Seattle

There’s more to freedom than free parking

I keep seeing the phrase "social engineering" used to describe policies that don't kowtow to the car. See, for example, this inexplicable subhead about a third of the way through this Seattle newspaper story. Not only is this usage annoying, it's exactly backward (as others have noted before me).

First, let's look first at specifics. The paper reports that the city will put parking meters on some formerly-free spots in a rapidly urbanizing district near downtown Seattle. The newspaper calls this "social engineering."

I suppose that's right, at least to the extent that parking meters alter the incentive structure for parking, which ultimately may change some people's behavior. But if anything, the alternative to the city's plan -- continuing to provide public rights-of-way for exclusive, uncompensated use by a handful of private car owners -- is closer to "social engineering" than charging a small fee for the privilege. Really, the question is not whether the city will engage in "social engineering," but what kind of social engineering. And in particular, will government continue to use public resources to subsidize private cars?

Speaking more generally, just about any transportation policy -- or any policy at all, for that matter -- can be described as "social engineering." And using that inflammatory language is a game anyone can play. Consider some (slightly) overheated rhetoric: today's car-centric system is the result of Soviet-style social engineering.

Governments used the awesome power of the state to take money from the populace. Then central planners used the money with an ethic of brutalism, forcing gigantic car thoroughfares across neighborhoods, into the hearts of cities, and then out into far-flung farmlands and wild places.

In town, America's Soviet-style planning wasn't much different.

Biodiesel rage

From the Seattle PI:

More than 1,300 people -- some shouting "revolution" -- took over Fisher Pavilion at the Seattle Center on Sunday. Look what's happening out in the streets, they said: Biodiesel is coming of age. It's all the rage.

Part trade show, part strategy session, part cheerleading camp, the fifth annual NW Biodiesel Forum brought together biodiesel enthusiasts to learn about peak oil, alternative fuels, mass transit and, in a wrap-up discussion, "Biodiesel in the Northwest -- The Revolution Has Begun!"

Many of these enthusiasts are people who have purchased diesel vehicles so they can burn biodiesel in them and every last one of them has at least one bumper sticker to let you know it:

Realizing that freeways are not free

Every once in a while there's a truth that everybody knows, but that no one will acknowledge. And when someone finally says it aloud, it sounds shocking. Like this:

... what we're doing now isn't working. Not for drivers, taxpayers or the environment. We can't tax and build our way out of this.

That's Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat in his column this week, talking about what most people in Seattle already know: the area's freeway system is flat broke and busted. Even the biggest package ever to go before voters -- this fall's $16 billion roads-and-transit measure -- won't pay for the toughest infrastructure problems, like rebuilding the 520 floating bridge, and is only a fraction of the estimated $40 billion needed over the next few decades. Moreover, even that full $40 billion isn't expected to reduce congestion much. So what can we do?

Enter the occasion for Westneat's column: King County executive Ron Sims, who has stepped up (big PDF), yet again, with a remarkably visionary plan: region-wide congestion pricing. Wow. Without getting into the details here, Sims is proposing what is perhaps the only thing that could simultaneously generate the money, reduce congestion, and ease environmental impacts -- all without raising taxes. (In fact, that's why Sightline Institute has been preaching congestion pricing for years.)

If it all sounds too good to be true, it is.

Catch a climate symposium at Town Hall on May 9

Rep. Jay Inslee, Democrat from Washington’s 1st congressional district and a clean-energy champion, will be discussing climate change with other local eco-experts (and with the audience) at Seattle’s Town Hall on May 9. Additional smart folks at the Symposium on Climate Policy, presented by the Thomas C. Wales Foundation, will include Denis Hayes, national coordinator […]

Photos and voices from Step It Up 2007 rallies across the U.S.

As promised, albeit a few days late, we've published an audio slideshow of Step It Up Seattle, which also includes some photos from other Step It Up events from around the country. For post Step It Up 2007 action, check out the national website.

Grist would like to produce more multimedia content in the future, so please let us know what you think in comments.

A couple

Here are two lists, for those of you into that kind of thing: First, Sustainlane — which seems to produce a list every few weeks, no? — has a list of the Top Ten Cities for Renewable Energy. That’s the cities that provide citizens with the most green power. They are: 1. Oakland, CA 2. […]

In nearby Bothell

The Seattle Times is reporting on a Bothell family -- the Fraleys -- who are attempting to cut their family's greenhouse-gas emissions by 15 percent in May. Bully for them, and best of luck!

Still, there's something about the Times account of their experiment that rankles, just a bit. It leaves a casual reader with the impression that reducing carbon emissions is a total pain in the behind. To wit:

[The Fraleys] will try to reduce the household's greenhouse-gas emissions by using some common-sense ideas that nonetheless may be inconvenient. [Emphasis added.]

And ...

"I realized this wasn't going to be a cakewalk. The easy changes were already made, and the next one will be more -- painful is not the word -- but will take more effort."

Jeez, that makes sustainability sound like hair shirts and broccoli. Good luck getting people on board with that.

Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park brings nature to a city setting

Alexander Calder’s Eagle against an Olympic mountain backdrop. Photo: iotae via flickr I’ve never seen the Pacific Northwest. I mean, I live in Seattle, and I look around, but I’ve never really seen it. I came to this realization while walking the zig-zagged trail at Seattle’s new Olympic Sculpture Park with Grist mascot Chip Giller […]

Local and federal leaders step it up

As reported by KING5.com (video), more than 1,000 people took part in Step It Up Seattle, which began at Occidental Park in downtown Seattle and ended in Myrtle Edwards Park where a rally and solutions fair commenced. Many Grist staff members were present, and took pictures and chatted with local Grist readers. My job was to record brief audio interviews with some of the participants. Early in the week, we plan to share these photos and recordings with you.

For now, here is just a taste of the day's events, the unedited audio recordings (Windows Media) of the rally's speakers:

KC Golden, Policy Director for Climate Solutions -- Listen (7:22)

Jiji Jally, Marshall Islands representative -- Listen (4:36)

Jay Inslee, U.S. Congressman; Greg Nickels, Mayor of Seattle; Ron Sims, King County Executive -- Listen (26:00)

Dave Freiboth, MLK Jr. County Labor Council; Emily Duncanson, Western Washington University student and founder of Kyoto in the classroom; Rev. Lisa Domke -- Listen (13:22)

More to come.

Update [2007-4-16 17:13:1 by Chris Schults]: Check out today's podcast to hear from some of the Seattle marchers.

Update [2007-4-20 12:44:12 by Chris Schults]: Check out Grist's audio slideshow.