Month: March 2009

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Urb Ag Gala Friday, April 17th

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On Friday, April 17th, 2009 the Baltimore Urban Agricultural Task Force will be hosting its first annual Urb Ag Gala at St. John’s Church at 2640 St. Paul Street from 7:00 to 10:00pm. The celebration will include delicious local food, artwork and entertainment in the setting of an old church transformed into a wildly lavish green atmosphere. Guests will have the opportunity to mark their gardens on a giant map of Baltimore. They can also sign up to casually speak about their growing project in an open mic style storytelling and song circle that will include local musicians. A $5 donation is being requested. Urb Ag Gala will be a waste-neutral event. Featured musicians include: Atom Fisher, Cityslides, Beans, American Folklore, Mother Nature’s Son, MacGregor Burns & the VCR, Lands & Peoples, Pere Yorko, The Owls Go.

The event will enable those intrigued by the “growing” movement to become more involved; connect and offer resources to those already involved; get growers and eaters and those in between fired-up for the 2009 season; and make a statement about the inspiring and practical effects that growing food locally can have on individuals, families, communities, and the state of our planet at large.

Contact: urbaggala@gmail.com, https://baltimoreurbanag.org/content/urb-ag-gala

The Baltimore Urban Agricultural Task Force is a growing coalition of farmers, students, professionals, artists, parents, and concerned citizens. The passion of its members is a common one: locally produced food. The Task Force is finding ways to strengthen communities in Baltimore through agricultural projects and environmental education. The long term goal of the Task Force is to acquire a 6-acre plot that can be farmed in Baltimore City and to create 500 new and sustainable jobs in the process.

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National Bike Summit 2009

National Bike Summit 2009 – a huge success
(3.17.09) Thanks to everyone that made it to the National Bike Summit this year – we had record attendance, a strong program, and some good specific asks of our elected representatives. In total, 580 registrants from 47 states and four countries (Canada, Denmark, Czech Republic and the USA) visited more than 350 Congressional offices on Thursday, March 12. Follow up to your visits is essential; please make sure you have written your thank you notes, and followed up with the offices on their commitments.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood addressed the opening plenary, noting that the DOT will be "a full partner in working toward livable communities". The Secretary was followed by Representatives Blumenauer (D-OR), Lipinski (D-IL) and Matsui (D-CA). Congressman Oberstar (D-MN) spoke at the Summit dinner, and Representatives Petri (R-WI), Coble (R-NC), McCaul (R-TX) and Kissell (D-NC) made remarks at the Congressional Breakfast and/or Reception.
Even if you were not able to attend this year, the League encourages you to ask your members of Congress to support the Complete Streets Act of 2009 (S. 584, introduced by Senator Harkin, and H.R. 1443, introduced by Representative Matsui) and the CLEAN-TEA: The Clean, Low-Emission Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act (S. 575, introduced by Senators Carper and Specter, and H.R. 1329, introduced by Representatives Blumenauer, Tauscher and LaTourette) that were introduced for the Summit.
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Action alert: Three foot legislation

As I get older and wiser (hopefully) I realize there is a bit of a contradiction in advocacy. One part is I need to motivate you to write, that generally involves a sense of outrage, the other part is the the letters you write need to be positive in order to be effective. So…

Be outraged enough to be motivated to write or call, what’s being said in the halls of Annapolis is enough to make you steaming mad but don’t have that come across in your letters. Be positive and supportive of your representative and try to make your appeal palatable to someone who does not bike. Try to be short and to the point and ***please stay on topic, focus on safety and mention that HB 496 only applies to bicyclists that act lawfully.*** Also we have MDOT’s support this year on this bill, that is significant!
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Winds of Change

[This comes from a very interesting blog generally about clean energy, link is at the end of the article.]
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I’ve wanted to make a post about this since it was in the news last Thursday, but it slipped to the back of my mind.  The Washington Post had an article about how in Maryland it’s now cheaper on the electric bill for residents to buy renewable wind energy credits through the Rockville-based Clean Currents than it would be to just buy power through BG&E and Pepco.  This means if you’re in Maryland, you can lower your utility rates and take a significant step to greening your lifestyle at the same time.  Usually, being part of the Clean Currents Program costs ratepayers a little bit more, but the current economic climate has created different conditions.

“The decreased rates are the result of a steady decline in wholesale energy prices. Utility companies set their customers’ rates periodically and have not reduced them to reflect the lower prices they are now paying for energy to produce electricity. But Clean Currents and other companies have taken advantage of the downturn in the price and are offering residents as much as two years of power for 10 to 15 percent less than the utilities’ summer rates. They use some of their revenue to promote wind farms and the use of wind power.”

