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Tuesday, October 30th

Cropsey Red and the I-95 Tollbooths
Leaving Washington and driving up Interstate 95 towards Philadelphia I observed miles of cars waiting at a toll booth, spewing carbon dioxide and thousands of engines idled. This seemed a waste, both in terms of time and economics, but also in terms of the harm done to the planet. Couldn't each car be affixed with a magnetic strip as part of the inspection process so they could at least keep moving through the tollgate?

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Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 10.30.07 @ 10:33PST

The Price of Oil Is Counted in More than Cash
In our culture's endless quest for more excuses to sit in traffic jams, Canada's tar sands have been touted as the next big source of cheap oil...but there are uncounted costs in the equation, as a read-through of this article in the UK Guardian shows. We quote:

The extraction of the oil requires heat, and thus the burning of vast amounts of natural gas - effectively one barrel of gas to extract two of crude - and some estimate that Fort McMurray and the Athabasca oil sands will soon be Canada's biggest contributor to global warming; nearly as much as the whole of Denmark. This in an area that has already seen, according to David Schindler, professor of ecology at the University of Alberta, two degrees of warming in the past 40 years.

The oil sands excavations are changing the surface of the planet. The black mines can now be seen from space. In 10 years, estimates Schindler, they are "going to look like one huge open pit" the size of Florida. Acid rain is already killing trees and damaging foliage. The oil companies counter that they are replanting - grass for bison, 4.5m trees by Syncrude alone - but the muskeg (1,000-year-old peat bog and wooded fen, which traps snow melt and prevents flash floods, and is home to endangered woodland caribou) is irreplaceable.

Two barrels of water are required to extract one barrel of oil; every day as much water is taken from the Athabasca river as would serve a city of a million people.

To read the entire well-written article, which also the social costs of the extractions to the local economy, go to: Mud, Sweat, and Tears

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 10.30.07 @ 04:59PST

Thursday, October 25th

Annual Amtrak Ridership Sets All-Time Record; Fifth Straight Year of Increases
Amtrak ridership in Fiscal Year 2007 increased to 25,847,531, marking the fifth straight year of gains and setting a record for the most passengers using Amtrak trains since the National Railroad Passenger Corporation started operations in 1971.

This total, for the period October 1, 2006-September 30, 2007, topped the 24,306,965 for the previous 12 months and is greater than the passenger count of 25.03 million reached in 2004, before Amtrak transitioned some services to a commuter rail operator.

Total ticket revenue for the fiscal year, $1.5 billion was an 11 percent increase over the $1.37 billion in FY06. If other income from contract services is included, the railroad's total revenue was $2.2 billion for the fiscal year.

East Highlights

Revenue growth was the greatest in the Northeast, where revenue reached $829.3 million, a 14 percent increase over last year's ticket revenue.

The popularity of the Acela Express service continued in FY07 as is evidenced by the 20 percent increase in ridership (3.1 million passengers) and 23 percent climb in ticket revenue ($403.5 million) versus last year. Acela Express service saw an increase in OTP, frequently surpassing its goal of 90 percent. At year-end, the OTP for Acela Express was 87.8 percent, up more than three percent over the same period last year. The popularity and high demand for this service also prompted the creation in July of another weekday Acela Express round trip between New York and Washington.

Regional Service ridership continues also to rise: 6.6 million passengers rode Regional trains in FY07, an increase of 1.2 percent. Additionally, Regional passenger ticket revenue for period rose 7.2 percent.

The Keystone Service, which operates between Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and New York City experienced significant growth with a 20.7 percent increase in ridership, reaching 988,454 in FY07. Moreover, ticket revenue increased by nearly 30 percent, to $20,582,838.

Last fall, Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation with support from the Federal Transit Administration, introduced all-electric service with speeds up to 110 mph on the Keystone Corridor, which has reduced travel times between Harrisburg and Philadelphia and Harrisburg and New York City by between 15 and 45 minutes. Weekday roundtrips have also increased from 11 to 14 — with ten traveling through to New York.

The Downeaster, operating daily between Portland, Maine and Boston, Massachusetts, added a fifth round trip to its service this past August. The service achieved a seven percent increase in ridership in FY07, reaching 361,634. The Downeaster also brought in $4.8 million in ticket revenue, a 5.3 percent increase from a year ago.

Central Highlights

Huge gains are tied to increased frequencies in Illinois, with the three routes between Chicago and downstate communities showing large increases. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has more than doubled the size of its contract with Amtrak, providing three of the five round-trips on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor and two round-trips each on the Carbondale and Quincy routes, starting late last October.

On the Chicago-St. Louis Lincoln Service corridor, ridership is up by 55.8 percent for the state trains and 42 percent for the corridor, with total of 477,888. Ridership between Chicago and Carbondale, the route the Illini and Saluki trains share with the City of New Orleans, is up by 67.4 percent for the state-supported trains and 46 percent for the corridor, totaling 263,809. For the Chicago-Galesburg-Quincy route of the Illinois Zephyr, Carl Sandburg and other trains, ridership has gained 41.4 percent for the state-sponsored trains and 33 percent for the route, with 194,535 passengers.

