From Parking Authority of Baltimore City –
In 2006, the Parking Authority issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a car sharing company to come to Baltimore. Zipcar had brought the issue to our attention originally, but did not ultimately submit a proposal. Flexcar was the only organization to answer the RFP, but they did so to our satisfaction, and we spent most of 2007 working with them to identify potential users, working out the terms of the contract and determining a couple dozen locations for the vehicles. On October 31, Flexcar and Zipcar announced that they were merging. We met with Regional Vice Presidents of both companies and learned that it was Zipcar
Continue reading “Car sharing in Baltimore update”
UN climate talks under pressure to drop 2020 goals
The US has reportedly pressured the UN into dropping its "hard targets" for greenhouse gas emissions.
According to Reuters, which quoted a delegate, the U.S. effort to avoid hard targets was successful, and the U.N. has dropped its call for 25-40% reductions from industrialized nations by 2020. Japan and Canada also supported the U.S. position that the agreement being negotiated in Bali
Continue reading “UN climate talks under pressure to drop 2020 goals”
The Story of Stuff
What is the Story of Stuff?
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
Continue reading “The Story of Stuff”
LAB Reform News
As Baltimore works its way to being a bike friendly city there are going to be two things that will have a major impact on how well we improve cyclists
Continue reading “LAB Reform News”
Billboard Also Power Plant
The billboard really is capped with solar panels, producing 3.4 kilowatts of electricity during the day. This is more than the billboard uses on a day-to-day basis, so it actually does feed power into the grid. Though, of course, it’s negligible. But we can’t help but love it anyway.
Continue reading “Billboard Also Power Plant”
Connecticut
WHEN the Connecticut portion of Interstate 95 opened to traffic on Jan. 2, 1958, state planners were so enthusiastic they dubbed their 111-mile section a
Continue reading “Connecticut”
DON’T BECOME A DISTRACTED DRIVER
Have pet peeves about other drivers? You know them … the drivers on the phone, text messaging, reaching for food, a CD or the radio?
Distracted driving occurs whenever a driver is slow to recognize a potential hazard because something inside or outside the vehicle draws the driver’s attention away from the driving task.
Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involve some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.*
Keep from becoming a statistic by being alert and following these few tips:
- Give yourself more space, stay away from distracted drivers.
- Remain calm behind the wheel. Avoid emotional conversations with passengers.
- Devote your full attention to driving.
- Put away anything that is potentially distracting: mail, magazines, books etc.
- Keep alert and protect yourself by wearing your safety belt. It
Continue reading “DON’T BECOME A DISTRACTED DRIVER”
The Nutcracker performed on bicycle parts
[By request bringing this back to the top.]
Who needs a Glockenspiel when the folks at Specialized have created a fine instrument out of bike parts?
Happy holidays to everyone!
Continue reading “The Nutcracker performed on bicycle parts”
Dude, where’s my bike lane?
The case of the disappearing bike lane in San Francisco – a cute but sad video about cars blocking the bike lane.
Continue reading “Dude, where’s my bike lane?”
IT IS LONG PAST TIME TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT!
Boston – The other night we went to a holiday gathering with someone from where she works. I rode my bike to her place of employ and she, who normally bikes, had driven our car. We left at 5:22pm and drove until 6:17pm to reach her colleagues house. The total distance: 7.15 miles- in 55 minutes!
This was through the heart of the 14.6 billion dollar traffic infrastructure "improvement" called the Big Dig, which is now officially "complete".
We couldn’t help but ask- is the traffic like this every night? The answer, "That’s pretty normal. But I get work done on the phone. I play CD’s. It’s my time to relax." He’s also desperately trying to lose weight and drives 10 minutes more to the gym 4 nights a week for 45 minutes to an hour after he drives home. And he has a stack of parking tickets and literally $200 worth of quarters stashed by the door for meters every day, which he must run down and refill every two hours.
Continue reading “IT IS LONG PAST TIME TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT!”