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Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 17:29:38 -0500 (EST)
To: ckwicklow <ckwicklow &AElig sbcglobal.net>
cc: improvetheworld &AElig umich.edu
From: Daniel Reeves <dreeves &AElig umich.edu>
Subject: Re: AAA vs Better World 
Status: RO

  For those hesitant to believe that AAA is so bad, I recommend reading
this article -- http://www.nrdc.org/amicus/01win/aaa/aaa.asp -- which you
can tell is biased, but worth considering their arguments.  Here's another
article by Ralph Nader:  http://www.nader.org/interest/070302.html
  Better World has been endorsed by the Car Talk guys and the Sierra Club:
http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/articles/travelclubs.asp
  Here is an article from Harper's magazine:
http://www.betterworldclub.com/newsroom/articles/Harpers_May2002.htm
  And finally, I've included below the text of 2 short articles, one about
Better World from Fortune magazine and the other from USA Today about a
dubious AAA environmental study concluding that we should back off on
emissions standards for cars.

  If you can find AAA's side of these stories, please let us know!

  As for their support of pro-bike and pro-mass-transit ballot measures in
San Francisco, granted, but that's San Francisco.  AAA would have to be
truly evil not to advocate such measures in such a congested area.  In any
case, my sense from looking at Via vs other AAA magazines is that Via is
good but it's not representative of AAA at the national level.

Here are a couple reasons to switch to Better World even if you don't have
time to read all these articles and convince yourself that AAA is bad for
the environment and cyclists and skaters.
 1. Better World offers the same services and will match AAA rates.
 2. They donate 1% of their revenue to environmental clean-up efforts.
 3. They have roadside assistance for bikes and discounts for renting
    hybrid cars.

Oh, and from hybridcars.com: "Perhaps most importantly, the folks at the
Better World Club believe in hybrids. To prove it, they'll extend your
membership to a thirteenth month for free, just because you're on this
hybrid cars website. Again, when you go to their sign-up page, use the
promotional code: HDCR0312."

And I don't know if this is one is true but Better World claims to be the
only auto club that recognizes domestic partners as part of its family
coverage.

Thanks for reading everyone,
Danny

Fortune magazine article:

THE NEXT BIG THING
 Mitch Rofsky and Todd Silberman, Better World Club
 This auto club is almost a carbon copy of the AAA--without all the
pro-pavement lobbying.
 By Julie Sloane

After the Catholic church, AAA--the official name of the American
Automobile Association--is the second-largest organization in the U.S.
With 46 million members, the century-old AAA is a beloved American
institution. Beloved by everyone, that is, but environmentalists.

Critics claim that AAA's membership dues help pay for lobbyists who
promote an anti-environmental agenda. "They oppose efforts to improve the
fuel economy of vehicles, cut down pollution from vehicles, fund public
transportation, and limit sprawl," says Daniel Becker, director of the
Sierra Club's Global Warming and Energy program. AAA flatly denies the
charges, but its record is hard to ignore. In 1990 AAA publicly opposed
the strengthening of the Clean Air Act.

Last June two Portland, Ore., entrepreneurs, Mitch Rofsky and Todd
Silberman, created the Better World Club. On the surface it doesn't look
too different from AAA, offering the same services and using the same tow
trucks, for pretty much the same price. But instead of using some
resources for lobbying, it donates them to organizations that remove the
carbon-dioxide emissions that travel creates.

Rofsky and Silberman met in the Cub Scouts 40 years ago. Rofsky became an
initial backer and later president of Working Assets, a socially
responsible mutual fund that created a successful long-distance telephone
company. Silberman founded Lifeco, a $1.4 billion travel agency he sold to
American Express in 1990.

It won't be easy for a startup to challenge AAA--Better World Club aims to
be 1% as big someday. (Rofsky is hoping to drum up investors to fund the
company's first major marketing push.) And there is a chance, however
slim, that the Better World Club may be a victim of its own success--some
observers say that AAA has recently downplayed its lobbying efforts.
"We're pleased to be here to inspire them to moderate their tone," Rofsky
says. "But it's not about tone. It's about action."


USA Today article:  (note that the study has the gall to say that cars
account for "less than 24%" of the emissions that lead to ground-level
ozone problems" in 25 major cities, *excluding New York and LA*!
--Danny)

 AAA: cars not to blame for major U.S. air pollution
 USA Today: September 30, 1999

WASHINGTON - Cars and light trucks are no longer the major source for smog
and ozone pollution in most major US cities, according to a report
released by the American Automobile Association (AAA)yesterday.

The study says cars and light trucks, which include sport utility vehicles
(SUVs) and minivans, account for less than 24 percent of the emissions
that lead to ground-level ozone problems in 25 major cities, excluding New
York and Los Angeles.

"This study confirms that smog produced by automobiles continues to
decline and does not contribute inordinately to ozone problems in our
cities when compared to the contribution of other sources," said Susan
Pikrallidas, interim vice president of public and government relations for
AAA.

New York and Los Angeles were excluded from the study because their AAA
clubs declined to participate.

Using data submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the study
reports a reduction in automobile emissions of volatile organic compounds
(VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) which contribute to the depleting
ozone.

Because of EPA's more stringent emission standards for newer vehicles, AAA
says there has been an 82 percent reduction in auto VOC since 1970 and a
38 percent reduction in auto NOx.

The study blames stationary sources, such as power plants and refineries,
as the major contributors to air pollution today.

AAA representatives called on local, state and federal governments to stop
targeting passenger vehicles and start looking at other industries to
decrease ozone-related emissions.

