Photo Credit: Gideon Tsang
As an avid biker, I’ve always assumed that riding was a better option than driving for many reasons. I avoid the morning traffic, I don’t worry about finding a parking spot, and have the pleasure of getting my recommended thirty minutes of exercise a day. I also feel good about being green. However, a recent study by Hasselt University in Belgium has made me think twice. Read more…
Sasha Aickin
In a slightly more visionary departure from my previous post about hand soap, I’d like to wax poetic about my college-days crush: bus rapid transit (or BRT). During my Urban Planning undergrad days, BRT first caught my eye during lecture. And it whispered in my ear, “I’m different from all the others…I’m the kind of bus you could really love.” Read more…
J Smith Photo
Those of us who troll environmental sites may be slightly more open to consider the radical statement “free parking hurts cities, people, and the environment.” But the average American (and perhaps even an environmentalist on a rainy day) is more likely to cry, “Fascist! You’ll have to pry my parking from my cold, dead gearshift!” Read more…
Photo Credit: Sally Mahoney
For years, cities all over Europe have had great success with bike-sharing programs. Finally, this same idea is being implemented in cities such as Denver and Chicago. Entitled Chicago B-Cycle, the program aims to provide residents with daily, weekly, or monthly memberships that enable them to pick up and drop off bikes where they like. Read more…
The future of automotive transport may a have carbon-fiber body, sexier than you might imagine. Today it is used in high performance auto parts, aircraft wings, and bits of supercars. 30% lighter than aluminum and 50% lighter than steel it has been a more expensive and labor-intensive alternative, ruling it out for high-volume production. BMW hopes to change all that when it introduces its plug-in electric car concept called the Megacity in 2013. Read more…
www.flickr.com/photos/7652022@no4/584266330/
Aside from the fact that most Americans can’t actually help clean up oil in the Gulf, the most frustrating result of the BP spill may be that consumers can’t really boycott oil companies either (the Google results are frustrating too- the company bought the first link for the search words “oil spill”). Read more…
It’s nearly here! Nissan’s soon to emerge Leaf is the world’s first mass market electric vehicle that produces zero emissions while on the road. With no gas tank, gas lines, or tailpipe, the Leaf is on it’s way to being the trendiest “green” car available to the mass public. Sounds almost too good to be true… And that’s where the controversy hits: although emissions aren’t produced while driving, what about those of the electricity produced for the little Leaf as it charges overnight? Read more…
Photo Credit: Ryan Cheng
Eco-conscious Holland is a country known for its cycling culture. However, as you move out of the Dutch cities you start to see less bikes and more cars. One of the major issues is transportation, since the country is so small and so densely populated traffic jams are frequent and carbon emissions are a main concern. In order to reward those people who have been cutting back on their driving, and to encourage those who are reluctant to change, the Dutch government has implemented a driving tax that looks promising. Read more…
Photo Credit: Carlos Carvajal
Bogotá, Colombia’s capital city, and most populated city in the country, is being watched and mimicked by cities worldwide for it’s significant efforts to upgrade the city’s infrastructure. With a population of about 8 million, Bogotá’s rapid growth has placed a huge strain on its roads and highways. However, within the last decade, former Mayor Enrique Peñalosa has challenged the city’s congestion and lack for public space with his revolutionary ideas. Read more…
Photo Credit: Colin (TheTruthAboutMortgage.com)
In the midst of the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, news of proposed electric vehicle charging stations all over California comes, at the least, as a relief. The oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has sparked more debate on a national scale about the use of renewable energies and the potential environmental effects of such drilling. Read more…
Keep reading and continue greening!
Loading ...A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
-Greek Proverb
