Back to Archive Index   Back to Today's Entries

Tuesday, November 27th

How Green Is Your Holiday Tree?
The nation’s largest and fifth largest Christmas tree farms are announcing the newly formed Coalition of Environmentally-Conscious Growers, to educate the public on the importance of live trees and promote environmentally-sound growing practices. Holiday Tree Farms, Inc., of Corvallis, Oregon and Yule Tree Farms, of Canby, Oregon formed an alliance to bring about change in Christmas tree grower industry.

Along with the creation of the Coalition is the inception of a Grower’s Certification that will be audited by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The first of its kind, the certification will involve evaluating growers on erosion control/soil conservation, integrated pest management and tributary protection.

The Coalition of Environmentally-Conscious Growers will recognize farms that best exemplify sustainable growing practices. Yule Tree and Holiday represent 20% of all the Christmas trees grown in Oregon (the country’s # 1 Christmas tree state).

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 11.27.07 @ 23:29PST

Monday, November 19th

Farming Up
The future of farming may be urban and indoors, in several floors of a skyscraper. There are benefits, no seasons, no pests, so no need for pesticides and year-round production. Indoor Farming Video

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 11.19.07 @ 10:42PST

Sunday, November 18th

A Prehistoric Warning
This morning I headed over to the Carnegie Museum of natural history to have a peek at the new, or returning, dinosaur exhibit. I was most gratified when I entered a short film about dinosaurs which was largely about how the age of the dinosaur came to an end. The short of it is that climate change brought an end to the species. It wasn't autos that caused it then, but an asteroid and volcanic activity. But when we're extinct, the cause doesn't matter much, does it? A few photos of the exhibit

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 11.18.07 @ 22:54PST

Announcing the Winners of Bicycle Fixation's Great Bike Rack Hunt Contest!
The panel of experts has made its evaluation, and the People's Choice votes have been counted, so we are happy to announce the winners of the Bicycle Fixation Great Bike Rack Hunt Contest! Kudos to Steve Neff of Bainbridge Island for submitting the People's Choice winner, and to Chris Orr for submitting both the Grand Prize winner and the winner of the "Lanterne Rouge" award for worst rack entered!

For details (and to see the pictures), go to the Results Page now.

We send our heartfelt thanks to all participants, and hope this effort starts a series of dialogues among cyclists and civic leaders over the value of good bike parking in encouraging use of the World's Most Efficient Machine!

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 11.18.07 @ 00:01PST

Friday, November 16th

An Economy Based on Thoughtlessness
There is no shortage of evidence that most of our economy is based on a stridently thoughtless disregard for anything except short-term profits, a charactersitic not only of CEOs who run companies into the ground while building up short-term but unssutainable gains to shore up stock prices, but also of urban planners who threw away efficient electric-rail-based transit systems and replaced them with automobile-dependent arrays of wide roads and voracious parking lots that destroy watershed, culture, and neighborhoods.

In a Los Angeles Times article this morning about a survey of forest damage from Hurricane katrina, I saw yet another telling quote:

The extent of losses was highly dependent on the type of tree in the hurricane's path. Only about 10% of stands of loblolly pine, favored by commercial timber growers, survived the assault.

In contrast, more than 90% of native longleaf pine stands escaped damage. But the acreage of longleaf pine is only about 2% of what it was a century ago, Cummins said.

In other words, thoughtless logging, combined with unconsidered decisions on what sort of trees to plant for future logging, resulting in a nearly tenfold increase in damage from the storm.

The article goes on to recount how the dead trees are now releasing CO₂ into an atmosphere already burdened by the results of thousands of other thoughtless human choices....

What does this have to do with cities?

Cities (and suburbs) are where the logged trees are largely sold: wood for housing and furniture, and paper products: paper for writing and printing, paper for reports, paper for bags, paper cups for Starbucks and kin, cardboard for packaging and shipping, on and on.

Be thoughtful about paper use. Take your own cup to the coffeehouse, your own bag to the store, and don't buy goods that come in excessive packaging.

Every choice you make is a vote for or against the life of our Earth.

The full article on Katrina and the southern forests: Katrina leaves Permanent Scar on Forests.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 11.16.07 @ 12:16PST

Monday, November 12th

Homes Near Rail Stops Still Selling
As reported in Mode Shift, homes near transit stations are selling better than other similar homes. In fact, downtown real estate is faring generally better than suburban plots, as are new neighborhoods built following New Urbanist principles. To quote writer Keith Schneider:

....what I’ve found in the last year during visits to Seattle, Portland, Knoxville, Chicago, New York, Washington, and Salt Lake City. In each of these metropolitan regions the downtown market for new and existing homes is stronger than the market for new and existing homes in surrounding suburbs. And the market is strongest in neighborhoods closest to rail transit stops.