The article also talked about a family in Maryland who set up their own wind turbine to power their home in Charles County, where the wind is strong.

I’m hopeful this is a trend towards renewables that we’ll be seeing across Maryland and the United States.  One other recent signal that the winds of change are upon us is that there are now more wind jobs than coal.  For now, if you live in Maryland, there’s no excuse to not google Clean Currents right now and consider entering into a 2 year contract with them.  You can save money, and less your impact on the environment at the same time.

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CLEAN TEA INTRODUCED, BILL AIMED AT CREATING A MORE EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

Sen. Tom Carper said: “Today, we fund our transportation system through a gas tax, meaning we pay for roads and transit by burning gasoline. When people drive less, our transportation budgets dry up. This means states and localities that reduce oil use, lower greenhouse emissions and save their constituents money end up getting their budgets cut. But CLEAN TEA reverses this negative funding policy by sending money to states and localities based on how much they reduce emissions. Now, we in the Congress have the great opportunity to address many national problems at once – finding additional funding for transportation infrastructure, building money-saving transportation alternatives and lowering greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.”
“Reducing emissions from the transportation sector will not only help us achieve our global warming goals, but will provide additional benefits to the environment, public health, the economy, and quality of life,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer. This legislation will help finance our shift to a low-carbon transportation system that provides transportation choices, creates safe and healthy communities, and saves consumers money. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that any climate legislation we advance in the House recognizes the opportunities provided by the transportation sector.”
“This bill represents an important step in lowering our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and promoting transportation mobility,” Sen. Arlen Specter said. “Since transportation accounts for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, it stands to reason that revenue generated from a cap-and-trade system should be devoted to creating a more sustainable transportation future.”
“Transportation accounts for 30 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions. CLEAN TEA addresses the difficulty of reducing these emissions by investing in strategies that make our transportation system more efficient and in transportation alternatives, such as mass transit,” said Rep. Melissa Bean. “This bill is a great example of how pro-growth and environmentally conscious policy can come together.”
“CLEAN TEA can’t come soon enough for our mass transit infrastructure,” Rep Mark Kirk said. “By investing in energy-saving projects like commuter rail, we’ll save money at the gas pump, decrease congestion and reduce greenhouse gases. Most importantly, we’ll create thousands of jobs throughout the country.”
“CLEAN TEA is a good benchmark to start the debate on climate change legislation. We cannot effectively address climate change without reducing the transportation sector’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions,” Rep. Ellen Tauscher said. “This bill follows in the wake of historic legislation in California to address climate change by linking it to land use and transportation policy.”
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Portland Auditor’s survey: Fewer cars, more bikes, and safer streets

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– In 2008, there were 140 “traffic injuries” to individuals on bicycles. That’s down from 196 in 2007 and it’s the lowest number since the survey was taken in 1999. The same goes for pedestrian injuries; there were 123 in 2008, down from 191 in 2007. There was also a major drop in the amount of individuals injured while operating an automobile; the survey reports 4,428 injured, compared to 5,429 in 2007.
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Speakers at the National Bike Summit

UPDATE: see comment for updated links
Here are videos of the morning speakers at the National Bike Summit on Wednesday, March 11.
US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood
https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5323865082882842828
US Representative Earl Blumenauer (OR-3rd)
https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5527072340327644893
US Representative Daniel Lipinski (IL-3rd)
https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2784701150857668849
US Representative Doris Matsui (CA-5th)
https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5225171971519783674
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Cyclists are important users of transportation systems

From Trans Secretary LaHood –
On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of addressing the National Bike Summit. I was invited to speak as a member of the Obama administration, but I have been a supporter of bicycling for many years and was a member of the Congressional Bike Caucus when I was in Congress.
Still, I don’t think the League of American Bicyclists knew what to expect when they invited me to their summit.
I hope they were pleasantly surprised because I am committed to investing in programs that encourage bikes to coexist with other modes and to safely share our roads and bridges. And there’s strong support in Congress for these goals as well.
In the Department of Transportation, bicyclists have a full partner in working toward livable communities. We’re excited that the Federal Highway Administration is looking at best practices in Europe to improve safety and mobility for walkers and cyclists. We’re excited that a federally funded pilot project to study the effects of improved walking and bicycling facilities in four communities is underway. I think I conveyed that excitement to the summit, judging by the early response (BikePortland.org, Streetsblog.org)
I welcome the vigor of the bicycling community in advocating for bike-friendly measures in the upcoming authorization bill, CLEAN-TEA. Bicycles are a critical part of a cleaner, greener future in American transportation, so keep those wheels spinning.
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