Today is International Walk to School Day–but not for some communities where walking and biking have been banned. Two recent news stories are discouraging on many levels, but do not represent the norm as more and more communities are, in fact, adopting alternatives to driving. In Saratoga Springs, NY, a woman and her 12-year old [...]
From the category archives:
Sustainable Living
According to land use strategist Chris Leinberger, speaking at the Walk21 conference in New York City yesterday and reported on StreetsBlog: If the American Dream of the Baby Boomers was all about being able to have a car and a house in suburbia, the new American Dream is having the choice between living in drivable [...]
To encourage more people to bike, ask women what they want. And make it safe for kids to ride their bikes to school. These approaches would dramatically increase the utilization of cycling as a mainstream activity. According to an article in the October Scientific American, women are an “indicator species” for bike-friendly cities. Those of [...]
I caught a glimpse of the network news tonight, where an Earth Day inspired discussion was highlighting both “sides” of the question of whether America could Afford to Go Green. On one side, business leaders and environmetalists are getting down to business to make something happen at the Fortune Brainstorm: Green event. On the other [...]
As gas prices skyrocket, Americans will abandon the suburbs and embrace urban living. That’s the wishful thinking I detect when urbanists seize upon the findings in a CEOs for Cities study that claims to find and prove a causal link between rising gas prices and the collapse of the housing market bubble. The study is [...]
Over at my local blog, WestwoodBlog, I wrote a short photo narrative about how I used my bike and trailer to pick up produce at our Community Supported Agricuture (CSA) farm this weekend and then made a side trip to the grocery store. It’s part of my effort to promote more bike and walk-friendly activity [...]
I have built what must qualify as probably the smallest raised bed garden conceivable…and decided to start a garden in August. Oh, well, the seeds for arugula, beets, carrots, rainbow chard, and broccoli are on the way!
Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle provides another large piece of the puzzle for those confronting the challenge of living a creative, innovative life. While I’m not quite ready to start making my own cheese or plant a massive garden in my backyard, I think the principles underlying the book speak to a deeper need within [...]
There were two things I meant to write about last week; I managed to cover the first in talking about my church’s Community Harvest Dinner along with many links to local resources for eating local. Then, on Friday night, I saw that PBS NOW ran a piece on the same topic! For more info on [...]
Next Saturday, November 10, 2007, at 6:30pm, my church will host a “Community Harvest Dinner,” a meal prepared from ingredients collected from local farms. It’s a great idea both for promoting community and stimulating discussion about some of the great resources we have locally. There is more info on the First Church website. The vegetables [...]