A two part diary -- some links to photos up top on the pedal-powered fun at yesterday's Kinetic Sculpture Race in Baltimore MD, and some (hopefully) pragmatic, ideas about reducing CO2 emissions (originally posted as a comment at weatherunderground.com) below the break.
I don't post here often, so apologies in advance if I mess this up or if it's redundant.
The 2012 Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race was "won" yesterday (Grand East Coast National Mediocre Champion) by "The 1%," which was sponsored by my local bike shop. Here was the description printed in this year's spectators guide:
18. The 1% is a comic look at the widening divide
between the Haves and the Have-Nots. Sponsored by
Proteus Bicycles, this 2-pilot entry is reportedly cast of
solid gold, using wood from endangered rainforests for
cupholders, and seat cushions made from Donald
Trump hairpieces wrapped in baby seal skins.
Some photos (starts at the end) from one of the 99% (the shop crew and friends who bailed out The 1% all along the way):
http://s72.photobucket.com/...
Pro photos by shop friend Curtis Scroggins: http://studiocs.smugmug.com/...
My local bike shop literally helped me get back in shape and improve my life. Please support yours!
And now to a more policy oriented discussion. My commute (the video above) has changed my life. I realize not everyone has the opportunities I have. Yet I've found that many people would like to commute to work under their own power, but the built infrastructure has made it too unsafe or inconvenient.
However, things are changing, and there are new opportunities to help communities improve their bike and pedestrian infrastructure. The following discussion is taken from some comments I put on Dr. Jeff Masters' blog at WeatherUnderground.com. I hope you find it interesting, and I will try to check back in today from time to time to see if there are any comments, pro or con, on these ideas.
PS. Here's the full comment thread from WU (much of which is about current weather etc., not about CO2 policy): http://www.wunderground.com/...
I think many people are starting the realize that the sensible weather has gone weird, but they don't really know what to do about it, or don't feel like anything they do could possibly make a difference.
I have a suggestion: consider volunteering for a local planning board. Many towns, suburbs, neighborhoods have citizen boards that give recommendations on local development proposals. This can range all the way from crosswalk alignments in front of schools to large-scale redevelopment or building plans. These boards are usually advisory, but they can have an impact on lawmakers' and public officials' decisions.
If we're going to stabilize or even reduce CO2 emissions, we're going to have to re-think our transportation habits. Planning boards can help with this. For example, our suburb is bisected by 6-lane arterial strip roads (we call them traffic sewers) that are hazardous to cross on foot or bike. The stores along these roads are surrounded by vast, mostly unused parking lots. The combination of ultra-wide roads and vast parking deserts makes it all but impossible to walk or bike to the stores, even from residences just across the street.
Fortunately, developers are starting to wake up to the fact large single-use planning "pods" (huge malls, office parks, subdivisions etc. that are only really accessible from each other by car or bus) are failing. Finally, developers are getting on the side of sustainability experts -- they are starting to actively advocate for "mixed" use planning (housing and workplaces and commercial areas on smaller footprint and in close proximity). Old-style car-only development areas are failing, malls are closing or being repurposed, drive-to office parks are vacant, mono-culture housing zones are underwater.
Planning boards can help work with developers to rebuild decaying car-only zones into mixed use neighborhoods with "complete streets" that have better landscaped sidepaths and bike lanes, so that a much larger fraction of people can use their own power instead of burning fossil fuels to get around.
Ultimately, more people using their own power will help relieve congestion for people who do need heavy vehicles to get around (although it's hard to persuade drivers of this sometimes -- it really is true).
Planning boards can also help reduce the impact of minimum parking requirements (the source of most suburban parking deserts). More controversially, boards can help run the traps for "lane diets", which reduce overbuilt roads so there is more room for sidewalks and bike lanes and landscaping. Also, there is a school of planning scholarship that advocates more appropriate pricing for public street parking, or for gradual shift from on-road parking to off-road (with lane space opened up for transportation instead, either full-traffic lanes, or sidewalks or bike lanes).
These are tough issues politically (no one wants to give up a parking place outside their storefront), but over time, conversion to more pleasant, walkable complete streets has proved better for businesses and much nicer for residents. Property values go up and crime goes down when people, not just cars, can enjoy streets.
Since the scientific evidence is so strong and the sensible effects are becoming more obvious, people will gradually realize that we need to address lifestyle changes and CO2 emissions reductions to try to buy time to adapt to the perhaps inevitable (at this point) climate changes. But we need to be constructive about it. It's not all about sustainable energy sources (although they can help!). It's also about neighborhoods and making them less car dependent.
Even though it can seem hopeless out in the car-clogged suburbs, our community just won a state grant for a bike sharing feasibility study! So progress is possible, even here. What's happening in your neighborhood?
I'll close with a video you may have seen from Liz Canning, who's working on a documentary on cargo bike riding. Thanks for reading (if you've made it this far), and happy riding!