(CNN) — More than 5 million residents in Japan have been ordered to evacuate their homes due to the threat of flooding and landslides, as torrential rains batter the country’s southwestern tip.
The strongest evacuation warning, Level 5, was issued on Saturday to more than a million people across the prefectures of Saga, Nagasaki, Fukuoka, and Hiroshima, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The next-strongest warning, Level 4, was issued to 17 other prefectures, affecting more than 4 million residents.
The country’s meteorological authority, which issued the warnings, said in a statement that the rain front could stay over the country for about a week, according to Reuters.
Die In for Dr Marta Krawiec, killed whilst cycling | Stop Killing Cyclists – Facebook
Date: Friday, August 20, 2021 4:30– 6 PM Event: Stop Killing Cyclists––organising group following the horrific killing of Dr Marta Krawiec by a driver of a HGV truck at the notoriously dangerous Theobald’s Rd/Southampton Row junction in Holborn. Time/Place: 5.30pm meet at Camden Council, Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG 6pm Cycle ride to Southampton Way 6.30pm Die-In at Southampton Way / Theobald’s Rd junction 6.45pm Rally including speeches Demands: Emergency Protection / No Slash To Congestion Hrs At Junction / Govt Funding The death of this much loved and respected doctor must be the last at this junction and must not be in vain. Our love, thoughts and prayers go out to all her family, friends & NHS colleagues
May ’20) Bicycling Booms During Lockdown—But There’s A Warning From History – Forbes
Carlton Reid May 1, 2020
Motorists of the world beware, the all-powerful bicycle lobby (were it to exist, except as a parody on Twitter) is coming for your cars. Bicycle sales are going gangbusters; space for motorists is being reclaimed overnight by global cities installing pop-up cycleways; and 1950s levels of motor traffic mean more people are cycling, even on roads that would otherwise be bumper-to-bumper with tin boxes.
Has bicycling ever been this popular? Yes. In the early 1970s. This was when much of the world, but especially America, experienced a “bike boom”—sales were so strong that bike shops regularly ran out of stock and would-be customers had to put their names on long waiting lists.
Are councils’ plans for local road schemes compatible with the declaration of a climate emergency? | FIT – transportxtra
More than 100 local road schemes are currently being promoted and, in most cases, part-funded by local authorities. These are included in a Department for Transport (DfT) list of Major Road Network and Large Local Majors schemes, provided in a response to a Freedom of Information request.
Download the full list
Many of these councils promoting road building have also declared a climate emergency and are committed to reducing carbon emissions from all sources in policy documents and public statements.
The 310 councils that have declared a climate emergency are listed by UK Climate Emergency Network here.
July Temperature Update: Faustian Payment Comes Due – James Hansen and Makiko Sato
13 August 2021 James Hansen and Makiko Sato
Something is going on in addition to greenhouse warming. The 12-month running mean global temperature (blue curve in Fig. 2) has already reached its local minimum. Barring a large volcano that fills the stratosphere with aerosols, the blue curve should rise over the next 12 months because Earth is now far out of energy balance – more energy coming in than going out.
Treasury blocking green policies key to UK net zero target | Green economy | The Guardian
Fiona Harvey – 13/8/21
The Treasury is blocking green policies essential to put the UK on track to net zero emissions, imperilling the UK’s own targets and the success of vital UN climate talks, experts have told the Guardian.
A string of policies, from home insulation to new infrastructure spending, have been scrapped, watered down or delayed. Rows about short term costs have dominated over longer term warnings that putting off green spending now will lead to much higher costs in future.
Scrap Silvertown Tunnel project and divert resources to mobility solutions that tackle climate change – transportxtra
John Whitelegg Foundation For Integrated Transport 27 July 2021
The Silvertown Tunnel – which is due to be constructed under the Thames – is a remarkably good example of the political preference in transport policy and spending for large scale, ‘business as usual’ infrastructure projects. In spite of the rhetoric around climate change and decarbonisation, there is a lack of interest in zero carbon alternatives to big infrastructure. Large and expensive carbon generating projects are contrary to the purpose of declaring a climate emergency.
The age of the bypass may be coming to an end, says Waters – transportxtra
The Welsh Government’s deputy climate change minister Lee Waters talks to Rhodri Clark about calling time on bypasses, making 20mph a default limit and helping councils build a compelling case for active travel schemes
Decades of building bypasses may be drawing to a close in Wales, according to Lee Waters, the Welsh Government’s deputy climate change minister. The government made headlines in June when it announced a freeze on existing road schemes pending the outcome of a review, to be conducted by a Roads Review Panel.
However, Waters told LTT: “The real importance of the roads review is not for schemes currently on the blocks, it’s for all future road schemes.
Cyclist who took driver’s keys from car ignition reveals what really happened – road.cc
Rider handed keys into police station straight after incident last month sparked by ultra-close pass – Sussex Police confirm case is closed
by Simon_Macmichael
Fri, Aug 13, 2021
The cyclist who was the subject of a police appeal we reported on yesterday after taking the keys from the ignition of a car in Sussex has got in touch to clarify what really happened – including that he handed them into a police station immediately afterwards.
1930s Cycleways in Britain – Carlton Reid
1930s Cycleways in Britain
A period Ministry of Transport note located in National Archives says there were 500+ miles of these 1930s-era Dutch-style cycleways built. I have identified 113 schemes so far. This map is indicative rather than definitive. I have period sources for all of the schemes identified so far, but need to research the exact locations in question. PLUS: Back the campaign’s research efforts: http://www.bikeboom.info/1930s/