Climate Cities

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  • Move Thyself: A tribute to fallen cyclists, and cycling away the gas-price blues

    Tonight in some 200 U.S. cities (and six other countries), cyclists will be joining in the Ride of Silence to pay tribute to bicyclists who've been killed or injured on public roadways.

    And there are a lot.

    From the Seattle Times article:

    In 2004, in Seattle there were 258 bicycle collisions with cars -- resulting in 224 injuries and one death, according to the city's Department of Transportation.

    Um, make that 260, and 225 injuries. My two collisions that year went unreported. (Stupid minivans!)

    And from the Oregonian:

    The most recent Oregon Department of Transportation statistics show 14 bicyclists died in Portland-area collisions with motor vehicles from 2000 through 2005. Meanwhile, the number of reported bicycle crashes has held steady for years at about 160 annually.

    Join a ride near you and reclaim the streets.

    Todd Hymas Samkara Cities

  • Countries May Have Shifted During Flight

    China builds new airports; still not as pollutey as U.S. China plans to build 48 new airports in the next five years, spending $17.5 billion on construction and continuing expansion of existing hubs. The country is already the premier buyer of Boeing and Airbus planes, and has vowed to buy 100 planes every year until […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Who’s on the Right Side of the Road Now?

    Brits change habits to save gasoline; Americans don’t Starting in 2008, new drivers in Britain will be tested not only on the anxiety-producing three-point turn, but also on their ability to drive in a manner that conserves gasoline. The country hopes to produce a new generation of eco-aware motorists who accelerate and brake smoothly and […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Have You Hugged Your Tree Today?

    On Arbor Day, appreciate the trees Urban forest cover in many U.S. cities has declined about 30 percent over the past 10 to 15 years, according to the green group American Forests, and that’s just not cool. Literally: loss of trees means loss of shade, more AC, and higher energy costs. On Arbor Day (you […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Ford Too Shall TerraPass

    Ford teams up with TerraPass to help drivers offset emissions Like the man said, the times they are a-changin’. Slowly, but a-changin’ nonetheless. Ford Motor Co., manufacturer of all things carbon-emitting, is partnering with TerraPass, a carbon-offset company. Tomorrow, Ford is expected to announce a new “Greener Miles” program, whereby customers can visit a website […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • How Wendy Brawer put green on the map

    Don’t let Wendy Brawer’s urban address fool you — this New Yorker has a soft spot for nature. After all, she’s the founder of Modern World Design, an eco-design firm, and has spent the last 11 years at the helm of the Green Map System, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping citizens all over the […]

    Tim Sprinkle Cities

  • SOL: Sustaining Ourselves Locally

    According to the Current TV Studio blog, SOL, a viewer-contributed piece about a sustainable development project in Oakland, will be airing on TV.

    I think this is a good example of how people like you, armed with a camera and a passion, can produce a short film that could potentially reach 28 million homes (according to a company press release [PDF]).

    Here's the synopsis on Current:

    This is specifically a piece on an urban sustainable development project in Oakland that consists of 9 people working together to do community environment work. Amazing project that focuses on everything from compost and farming to food justice.

    Watch it now.

    Chris Schults Cities

  • Oh No He Didn’t

    Chrysler official takes public potshot at oil companies What’s more fun than a quiet, simmering feud between Big Auto and Big Oil? A public catfight! Chief Chrysler spokesflack Jason Vines minced no words on a company blog Monday: “Despite a documented history of … hoarding their bounty by avoiding technologies, policies, and legislation that would […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Bay City Tollers

    San Francisco looks into congestion charging If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear … a money clip. The city creatively known as “The City” plans to study the possibility of “congestion charges” — making drivers pay to enter downtown during business hours. Critics include some stores in high-traffic areas, which fear that […]

    Grist staff Cities

  • Does Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods say anything new?

    OK, call me a crank, a malcontent, a hypercritical reviewer with a small, crabbed heart. But despite all its earnestness, despite its heartfelt message, which an environmentalist and concerned parent like me should embrace — in brief, that nature is good for children — Richard Louv’s plea to reengage our children with nature left me […]

    Naomi Schalit Cities