Bill McKibben comments on draft EIS

To: Kenneth Sikora, Federal Highway Administration, kenneth.sikora@fhwa.dot.gov

Dear Mr. Sikora,

I write in opposition to plans for building more of the Circ Highway. I have been involved in climate change issues for a number of years, having published the first book for a general audience on the subject in 1989 and organized the biggest demonstrations nationwide against global warming in the past two years.

In my opinion, the proposed Circ Highway can best be described as a global warming machine.

All analyses (and endless historical experience) shows such belt highways create sprawl. And they therefore lead to increased reliance on automobiles. They also rob the resources necessary for wiser investments in the solutions of the future. And perhaps most of all they help reinforce the notion that the central job for planners is to 'move more cars.' 

This is a project planned in the past, and it is a project that reeks of the past. Every other sensible jurisdiction in the country is trying to get past their 60s and 70s era over-investment in highways. We are the guys late to the party who seemed determined to drink a keg of beer in an hour just to catch up. It's a gross sight.

--
Bill McKibben
Scholar-in-residence, environmental studies
Middlebury College

Note from Wayne Senville: for more on Bill McKibben's background and publications on global warming and other topics. Join Bill in expressing your views on the Circ EIS to the Federal Highway Administration -- and letting our elected officials know what you think.