Also from the Amtrak hub in Chicago is the Hiawatha Service, with up to seven daily round-trips sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation with IDOT. Nearly 600,000 passengers rode the trains between Milwaukee and Chicago last year, an increase of 2.6 percent.

The state-supported routes in Michigan — Grand Rapids-St. Joseph-Chicago Pere Marquette and the Port Huron-East Lansing-Chicago Blue Water — also posted increases. Ridership on the Pere Marquette was up 2.8 percent and on the Blue Water, 3.1 percent.

West Highlights

California's Capitol Corridor service which operates between Auburn and San Jose, carried more than 1.4 million passengers in FY07, a 15 percent increase over the same period last year. Ticket revenue topped $18 million, a 21 percent increase over the previous 12 months. In addition, the San Diego-San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner, showed a nine percent increase in ticket revenue, reaching more than $46 million.

National Highlights

Among the trains on the Amtrak national network, the Empire Builder is again the most popular overnight train. With more than a half-million passengers, the daily Chicago-St. Paul-Seattle/Portland train showed an increase of 1.6 percent.

Also, the Auto Train, which operates between the Washington, D.C and Orlando areas, posted a ridership increase of five percent from last year.

Long-distance trains recording above-average ridership performances include the New Orleans-Tucson-Los Angeles Sunset Limited (up 22.1 percent), Chicago-Albuquerque-Los Angeles Southwest Chief (up 5.4 percent) and Chicago-Memphis-New Orleans City of New Orleans (up 3 percent). In addition, the New York-Miami Silver Service trains (Silver Meteor-Silver Star) achieved ridership gains of 6.9 and 5.7 percent respectively and the Palmetto's passenger number jumped by 7.5 percent over the previous 12 months.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 10.25.07 @ 04:10PST

Monday, October 22nd

Travelers Go Green (Sort Of)
More than half of all U.S. adults say they would be more likely to select an airline, rental car or hotel that uses more environmentally friendly products and processes, according to the results of the latest travelhorizons™ survey by the Travel Industry Association (TIA) and Ypartnership.

But while more than half of U.S. adults may be advocates of environmental responsibility, only 14 percent of respondents said their actual selection of a travel service supplier would be influenced by that supplier’s efforts to preserve and protect the environment. Just 13 percent would be willing to pay higher rates or fares to use suppliers who demonstrate environmental responsibility (although fully 56 percent said they might).

The amount of the rate or fare premium appears to be the source of their hesitation: 76 percent would pay less than 10 percent more per usage (e.g., room night, airline flight, car rental, etc.); with the majority of respondents indicating they would pay less than 5 percent more.

“The results of the survey suggest that awareness of a travel service supplier’s efforts to operate in an environmentally responsible manner may be sufficient to attract additional patronage, but not at a significantly higher fare or rate,” according to Suzanne Cook, TIA’s Senior Vice President of Research. “The ‘value assessment’ consumers ascribe to any travel service transaction appears to remain the primary determinant of their actual purchase behavior.”

Specifically, 50 percent say they would be more likely to use an airline if they knew it took the initiative to offset carbon emissions, used newer, more fuel efficient jets, or implemented recycling programs. Almost six out of ten (56 percent) stated the same thing for car rental companies (those offering more fuel efficient and hybrid cars). And fully 54 percent stated they would be more likely to patronize hotels or resorts they knew practiced environmental responsibility.

According to the survey, consumers would favor properties that actively tried to prevent beach erosion (oceanfront hotels), allowed guests the option to reuse towels and sheets, reduced their energy consumption by using energy efficient lighting/low flow toilets and showers, and supported community environmental causes.

And, not surprisingly, Americans' sense of environmental responsibility manifests itself in many other ways: eight out of ten (78 percent) U.S. adults consider themselves “environmentally conscious,” according to the survey. In fact, more than half:

• Turn out the lights when they leave a room (85 percent);
• Practice energy efficiency by regulating air conditioning and heating when not at home (67 percent);
• Recycle trash (60 percent);
• Shut off water while brushing teeth or shaving (60 percent);
• Try to use more energy efficient light bulbs (59 percent);
• Keep showers short (53 percent).

travelhorizons™ is a bi-monthly survey of U.S. adults who are active travelers and is co-authored by the Travel Industry Association and Ypartnership. The national survey of 2,296 travelers was conducted in August 2007, and the estimated margin of error is +/-2.05 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 10.22.07 @ 15:53PST

Tuesday, October 16th

Best Way to Reduce Carbon Output? Try Public Transit
From the American Public Transportation Association:

WASHINGTON, DC –The most powerful weapon you can use to combat global climate change may be a daily transit pass, according to a new studythat wasreleased today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). The study, Public Transportation’s Contribution to U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reduction, was prepared for APTA by Science Applications International Corporation.