Read the entire posting, with many links to further information, at What's Selling? Homes Close to transit.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 11.12.07 @ 11:48PST

Thursday, November 8th

California Sues EPA For Stonewalling Landmark Global Warming Law
In a precedent setting lawsuit, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today sued the U.S. EPA, to force the agency to take action on California’s request to curb greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. The lawsuit, filed today in Washington D.C., charges the EPA with an unreasonable delay in reaching a decision on California’s landmark law, known as the Pavley bill, which mandates a 30 percent reduction in motor vehicle emissions by 2016.

Under the Clean Air Act, passed in 1963, California can adopt environmental standards that are stricter than federal rules, if the state obtains a waiver from the U.S. EPA. Congress allowed California to impose stricter laws in recognition of the state’s “compelling and extraordinary conditions.” After a California waiver request is granted, other states are permitted to adopt the same rules.

In the Act’s 40-year history, EPA has granted approximately 50 waivers for innovations like catalytic converters, exhaust emission standards, and leaded gasoline regulations. In today’s lawsuit, California asserts that EPA has failed to act in a reasonable length of time.

In 2002, California passed AB 1493 which require a 30 percent reduction in global warming emissions from vehicles by 2016, starting with model year 2009. In December 2005, the California Air Resources Board applied for a waiver to implement the law. Governor Schwarzenegger wrote to the EPA in April 2006 and in October 2006, requesting action on California’s application.

Sixteen other states— Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington —have adopted, or are in the process of adopting California’s emissions standards.

The state asserts that EPA does not need any additional time to review the facts—the California Air Resources Board submitted a detailed 251-page assessment in 2005 and the U.S. Supreme Court already issued a decision that greenhouse gases are pollutants. In September, a Vermont District Court ruled in favor of the state regulations, rejecting a challenge from the automobile lobby.

There are 32 million registered vehicles in California, twice the number of any other state. Cars generate 20% of all human-made carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, and at least 30% of such emissions in California. If California’s landmark global warming law—and the corresponding 30% improvement in emissions standards—were adopted nationally, the United States could cut annual oil imports by $100 billion dollars, at $50 per barrel.

Last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32, which sets a goal to cut California greenhouse gas emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020. To meet this target, California must reduce emissions by 174 million metric tons. If California’s motor vehicle emissions law is implemented, it will account for 17% of this reduction target.

Climate research shows that global warming is having a profound effect on California’s temperature, weather, air quality, and mountain snowfall. Last year Southern California experienced its driest year since record-keeping began 130 years ago. Between 1949 and 1999, average temperature in California increased 1.03 degrees Fahrenheit and mountain snow accumulation declined ten percent. By 2099 there will be virtually no snow below 3280 feet.

California’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia is attached. California’s petition for review, filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is also attached.

Later today, fourteen other states are expected to support California as interveners in the lawsuit.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 11.08.07 @ 19:42PST

Pittsburgh Looking to Expand Light Rail
County officials are looking at expanding light rail in Pittsburgh, extending the "T" to Oakland and the airport. Of course these discussions have been ongoing for more than 100 years, but perhaps factors are right this time to get somewhere. While a connection to the North Shore is under construction, an extention to Oakland would travel one of three routes, most likely along the city's East Busway. One reason for the expansion talk is that Universities and Hospitals have begun to outgrow the Oakland area and moved into downtown and also into a corridor along the Monongahela River. See a recent article in the Pitt News A maglev line connecting downtown to the airpost and Greensburg, Pa is also still under consideration, although my vote is for a light-rail connection (no one has asked for my vote, however).

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 11.08.07 @ 19:15PST

Wednesday, November 7th

Bicycle Fixation Great Bike Rack Contest--You Be the Judge!
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. So we at Bicycle Fixation (The New Colonist's sister publication) sponsored a contest in which our readers sent in photos of bike racks in their cities, seeking examples of both best and worst, with some of our products as prizes, and a panel of experts to make a formal judgment, as well as a People's Choice vote, which is going on now. We aks you to participate in the vote!

The entry period for the Bicycle Fixation Great Bike Rack Hunt contest is closed, and we have posted the photos. We will be forwarding them to our panel of experts in a few days, but meanwhile, our readers have the chance to judge for themselves which of the racks pictured is the best or the worst of class!

The winner of the People's Choice vote will receive a pair of Hemp City Knickers for having found the bike parking rack most respected by practical cyclists.

The "lanterne rouge" who submitted what you decide to be the most clueless bike rack around will receive a James Black Hat. Because it's important to know what mistakes we should avoid in providing bicycle parking facilities.

(The winner of the experts' judgment will receive a pair of our Classic Wool Knickers.)

To view the pictures vote, go to the Popular Vote page.

If you didn't hear about the contest earlier, but still want to vote, please see the Contest Page so you know what we're looking for.

And we urge everybody to view the APBP's Bicycle Parking Guidelines (PDF) to help you with your judging, and to support your arguments for better bicycle parking when you speak to government officials, building managers, employers, and others to ask for bike rack installations.

Because you can park a lot of bikes in the space that just one car takes up.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 11.07.07 @ 04:41PST