Transportation
This morning's inspirational eMail from filmmaker Michael Moore floored me. Had almost added him to my junk mail filtre... then this.
I was wrong about Moore, and can only hope he comes to Vermont to make a film about the Independence movement...
- Each of the 50 states...
Can a scooter that gets 80 mpg help me save fuel? That’s a question I’ll be researching over the next months, while riding my first-ever motorcycle.
A scooter is a type of motorcycle with a step-through frame, like the famous Italian Vespa. Mine has a 125 cc engine—bigger and faster than a moped, but not by much. The EPA rated mileage is 96 mpg, so I’m hoping that in the real, hilly world of central Vermont, I’ll get at...
http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/09/16/new-envion-facility-turns-plastic-waste-into-10barrel-fuel/#
Have a look; in San Francisco they are beginning to turn waste plastic into fuel.
According to Envion, 'The process removes hydrocarbons without the use of a catalyst, resulting in a net gain of captured energy–82% of all material that goes in is transformed into fuel.' Unlike subsidised and highly lobbied...
Transportation
On Saturday, Montpelier's first Village Building Convergence opens. Here's what to expect:
The last week in August, Montpelier will come alive with a community-wide celebration of sustainable living, practical homesteading skills, and visions of a more resilient local community. The VBC is 9-day event filled with hands-on education in permaculture design and construction, ecological building, and public art that will extend and celebrate the Great Reskilling of our communities embodied in these projects. All projects are built through collaboration and the commitment of a neighborhood to strengthen itself.
The VBC is a...
A Federal "Cash for Clunkers" program was promoted as something that would help the environment, stimulate the economy, and reduce income equality. According to Gordon Dritschilo in today's Rutland Herald, apparently the first Vermonter to participate walked away with $3,500 of our tax dollars to subsidize his purchase of an 18 mpg Ford Ranger. Maybe the purchase helped stimulate the economy, but the money probably would...
Ben Fried posts a fascinating graph (h/t Ezra Klein) showing how the absolute number of cyclist injuries has dropped by 40% in New York City while the number of cyclists riding each day has more than doubled:
[img_assist|nid=2098|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=570|height=352]
The conclusion Fried draws, based on other research, is that there is safety in numbers. When more cyclists are visible on the streets, car drivers are more attuned to them, and they are...
UPDATED BELOW
I wrote last month that Montpelier may end its probable status as the only state capital without a bus station "before the tulips bloom." Well, the tulips have come and gone, and we're further from having a bus station than we were a month ago. If you come to tonight's City Council meeting, maybe we can push things along a little.
Background: The Taylor Street station on the Carr Lot closed in April. Greyhound looked for a local business willing to sell tickets. Rhapsody on Main Street signed a tentative agreement to sell tickets; the restaurant also provides a handy place to...
Montpelier has enjoyed a reputation as the only state capital without a McDonald's (never mind the short distance to the one just outside the small city, on the Barre-Montpelier road) or a Starbucks. For some weeks now, it may have been the only state capital without a bus station.
That distinction looks to be coming to an end before the tulips bloom.
The bus station at the Carr lot on Taylor Street closed on April 3, as The Bridge and the Times Argus have reported. The Times Argus also reported that owners of Rhapsody Café were interested in becoming the new ticket office and waiting area...
Tom Whipple writes a weekly column related to peak oil at the Falls Church (Virginia) News-Press, which I often read on EnergyBulletin.net. This week, he takes on the folly of continuing to build low-mileage cars when there are more cars registered in the US than drivers and we have every reason to believe that gas...
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