August 1, 2011
Dear
Fellow Sierran
Here's what's in this week's edition of CoolCATs Weekly:
1) Grayce Grout
2) Stepping Up to Save Public Transportation
3) You Can't Always Get What You Want
1) Grayce Grout
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I met Grayce Grout at the Bristol public hearing on the proposed cuts to RIPTA service where she gave a profoundly powerful testimony. Grayce is blind and going deaf, and she is determined to be as self-sufficient as possible. Despite obstacles that would stop most of us, she bravely advocates for the blind in Rhode Island. If the RIPTA cuts go through as planned, her ability to get around will essentially disappear, she will lose her self-sufficiency, and we all will lose the power of her advocacy. I refuse to believe we will let this happen. I refuse to let it happen.
You can help by offering similar testimony to Grayce's, either at a public hearing (in Providence on Monday, or Narragansett on Tuesday) or by submitting a youtube testimonial that I can put on the Chapter YouTube Channel (ideally both). If you want help making a video, get in touch with me, and I can do the filming, or if it's easier, you can just send me a clip to upload. Whatever works for you.
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2) Stepping Up to Save Public Transportation
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There are other steps that you can take to preserve public transportation in Rhode Island, too. Firstly and I do mean soon, you can come to a rally in Kennedy Plaza in front of Providence City Hall today at 1:30. We'll have a series of speakers (including yours truly), and then we'll mobilize the crowd to get over to the Providence RIPTA service cut hearing which starts at 2:00.
I realize that it might be a stretch to make it to a rally that starts in only a few hours time. Thus, I urge you to sign this online petition calling for no cuts in RIPTA service and the establishment of a sustainable funding mechanism for Rhode Island transit. This way your voice will be heard whether you make it to the rally or not.
Finally, you can join the RIPTA Riders Group, a new independent grassroots advocacy group, that has self-organized in response to the proposed service cuts. The facebook group is here, and if you send me your email, I will add you to the google group.
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3) You Can't Always Get What You Want
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If you were watching and listening closely in between all the hysteria over the debt ceiling during the past week, you may have heard about Obama setting a fuel economy goal of 54.5mpg by 2025. While the goal is not what we were pushing for with the GO 60mpg campaign, it does represent 5% annual increases in fuel efficiency and it will mean serious reductions in carbon emissions. Moreover, 5% is at the high end of the 3%-6% range that the administration was considering, and it is amazing coming from an industry that has fought efficiency tooth and nail for more than 30 years. For a more detailed analysis of what the deal means, read this post from the NRDC, one of our coalition partners in GO 60. So while we may not always get what we want, at least this time we got most of it. Cheers!
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Thank you for signing up for Cool CATs Weekly. You can make your community "Cool" by advocating for renewable power, green buildings and transportation choices. Visit the Cool Cities website for resources and toolkits.
Sincerely,
Abel G. Collins Sierra Club Rhode Island Chapter
abel.collins@sierraclub.org
work: 401-521-4734
cell: 401-207-4484
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Help Us Keep Our Programs Running
Sign the Petition: Tell the Governor and General Assembly to Save RIPTA
Monthly Chapter Meeting Tuesday, August 9, 6:30 - 8:30 pm Sierra Club RI Chapter Office 17 Gordon Ave., Ste. 208 Providence, RI 02905
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