TimesOnline.com

November 8, 2008

Lights out: activists are showing the darker side of Paris

Environmentalists act to curb energy waste

Members of the group 'Clan Du Neon' turning off the lights on a store in central Paris

Adam Sage in Paris

Waving a broomstick above his head, Maxime leaps up and down on a pavement in Central Paris. Is he mad, passers-by wonder, or drunk? No, his comrades explain, he is seeking to cut the global demand for energy.

Meet Le Clan du Néon, an increasingly popular environmental movement that wants to make the City of Lights a little darker. One tactic is to turn off neon shop signs at night by reaching the external fire switches that control them, usually found two or three metres up the façade.

“The signs are a waste of electricity and a visual pollution,” said Michael, a 27-year-old engineer, as Maxime used the broom to flick a switch above Aigle Azur, a travel agency, and plunge the shopfront into darkness.

“It’s crazy that when we all need to save energy, these neon signs are left on for 24 hours day,” he added.

Le Clan was set up in Paris, but its light-hearted and low-tech activist approach to ecology has been a hit across the country with students, many of whom see the antineon activity as a nocturnal lark. Groups have sprung up in Normandy, Bordeaux, the Alps and Dordogne. Members from the latter have posted an internet video that says that in a region bereft of night life, turning out the high street lighting is as good a way of passing the time as any.

“It’s true a lot of people do it for fun,” Michael said, “but at the same time, it’s important.”

The thousands of shop signs left on at night in Europe consume tens of gigawatt hours of electricity a year. In France, where the nuclear industry supplies 80 per cent of electricity, the result is more radioactive waste. Elsewhere, it is hundreds of tonnes of CO2 emissions. “If all the neon signs in the world were turned off, the impact on global warming would be very significant,” said Nicolas, 28, another Le Clan member. “There ought to be a law against it, but since there isn’t, we have to go around doing it ourselves.”

The evening action started at 11pm in Place de la République, where Michael shimmied up a drainpipe to turn off the red sign of Nouvelles Frontières, another travel agent. Nicolas then climbed on Maxime’s back to switch off the 26 neon tubes of Salon Régence, which organises wedding receptions. Then the lights went out at Société Générale and BNP Paribas, the French banks.

“This is fun,” said a middle-aged man who stopped to watch. “Can we come with you?”

“But is it legal?” asked his wife. “I can’t imagine the shopkeepers are going to be very happy.” Le Clan assured her it was and Maxime, 27, ran across the road and stretched the broom up to switch off an hotel sign.

Not everyone was smiling. The owner of Le Dogon, a restaurant, stormed out to berate the group. “How are tourists going to find the hotel now?” he demanded. “You can’t do anything in this country any more because of all these people with a cause to defend.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5110640.ece

Mayor Bloomberg praises Paris for rent-a-bike program

BY LINDA HERVIEUX
September 30th 2007

PARIS - Mayor Bloomberg got a two-wheeled lesson yesterday on French efforts to save the planet. In Paris on the second day of a two-city European tour, Bloomberg praised the French capital's innovative rent-a-bike program hailed as a model for other cities to curb traffic pollution.

The trip marks Bloomberg's first transatlantic visit since speculation flared that he is considering a run for President as an independent candidate. Last night, he was scheduled to dine with British Conservative Party leader David Cameron in Blackpool, England, ahead of a speech he will deliver at today's party conference. The tour ends tomorrow in London with security issues and traffic congestion on the agenda.

Environmental issues have boosted Bloomberg's profile and he wasted no time yesterday exporting his vision, touting his 127-point PlaNYC plan and saluting Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe for his Velib bike program. "It's fascinating," Bloomberg said, shortly before watching a demonstration of the bikes, which Parisians rent from docking stations across the city.

New York City Transit officials are already studying the program, which was bankrolled by a private company in exchange for advertising space. "Some things will work in New York and some things won't," Bloomberg said, citing tough road conditions, a lack of protected bike lanes and harsh seasons.

Bloomberg also met the French poverty minister yesterday and then had lunch with Delanoe, whose postprandial cigarette did not seem to bother his rabidly anti-smoking guest. The pair agreed to form a "working committee" to tackle issues facing the two cities.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/09/30/2007-09-30_mayor_bloomberg_praises_paris_for_rentab.html

Paris adopts 'climate plan' to slash emissions in city

PARIS (AFP) — Paris on Monday adopted a plan aimed at slashing the city's greenhouse-gas emissions and energy use, as France gears up for a high-profile conference on the environment. Under the plan adopted by the mayors of Paris's 20 districts, both left- and right-wing, city authorities pledge to cut the emissions and energy consumption of public buildings and services by 30 percent by 2020. The city hopes to able to slash overall transport emissions by a quarter.

