Latest Articles
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Living in the suburbs may not be so cheap
The conventional wisdom is that it's cheaper to live in the outer suburbs (i.e., a long drive from jobs, stores, or schools) than closer to a town or city center. I suppose that's true enough -- if you're looking only at the cost of housing.
But if you live a long way from most of the places you want to go, you wind up driving a lot more. And that, of course, costs money too -- not just for gas, but also for depreciation on your car, maintenance and the like.
Which leads to the obvious question: what happens if you combine transportation costs and housing costs into a single budget? Is living at the urban fringe still cheaper?
There have already been a couple of attempts (see, e.g., here) to look this issue. Now there's a new study, noted here in The Washington Post. The key finding: when you combine travel and housing, living in a suburban outpost can cost more than living closer to a town or city center. According to the study's author:
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Umbra on chocolate
Dear Umbra, Although I buy most of my chocolate as fair trade or organic, I was wondering if you might enlighten me on the politics and economics of the chocolate (cocoa) industry. Where is most of it grown? What are the working conditions of those who are employed there? How effective is fair trade in […]
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Global warming goodness
As if you need more reason to watch the meteorological smorgasbord that is the Weather Channel, every Sunday they are now showing the Climate Code, an hour long program focusing on climate change causes, effects, and solutions. I haven't seen the show yet, but if the website is any indication, it should be great.
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Add it to the list
I know Pombo's in thrall to the energy industry and all, but this is really un-effing-believable:
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Turns out its done by single-driver car
The Transportation Research Board has released its third annual report on Commuting in America. The news is pretty much all bad. Kevin Drum summarizes:
... the number of workers has increased by 31 million since 1980 while the number of workers who drive alone to work has increased by 34 million. Despite the population increase, carpooling is down (except in the West), transit use is down (except in the West), walking is down, and motorcycle use is down. The only bright spot is an increase in people like me, who work from home.
Here's the report's top ten list of commuting tidbits:
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Property-rights initiatives threaten environmental protections in four Western states
Field of dreams or field of nightmares? It depends who you ask. Photos: iStockphoto When you hear the phrase “a perfect storm,” it’s likely to conjure images of roiling whitecaps, perhaps a daring Coast Guard rescuer dangling from a helicopter to pull half-drowned sailors from their foundering vessels. Chances are the last thing it will […]
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Lutsel Make a Deal
Canadian government, Natives agree to create massive national park The Canadian government and a tiny Native tribe have agreed to work together to create an 8.3 million acre national park in the Northwest Territories. Three decades ago, the Lutsel K’e Dene tribe turned down a similar proposal, fearing national-park designation would interfere with hunting rights […]
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We Ain’t Got the Power
Electricity demand outpacing supply in North America Demand for electricity in the U.S. is increasing three times faster than power plants and lines are being built, says a new report from the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). U.S. energy demand is predicted to increase about 19 or 20 percent in the next decade; in […]
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We Put the “Pro” in “Procrastinate”
Twiddling our thumbs on climate change could cost $20 trillion a year by 2100 Failure to fight global warming could cost $20 trillion a year by the end of the century, says a new study from Tufts University — and that doesn’t include costs of biodiversity loss or unpredictable events like the shutdown of the […]
