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Deadline For TransForm’s Car-Free Challenge Nearing
The deadline to sign up for TransForm's annual Car-Free Challenge is quickly approaching and the group is hopeful the event will raise awareness about the impact driving has on the climate, particularly in light of the recent oil spill in the Gulf.
May 26, 2010
The Little Green Man Doesn’t Know Cars, But He Likes Bikes
Mark Fiore, this year's Pulitzer Prize winner for Editorial Cartooning and the first to win for animated cartoons, recently provided this gem. Joe Commuter tries to explain to an alien visitor how mobility works on Earth and how convenient our cars are with their fuel made from "dinosaur squeezin's." With more than a few jabs at BP and the Gulf Disaster, Fiore does a great job dissecting our phenomenal reliance on petroleum. Though the alien doesn't know much about cars, he does suggest riding a bike to work instead. Higher life form indeed!
May 21, 2010
The Rise of Oakland Scraper Bikes and the Demise of Used Cars in Alameda
A few weeks ago we stumbled across this amazing video of the Scraper Bike phenomenon in Oakland, which we've also documented in this Streetfilm by John Hamilton. In the California is a Place film "Scrapertown," filmmakers Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari give you another look at Baby Champ and the work he is doing to promote bicycles and community in East Oakland.
May 18, 2010
California Poised to Allow Personal Vehicle Sharing Services
Car sharing is a growth industry, as pioneer City CarShare
would tell you, and it has beneficial environmental and economic impacts. Studies of car sharing services like Zipcar and City
CarShare show that for every car that is shared, up to 15 private
vehicles are taken off the road.
Owning and operating a personal car is the second-highest family
expense behind owning a house, and the highest expense for people who rent.
April 28, 2010
GM Unveils New “Envy” and “Pride” Models, “Lust” and “Sloth” to Come
I've railed on General Motors and Segway in the past for the myriad impracticalities of their tandem Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility (P.U.M.A.) prototype. Now they're at it again, making headlines today by unveiling the first three models in their new Electric Networked Vehicle (EN-V, pronounced "envy") line, including the Jiao, which is Chinese for "Pride."
March 25, 2010
Cyclists Be Warned, the New Acura Is Coming to Town
It always makes my skin crawl when I see a car commercial shot in a city with a sporty sedan hurtling down the street, promising ersatz liberation through reckless driving. But the conversation Joe Eskenazi at SF Weekly had with an Acura PR representative today is hilarious. Or terrifying, you decide:
March 17, 2010
How Infrastructure Shapes the Way We Move
This infrastructure makes only one choice possible. (Photo: prefers salt marsh via Flickr) Thanks to a few of the posts on the Streetsblog Network over the last 24 hours, we’re thinking about free will, morality and infrastructure. Jarrett Walker of Human Transit linked to a post from our newest network member, Michael D at Psystenance, … Continued
March 16, 2010
Could a New Kind of Fuel Tax Help Break the Senate Climate Deadlock?
Even before the Senate environment panel pushed through a GOP protest to approve
its climate change bill, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Joe Lieberman
(I-CT), and John Kerry (D-MA) were working behind the scenes on a
so-called "tripartisan" plan that can win enough votes in Congress' upper chamber to make nationwide emissions cuts a reality.
March 1, 2010
Hummer Going the Way of the Dodo
The days are numbered for the military vehicle that carmakers turned into the bane of pedestrians, cyclists and planet Earth. GM has announced plans to wind down Hummer production after a deal to sell the brand to a Chinese manufacturer fell apart. According to the Times, the Chinese government wanted no part of Hummer because it is "trying to put a new emphasis on limiting China’s dependence on imported oil and protecting the environment."
February 25, 2010