking “hot panda sex!,” don’t.

Even when conditions in the “fog-shrouded mountains” permit, panda voyeurs can witness largely sedate bears munching on bamboo shoots, sleeping, (and slowly going extinct).

Wolong Giant Panda Reservation and Research Centre, home to 154 wild and about 80 artificially bred giant pandas, launched the service on its Web site (www.pandaclub.net).

“PandaCam” will go live for four 20-minute periods a day, giving the animals a bit of privacy at weekends, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Uncomfortable spying on pandas in China? Try the U.S. version!

Yep, we have our very own PandaCam, already in action, trained on the bears at the National Zoo. Cute in the way that only captive, pacing pandas can be. (Is it on a loop or is that the third lap in the last ten minutes?) Fun!