The Socialist mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe -- who championed green projects including new tramway lines, cycle paths and a cheap mass bike-rental scheme -- said the climate plans were a "choice of civilisation."
"The environmental emergency is the greatest challenge of this century," he said ahead of the plan's adoption.
Paris city authorities have already taken steps to reduce their environmental impact, using "clean" vehicles and recycled paper, and ensuring that all new public housing answers to high environmental standards, he said.

Future plans include the creation of eco-neighbourhoods and the signature of an environmental partnership with the foundation of former US president Bill Clinton. Delanoe's right-wing rival for municipal elections next year, Francoise de Panafieu, said she backed the plan given the "historic stakes" involved, but criticised it as too little, too late.

French big business, trade unions, government and environmental groups are to come together later this month for a high-profile summit chaired by President Nicolas Sarkozy, billed as the start of a "green revolution." Last week participants unveiled a raft of measures to be put to a public debate this month and finalised at the summit.

They include green taxes on gas-guzzling cars, lower speed limits, eco-labels on supermarket food, a cutback in pesticide use and new rules on energy efficiency in the construction industry.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5igtjcWR463yWoPT8raWlnzx-2N2g

The South Coast Needs Bikes!
Santa Barbara Can Learn from European Cities

By Ralph Fertig
president of the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition.
Thursday, September 20, 2007

Last July 15, Parisians woke up to find 10,600 new bicycles available throughout the city for their use. The public/private initiative was crafted by Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë to propel the city toward a greener future.

Where did this innovative program come from and what does it mean for us? Specifically, how might the South Coast benefit from a similar program? Judging from the success of programs already in Europe, it would reduce our traffic congestion, cut pollution, promote fitness, and be a popular means of travel for residents and visitors alike. How can we lose?

Throughout Paris, there are bicycle stations every 300 yards. Each station has an electronic vending kiosk with instructions in eight languages. Using your credit card at the kiosk, you get a bike card to swipe over one of the waiting bicycles to release it. When you return your bike, you lock it into a smart post that identifies you, the bicycle, plus where and when the bike was rented. If you exceed your free 30 minutes, it bills your credit card. Diagnostic software automatically checks tire pressure, gears, lights, and brakes. If a bike fails the tests, it’s locked out of service and a mechanic is directed to it.

The bicycles are a custom design. Each one has a low step-through frame, adjustable seat height, roller brakes, always-on front and rear dynamo lights, front wire basket, three-speed hub gears, chain guard, cable lock, puncture-resistant tires with reflective sidewalls, and a kickstand that lifts the bike off its rear wheel. Every part of the bike has security bolts that require special tools to undo.

Paris is joining other cities with new-generation bicycle rental services. They include Lyon, Stockholm, Vienna, Seville, Brussels, Barcelona, Córdoba, Singapore, and Copenhagen. Two years ago, Lyon, France, initiated a bike program similar to the one in Paris. They have 4,000 bicycles at 175 locations. The average number of rides per day is 15,000. Office workers account for 40 percent of the rentals. Ninety percent of all journeys on bikes last fewer than 30 minutes, which means they’re free. Users who opt to keep them longer incur charges. Bikes which aren’t returned within 24 hours are billed to the user’s credit card, in the amount of 150 Euros.

Lyon’s Deputy Mayor Jean-Louis Touraine reported that bicycle use has increased 30 percent since the program began. At the same time, automobile traffic has declined by 4 percent, reversing Lyon’s previous 1-3 percent annual increase in motor vehicle use. For those now renting bikes, 55 percent said they are driving less than before. The program has eliminated 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions during the past two years, and air quality has improved. Touraine observed that “we’re finding a city that is more humane, more convivial, less dangerous, less stressful, and less polluted.”

So what is happening in the U.S.? As American cities contend with growing traffic congestion, they’re paying attention and moving to adopt similar bicycle programs. Washington, D.C., will have rental bikes available later this year. Last month, Portland, Oregon, sent out a “request for proposal” for a bicycle rental system of 500 bikes. New York, Chicago, and San Francisco are also investigating the possibilities of such a program.

So why not do this on the South Coast? Campers at Carpinteria State Beach could bike into town. UCSB students could bike to the airport, Amtrak station, or Camino Real Marketplace. Campus visitors could use the bikes to get around without cars. Santa Barbara workers could pedal to restaurants for lunch, and tourists could go from hotels to popular destinations without adding to traffic.