The research shows that when compared to other household actions that limit carbon dioxide (CO2,), taking public transportation can be more than ten times greater in reducing this harmful greenhouse gas. It takes one solo commuter of a household to switch their daily driving to using public transportation and he or she can reduce their household carbon footprint by 10 percent. If one household’s driver gives up that second car and switches to public transit, a household can reduce its carbon emissions up to 30 percent.

While it is very important to employ environmentally-friendly household activities, commuting by public transportation makes a more substantial impact. An individual switching to public transit can reduce their daily carbon emissions by 20 pounds; that’s more than 4,800 pounds in a year. This is far greater than the many actions people are being encouraged to take, for instance:

Home weatherizing and adjusting the thermostat for heating and cooling saves 2,847 pounds of carbon per year. Transit use saves almost twice the carbon.

Replacing five incandescent bulbs to lower wattage compact fluorescent lamps saves 445 pounds of CO2 per year. Transit use saves more than ten times the CO2.

Replacing an older refrigerator freezer with a high efficient one saves 335 pounds of CO2 per year. Taking public transportation saves more than fourteen times the carbon.

"Public transportation use should be at the top of the list of ways for households to become greener," said William W. Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). "Switching to public transit gives a person the opportunity to immediately become part of the solution to help reduce carbon dioxide, a harmful greenhouse gas.

"Commuting by public transportation is one of the most significant actions a household member can take to reduce their carbon footprint," Millar added.

The research points out that due to increases in vehicle miles traveled, the problem of pollution from vehicle emissions is accelerating. Greenhouse gas emissions from mobile sources have grown 27 percent from 1990 to 2004. Autos and light duty trucks represent about 61 percent of the total mobile source of greenhouse gas emissions. The report says single occupancy drivers switching their work commute to public transportation is one of the more effective ways to reduce the nation’s vehicle miles traveled while reducing harmful carbon dioxide.

"While it is good public policy to require more fuel efficient automobiles, increasing the use of transit can have a more immediate impact on our nation’s transportation fuel consumption," said Millar. "It could take twenty to thirty years to see a complete turnover of the vehicle fleet. A household does not need to go to the expense of buying a new vehicle to make a difference; they can simply take advantage of the nation’s existing bus or rail services to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint."

APTA is calling on Congress to incorporate public transportation into a national climate strategy that includes providing additional funding levels for more public transportation investment; providing tax credits to major employers who spend resources to support mass transit ridership programs; and tax credits to developers for mixed development residential, commercial and transportation sites that encourage greater use of public transportation.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 10.16.07 @ 15:57PST

Wednesday, October 10th

Park(ing) Day L.A. a Success
Despite fears that it would incite road rage or just old-fashioned scorn, "Park(ing) Day L.A." was a great success.

"Park(ing) Day" originated, as so many good things do, in San Francisco, when a bunch of urban activists with pocketfuls of quarters "rented" metered parking spots for a day and transformed them in mini-parks, complete with picnics, public art, and music. The idea was to show what we have given up in our obsessive quest accommodate the car.

This year the idea propagated to Los Angeles, where I myself encountered three of the charming little parks as I cycled around the city doing business.

I heard no complaints, read no reports of ill-will in the papers--in fact, the Los Angeles Downtown News published a laudatory report on Park(ing) Day by tis architecture critic, Sam Hall Kaplan, who said, among other things, "Though most were on display for just a few hours, 'Park(ing) Day L.A.,' held Friday, Sept. 21, made its point in the best show-and-tell school tradition. It was a welcomed departure from the endless dead-end academic discussions over the prospects of public space."

He went on to introduce the Dutch concept of the woonerf, a streetspace designed to be shared equally among pedestrians, bicycles, and slow-moving cars, with an explanation of its benefits to neighborhoods and its potential in the US.

Read Mr. Kaplan's entire article at Park for a Day.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 10.10.07 @ 18:27PST

Monday, October 1st

The Bicycle Fixation Great Bike Rack Hunt
Riding a bicycle for transportation inevitably means having to park your bike while you shop, dine, visit, work, or play, and in this car-addled world, especially in the US, that often means a parking meter, signpost, fence, or tree serves as your parking structure.

More and more cities and businesses worldwide, however, are making an effort to accommodate those of us who travel using the world's most efficient machine, and some of the resulting facilities are wonderful...while many are not.

In order to explore what's out there for keeping our beloved velos safe while they await our return, our sister publication, Bicycle Fixation, has decided to hold the Bicycle Fixation Great Bike Rack Contest. They are asking you to go out into your city and photograph what you think is the finest bike parking rack you can find (as well as the worst!) These must be intentional bike racks, installed specifically for bicycle parking.

If you think you've seen the best (or worst) in bike rack design and placement, read through the details below, take your picture, and follow the submission directions at the URL below. Pictures will be judged by a panel of experts in urban design, architecture, and bicycle transportation, and by popular vote of our readership, and three winners will be rewarded with Bicycle Fixation products!

Enter the Bicycle Fixation Great Bike Rack Contest!

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 10.01.07 @ 14:09PST