From: The Vancouver Sun

… commuters who drive now need more time to get to where they’re going. But that could be offset by more commuters riding rapid transit, and by the tens of thousands of people who have moved into the downtown Vancouver peninsula in the past decade.

I know. This is shocking. It seems that in a city that is often compared to Seattle, commute times are getting shorter than they were in 1992 because people are getting out of their cars. One person quoted in the article even claims to PREFER taking the train to work as opposed to driving.

I don’t know what this world is coming to when smart transportation options and efficent planning make a positive impact and make it easier to get to work. Next thing you know, people will save money by not driving and using gas.

Seriously, how many results is going to take to get close-minded Americans (esp. here in Seattle) to get it that mass transit works and is necessary because we can not sustain this mode of living?

Please, someone, help.

I’m sorry to get all preachy on your collective asses, but this is fucking terrifying and if you’re not scared of these results that show elevated levels of phthalates (found in such diverse products as shower curtains and fragrances), PBDEs (found in flame retardants, mattresses and furniture), mercury, pesticides, lead and other chemicals, in a small subset of high-profile Washington citizens, then you’re an ass.

The fact that these people are as inundated as they are with chemicals, most of them poisonous, is a sign of all that is wrong with the world today. If a few relatively well-off, healthy people in the world’s richest nation are filled with mercury, pesticides and even DDT, what must people living in developing countries have in their systems? What do you have in yours since you don’t necessarily think about protecting youself from such substabces (I don’t either)? What is spewed into the earth’s soil, water and air everyday that is eventually making its way into each and every one of us?

If it is that easy to have elevated levels of mercury and other poisons in our systems, why is it okay to use those substabces in the products we consume? Do you think it’s because the compnies that make those products don’t tell us what’s in them and that the government doesn’t force them to because we don’t want to make the government do something that might raise the prices of consumables that make our lives easier?

This is an excellent example of a societal problem that has been created because everyone, governments, corporations and people want to maintain the status quo because the alternative is less creature comforts. But folks, one of these days we’re gonna have to start giving up some of this ridiculously high standard of livng that we’ve all become so used to, or we’re all gonna be dead because the planet will be too.

I’m not a huge fan of Grist. I think they’re burdened with a sense of being better than everyone else, are cheeky to a fault because of it and rarely do much more than preach to the choir, but this “index-card manifesto” of what every enviro wants is pretty fucking fabulous.

This Article, from the San Fran Chroncile is a really interesting read. It’s all about a needed shift in th environmental movement away from yelling solely about the destruction of our ecosystem and away from laying the blame solely at the feet of massive corporations. Instead, the author opines, we environmentalists need to educate the corporate elite about the value of a healthy environment.

It’s a whole-systems view of things and it makes sense. Instead of making coprorations and the people that run them our enemies, we can make a lot more progress if we help them to find ways to continue making gobs of money while also helping the environment, making sure all workers earn a fair wage and supporting other such “liberal agenda” items.

I really like this thinking. We environmentalists, especially those of us who aren’t rich, are never going to make a big enough impact in the halls of government, at least not here in the US, until we get people with a lot of money behind us. And most of them aren’t going to really support our beliefs if they make making more money difficult or impossible. But if we can show the benefit of taking care of the whole system, then we don’t need regulations to force the issue. And we can probably get more accomplished that way too.

hahahahahhahahhahahahhahahahaha
*wipes tears from face. takes deep breath*
HA hahahahahahahahahhahahahhahahahahahahaha
*gasping now, from the sheer lunacy of it all*
Oh good god that’s funny.

Hahahahhahahahhahhaha……..

If anyone out there is in a band and trying to put out a record, I want you to please take a look at this label.

Earthology is an environmentally friendly, non-profit record label. Their stuidos use recycled materials and geothermal energy and wind power. Al their mailings are sent out in envelopes made from old maps!

I don’t know much about their music as I just heard about them today, so can’t recommend bands on the label for listening, yet, but this is a great concept that should be supported.

BP, who recently changed their name from “British Petroleum” to the greener moniker “Beyond Petroleum” is not that interested in being forced to clean up its act. Even though the CEO acknowledged a crisis for the environment in 2002, they’re still fighting the inclusion of CO2 reductions in the Senate energy bill. Amazing huh?

While we’re at it, do me a favor and call your Senator and let them know that you demand strict CO2 reductions in the energy bill. Make it clear that Sen. Hagel’s voluntary tax incentive version isn’t enough.

More information on the bill:
At the NRDC (which says the bill “Fails to do anything to address global warming.”

An interview with Chuck Hagel about the act.

Finally, information on a good alternative to this voluntary program from Sens. McCain and Lieberman

Four cities in the country give hybrids and alternative cars free parking at their meters. I sense a new battle in Seattle….

As much as I’d like to post this here and disagree with the premise that it is not yet time to celebrate… I can’t. This is sentence is why: This is America, beeyatch: Fear and money are the only things that really trigger us. We respond only to crisis, change our behavior only when absolutely forced to, or because the GOP has pumped the nation full of bogus fear. Same as it ever was.
T

A quick report on the biomonster (as I have named my lovely, 84 Mercedes 300d turbo diesel). I took it on a mini-roadtrip this weekend to Bellingham (about an hour and a half away) and it did great. I drove it up and back in the same night (for a date no less) and used a little more than a quarter of a tank. By my calculations, that means I am getting between 26 and 32 miles to the gallon on B100.

I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels to be driving a car that is not harming the environment or society. I would highly reccomend the experience to any and everyone. Seriously. The fuel is more expensive (currently I am excited that I will soon pay JUST $2.96 a gallon), but for the amount I drive, I’ll probably fill up about once a month or so. In a way, driving like this is a great motivator not to drive, which is something I encourage everyone who lives in a city to do. Yes, yes, I know, you sometimes need a car for a trip to the store or Ikea or whatever but it’s easy to get a car when you need one. Try buying a car with a friend and sharing the expenses, or buy a diesel (Volkswagen even makes snazzy new ones for the style-wise among you, and to be honest, an early-80s Mercedes is a pretty pimpin’ ride) and run it on an alternative fuel. And to get around on a day to day to basis, you’ve got your feet and mass transit.

Please, next time you get in your car to go somewhere, please take a moment and think about the trip you’re taking. Do you really need to drive there? Or wouldn’t it be more plesant to walk or ride the bus (that way you can read during your commute). Just a thought.