How would we pay for it? Paris is trading space on 1,600 billboards for the bikes. Some cities generate revenue with ads on the rental kiosks. Here, we could sell kiosk ad space or enter into agreements with major employers. It might be operated by the Santa Barbara Bikestation headquartered in the Granada Garage, or it could be an MTD transportation program. Maybe we could tap into part of the 2008 South Coast Measure D transportation tax.

Teaming today’s computer and bicycle technology to address the issues of traffic congestion, obesity, oil prices, climate change, and air pollution provide a timely solution for everybody. It’s time to bring it here!

http://www.independent.com/news/2007/sep/20/santa-barbara-can-learn-european-cities/?print

Metro Cities Give Yellow Bikes Another Go

BY SHERI HEINLEXINGTON
Bicycle Retailer and Industry News

Imagine walking out of a coffee shop and with the swipe of a card releasing a bike from a locked rack, hopping on, and then pedaling off to work. Once there, park in a designated rack and go about your day. Each trip costs about 50 cents, and bikes are available at stations every few hundred yards. This vision of green transportation is being explored in communities worldwide, most recently in Paris, which just introduced its public-use program called Velib. With 10,600 bicycles stashed at 750 stations, it’s the largest program of its kind. Users can purchase a pass for a year, a week or a day, with a one-day pass costing a bit more than a dollar. The first half-hour is free and after that minor charges are assessed for each half hour the bike is out.

Major cities such as Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., are exploring similar programs to ease traffic congestion in densely populated urban areas. San Francisco has proposed bicycle stations adjacent to bus depots, making cycling a part of the city’s extensive public transportation system. On the opposite coast, the New York Bike-Share Project has proposed a Paris-style system for Manhattan, which would feature 40,000 bicycles at 3,000 stations across the city. During a five-day experiment offering free 30-minute rides to and from a destination in Manhattan, organizers found hundreds of supporters, many who weren’t active cyclists.

Brad Flowers, owner of Pedal Power Bike Shop in Lexington, Kentucky, said retailers stand to benefit from public-use bicycle programs. His store donates time and labor to build and repair community bikes that are part of his town’s yellow bike program. “Anything that raises awareness for cycling and shows people that cycling can fit into today’s busy lifestyle is a plus for bike stores,” Flowers said. “We have gotten a lot of press coverage and community support from our work with the yellow bike program.”

Not a Novel Concept.

Public-use bicycle programs are nothing new and have been evolving since 1968, when Amsterdam launched the first system in Europe. However, the idea didn’t spread to the United States until the mid 1990s. Today, many cities are embracing the concept.Portland, Oregon, had the first documented bike-share program. Started in 1994, the Portland yellow-bike program was a grassroots effort consisting of donated bikes repained yellow and parked on the street for anyone to use. Despite its disorganized nature, it garnered considerable press coverage and by 1997 similar programs had sprung up in Denver, Colorado, Princeton, New Jersey, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Austin, Texas.

These early public-use bicycle programs were primarily volunteer-run and used a variety of donated bicycles. One downfall of these first-generation programs was that they lacked infrastructure. Bikes were quickly stolen, vandalized and mistreated. Additionally, concerns about liability led to the dissolution of many.“Though the original yellow bike programs didn’t work out as planned, they created the groundwork for new programs and brought positive attention to the idea of bike-sharing,” said Alison Hill, director of development and communications at the Community Cycling Center in Portland.

Now, a decade after those first grassroots programs launched, major metropolitan areas are giving public-use bicycle systems another look. And new technology, using a key card, credit card or cell phone account to release a bike from a specially designed rack, promises to reduce potential bike theft and vandalism.Some Still Skeptical. Still, for every person who hails public-use bike programs as good alternative transportation, another points out its flaws.

“If yellow bike plans really worked, they’d last, but they don’t,” said Michael McGettigan, owner of Trophy Bikes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.“Scores of plans have died off along with the novelty of riding a 38-pound bike that fits poorly and has a billboard riveted to it.”McGettigan said he believes yellow bike programs hurt bicycle retailers, discourage bicycling and makes green transportation and an alternative look foolish. However, bike-share supporters remain optimistic about their potential, citing advantages such as lower cost compared with the cost of expanding public transportation systems.

One such supporter is David Haskell, executive director of the Forum for Urban Design and founder of the New York Bike-Share Project. “One industry expert suggests the cost to manufacture, install and maintain a program for 10 years comes to about $8,000 a bike,” Haskell said. “The proposed New York program would cost $8 million a year. That’s a minuscule fraction of the $2.1 billion cost of the seven-line subway expansion now underway.”

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/341.html