This and so much more:
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Five Ways to Solve Global Warming Without Wall Street
By Friends of the Earth
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There are plenty of common-sense ways to solve global warming that would not invite Wall Street manipulation, but would put us on a path to cut pollution to healthy levels and create the clean economy of the future.
Here are five ways policymakers, activists and ordinary citizens can get to work — without Wall Street:
#1 – Stop subsidizing fossil fuels. The federal budget contains more than $30 billion in subsidies that prop up big oil and other fossil fuel special interests. If we end these subsidies and channel the money to clean, renewable energy sources, we can cut the pollution causing global warming and create clean energy jobs.
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Bike for Free Speech: a Three Man Trans-America Bicycle Ride Benefits NCAC
Matthew Sottile, Dawson Burke, and Jimmy Barrett of Connecticut will “Bike for Progress.” On April 1, 2010, the three high school friends will begin their trans-America journey, cycling from Baltimore, Maryland to Canon Beach, Oregon in support of free speech. All pledges and sponsorship for “Bike for Progress” will be generously donated to NCAC.
The cross-country trip has been in the works since Study Hall, their sophomore year in high school, but it was Matthew Sottile’s recent idea to ride for our cause:
I first learned about NCAC several years ago through researching the annual Banned Books Week event. I decided that I wanted to help raise money for NCAC because I believe that the preservation of ideas is of utmost importance, and that everyone who lives in a free country should be aware and willing to protect that.
NCAC is thrilled to have the support of “Bike for Progress.” You can learn more about the trio and follow their cross-country ride at Bike for Progress blog.
You too can support NCAC and “Bike for Progress” with a donation. Click on the donation button to give $21 (1/2 a cent per mile at 4200 miles) or any amount you choose.
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Annapolis bike safety course 3/10 6 PM
Bicyclists of all abilities are invited to take a 2-hour Traffic Skills 101 course from City Police Officer Craig Medley, a certified League of American Bicyclists instructor. This course will give cyclists the knowledge and confidence they need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail and covers bicycle safety checks, on-bike skills and crash avoidance techniques. Recommended for adults and children above age fourteen, this fast-paced, two-hour introductory course prepares cyclists for an understanding of cycling in traffic.
The course will take place at the Truxton Park Recreation Center on Wednesday March 10th at 6:00 PM. For more information please contact either Jennifer Bistrack, Dept of Recreation and Parks – 410.263.7958. Cost of the course is $10 and registration is available online at:
https://reg-e.annapolis.gov/Activities/ActivitiesDetails.asp?ProcessWait=N&aid=427
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Bicycle Helmet Use Among Maryland Children: Effect of Legislation and Education
[Critically reading the following, the local that has the highest frequency of childhood bike accidents, the rate went down, not up. Personally I think education and free helmet give-a-ways are more effective then mandatory use laws. And BTW from memory you can buy children’s bike helmets in bulk for ~$2.50 someone needs to turn this around to be proactive.]
Although bicycle helmets are effective in preventing head injuries, use of helmets among children remains infrequent. In response to the bicycling deaths of two children, Howard County, Maryland, became the first US jurisdiction to mandate use of bicycle helmets for children. Schoolchildren were lectured by police about the law before its enactment. Prelaw and postlaw helmet use was observed in Howard County and two control counties: Montgomery (which sponsored a community education program) and Baltimore County (nohelmet activities). Prelaw crude helmet use rates for children were 4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0% to 10%) for Howard, 8% (95% CI 3% to 13%) for Montgomery, and 19% (95% CI 5% to 33%) for Baltimore. Postlaw rates were 47% (95% CI 32% to 62%), 19% (95% CI 11% to 27%), and 4% (95% CI 0 to 11%), respectively. The rate of bicycle helmet use by Howard County children is now the highest documented for US children. A similar increase in helmet use among children younger than 16 years nationwide could prevent about 100 deaths and 56 000 emergency-department-treated head injuries annually. Physicians and other health professionals should consider proposing and supporting the Howard County approach in their communities.
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Bike 101: Buying a bike in Baltimore
"Whether for environmental reasons or for health reasons, a bike is a good investment to make. But where you start when it comes to buying the right bike? Luckily, there are many resources in Baltimore to help."
The Examiner has a couple of articles (so far) on some of our many (and growing) bike shops. If you are looking to buy a bike, it’s worth a read.
Future Lies In Moving Away From The Car
by Boston Biker
People will sometimes ask me, “Why do you hate cars so much?” The truth is I don’t hate cars. They are useful to some people (delivery trucks, people with disabilities). The car itself is not the problem, it is what happens to society when everyone owns a car that is the problem. Cars are simply a representation of two real problems.
1. The burning of gasoline for transportation.
2. The idea that a car = freedom.
[Follow the link for an explanation.]
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Mayor Moncrief’s State of the City Address: Car-Centric Planning a Blunder
by Fort Worthology
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Business as usual is dead!
North Texas requires a transportation overhaul. No more Band-Aids, no more patches—a complete overhaul!
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Frankly, I’m tired of talking about this. This afternoon, workers at BNSF…employees at Lockheed Martin or Bell Textron…even many of you in this room will leave work and then sit…and sit…and sit in traffic. It’s a frustrating daily routine that carries a great cost once you consider the impacts to our quality of life, our environment, our air, and our ability to attract and keep new business investment.
If this is a mobility crisis—and I believe it is—then it must be treated like one!
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‘Scofflaw cyclists,’ the law and motorist outrage
By Paul Thornton
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As a bike/bus commuter myself, this oft-expressed sentiment, a total non-sequitur, infuriates me. Yes, cyclists sometimes do blow through stop signs as if they were riding on a bike path, and I cringe every time I watch a helmet-free rider plow through a red light straight into a busy intersection. Why? Safety concerns aside, the widespread perception that we’re a lawless bunch has been used by a few vigilante motorists as an excuse to act aggressively toward me (and I do obey stop signs and red lights, per California Vehicle Code Sections 21200 and 21202).
Which brings me to my point: The widely held view of cyclists’ incivility justifies neither the life-threatening rage we sometimes receive from motorists who think we have no right to the road nor the indifference some of us receive from police. None of this is to say that the vast majority of motorists don’t treat cyclists with respect. And the same holds true for cyclists: Nearly all of us, for the most part, obey the law in the interest of our own safety. The obvious difference is that the occasional scofflaw bike rider usually results in a brief moment of inconvenience for drivers, whereas the occasional aggressive motorist can mean serious injury — or worse — for us.
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Jon Stewart so called it
The Daily Show: CNN reminds viewers that texting while driving is dangerous and announces their new iPhone application for real-time traffic reports.
And now in real life:
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) survey of 32 state DOTs finds that 26 states (or 81%) are now using Twitter to communicate with travelers when major traffic incidents
Let’s keep up the mixed messages America!