"Its time to turn the spotlight on other pollution sources if we really
want to continue to improve air quality," Pikrallidas said. "Targeting
cars won't get you much more for the money."

Environmental groups dismissed the AAA study.

"It sounds like AAA has been breathing too much smog," said Daniel Becker,
Sierra Club's director of global warming and energy.

"With asthmatic children being hospitalized at an ever-increasing rate, it
is foolhardy and callous for AAA to imply that now is the time to let up
on auto pollution," he said.

Story by Randy Fabi


--- \/   FROM ckwicklow AT 04.11.22 15:03 (Today)   \/ ---

> I was waiting for an appointment today, and picked up the November issue of
> the AAA magazine "Via."...the cover story happened to be on San Francisco.
> Coincidently, inside there was a message from the CEO about the election.
> AAA took no stance on the presidential election, but urged readers to vote
> for items associated with traffic relief.  Several of the measures listed
> were local issues, which I knew a bit about.  One of which, I was able to
> vote on two weeks ago.  Besides several fixes for local nightmare highway
> bottlenecks (ex. I-80/680 interchange and a fourth bore to the Caldecott
> tunnel), some measures AAA urged readers to vote for include:
>
> -Expansion of car-pool-only lanes.
> -Expansion of commuter bus service.
> -Expansion of local bus services.
> -Express bus services connecting regional rail services to activity &
> employment centers.
> -Bus discounts for low-income residents & students.
> -"Para-commuter" upgrades for elderly & disabled on city-to-city busses.
> -Incorporation of bicycle & pedestrian travel with all road upgrades.
> -Stand-alone bicycle & pedestrian path projects.
> -Expansion of regional rail service (Amtrak).
> -Expansion of commuter rail service (BART).
> -Expanded Ferry service from Benicia/Vallejo, Rodeo, & Richmond to San
> Francisco.
>
> I'm not sure where their money is, and I read where their mouth was, but
> their real attempt to convince the public to vote for the above ballot
> measures was very clear.
>
> It seems that The Better World Club & Car Talk's motives may be just to make
> more money.  False advertising and scare tactics bother me more than any
> potential truth in the advertisement!  When the goal seems to be good, there
> is often less scrutiny given to accusations, and forgiveness is given much
> sooner for false accusations.  I'm not for one side or the other, but in
> these and other situations, I do recommend pushing your comfort zones when
> trying to understand the side you are not pre-disposed to
> believe...whichever side that is.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Daniel Reeves" <dreeves &AElig umich.edu>
> To: <improvetheworld &AElig umich.edu>
> Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 8:50 PM
> Subject: AAA vs Better World
>
>
> > [re off-topic posts to improvetheworld today:  won't happen again -- see
> > discussion on whiteboard at
> > http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves/improvetheworld
> > ]
> >
> > Topic at hand:  I've been reading about this and have decided to drop AAA
> > like a hot potato.  They've been using my money to fight against
> > everything I believe in, like bike paths and mass transit.  Here's what
> > the car talk guys have to say about it:
> >
> > What's new at Car Talk Plaza?
> >
> > A chance to put your money where your values are, is what's new.
> >
> > Are you a member of AAA?
> >
> > Over the years many of you have complained that, aside from providing
> > emergency towing services, AAA uses your money to support big oil and
> > everything related to it.  It lobbies for highway construction over mass
> > transit; lower gas prices over fossil fuel alternatives; and spends
> > millions of dollars of your membership money doing this.
> >
> > Want the details?  Check this out:
> >
> > http://www.nrdc.org/amicus/01win/aaa/aaa.asp
> >
> > Ugly, eh?  Now, a lot of you have said you'd love to join a different road
> > club, BUT are afraid you won't get the same great service (you know, that
> > patented, AAA wait-four-hours-in-the-snowstorm service we've all come to
> > love and trust!).  Well, now there is an alternative.
> >
> > It's called Better World.  And it uses virtually the same network of tow
> > providers that AAA uses, so you can get service all over the country, 24
> > hours a day.  The Better World Club was founded by people who wanted
> > reliable emergency road service but who didn't want their membership dues
> > used to oppose things like bike paths and train service.
> >
> > In the interests of full disclosure, Better World is forking over dineros
> > to advertise on the Car Talk web site. But despite this demonstration of
> > poor business judgment, we still think it's a business worth supporting.
> > Better World is trying to do well by doing good.  If you'd like your road
> > service dues to go to road service and not to defoliating the last unpaved
> > parcels of America, you should check them out.
> >
> > You can get all the details by clicking on the Better World logo at:
> >
> > http://www.cartalk.com
> >
> > ...
> >
> > USEFUL INFORMATION ALERT:  Tired of paying auto club dues to an outfit
> > that lobbies against environmental causes?
> >
> > Check out the Better World Club. It's an auto club with genuinely decent
> > values-- unlike some others we could name... whose initials just so happen
> > to be AAA.
> >
> > Better World Club cares about your...
> >  *Environmental interests: It gives 1% of its revenue towards
> > environmental clean up and advocacy;
> >  *Consumer interests: It even has discounts on hybrid rental cars; and
> >  *It has the nation's only bicycle roadside assistance program.
> >
> > Dump your AAA membership and join Better World!
> >
> > If you join via the Car Talk web site, you'll get an extra month's
> > membership. Check out Better World now at
> >
> > http://www.cartalk.com
> >
> > --
> > http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves  - -  google://"Daniel Reeves"
> >
> >
>
>

-- 
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves  - -  google://"Daniel Reeves"

"There's no moral; it's just a bunch of stuff that happened."
  -- Homer Simpson