environment

The Gospel of Consumption

The Gospel of Consumption | Orion magazine: This was the stuff of a human ecology in which thousands of small, almost invisible, interactions between family members, friends, and neighbors create an intricate structure that supports social life in much the same way as topsoil supports our biological existence. When we allow either one to become impoverished, whether out of greed or intemperance, we put our long-term survival at risk.

[…continues]

Rather than realizing the enriched social life that Kellogg’s vision offered us, we have impoverished our human communities with a form of materialism that leaves us in relative isolation from family, friends, and neighbors. We simply don’t have time for them. Unlike our great-grandparents who passed the time, we spend it. An outside observer might conclude that we are in the grip of some strange curse, like a modern-day King Midas whose touch turns everything into a product built around a microchip.

Of course not everybody has been able to take part in the buying spree on equal terms. Millions of Americans work long hours at poverty wages while many others can find no work at all. However, as advertisers well know, poverty does not render one immune to the gospel of consumption.
[A not to be missed article.]

On Potato Omelets and Winter Cycling

On Potato Omelets and Winter Cycling: What these actions of mine and others lead me to conclude is that culture matters. I’m not shirking the fact of my own laziness; it’s a real observation about how the world works. If my friends and family members were riding off to work in the cold, I likely would to, without complaint. But alone, when few other people are, it’s easy to decline the invitation my bicycle offers me, or not even see it.

As we head into spring and the warmer months, this point will become moot. I’m sure I will once again start riding regularly. But maybe next winter, or the one after, I may make different choices. Cycling as transportation is increasingly popular in New York, and as this popularity grows, I suspect we will reach a tipping point, to use Malcom Gladwell’s famous phrase. I look forward to a future, perhaps not so long away, when even the fairest-weather riders like me venture out in even the worst of weather, doing so as easily as taking a bite of an easily-made potato omelet. [So yesterday I joined the bike commuter ranks. In my case it is a “multi-mode” affair, because I’d spend way too much time commuting the 36 or so miles form home to work entirely by bike. I biked in my “street” clothes adding only a bike helmet and a bit of cover for my head (it’s still a bit cold in the mornings for me). Nothing more seemed necessary, even though I do not have a “commuter” bike per se.

And the cultural stuff starts at home. My wife is trying very hard to be supportive, but would really rather not think about my riding in the City. Of course, there’s no way to make it clear that riding the route I do is actually safer feeling than a lot of the riding I do in the suburbs because I’m not mixed with car traffic as much. The west side greenway provides a good chunk of the trip.

Naturally, today rain is expected this afternoon, and while it wouldn’t stop me from a biking in the rain standpoint, the bike does have to survive the rest of the trip on top of the car in the rain. Not so much goodly as they say.

Which brings me to my point. The multi-mode, or park and ride, or plane, train, and automobile, or whatever combo of your choice infrastructure is very, poor, both public and private. It needs some attention if people are serious about changing how they commute. It’s easy to say I will do something, and far more difficult to just do it when the facilities aren’t there to enable it. I’d love to lengthen the bike portion of commute, but I need to find parking in NJ that makes sense. And more parking in NY that makes sense. And if the trains allowed bikes (or there was secure, out of the weather bike parking) I would have more choices.

One can argue about where I live, choices, etc. all one wants, but I live where I live and do what I do, and just trying to make the best decisions I can for a healthier life, commute, world etc.]

Deep Survival: Brain Vs. Gadget

Deep Survival: Brain Vs. Gadget: You were rehearsing in your mind what you were going to do. You were creating what I call a mental model of your expected world and a behavioral script for what you were going to do in it. I would imagine that you unconsciously had all your moves planned before you ever got on the mountain, including the joy of reaching the summit. This is good. This is how dreams become reality. But these mental models and behavioral scripts can set traps for us and must always be viewed with caution. [Laurence Gonzales really gets this stuff. I should get in touch.]
Source:

Take me back to the start

Take me back to the start: Out on the trail, the value of your paltry possessions takes on a whole different meaning. Clothing becomes as valuable as the body parts it protects. Electronic gadgets are heavy luxuries. A hack repair job that keeps a bicycle running is as good as gold. Cash is worthless. And kindness can change the world. [I need some trail time. It’s been too long. Way too long. Maybe in a few months? Definitely!]
Source: Up in Alaska

Where a Dollar Will Get You

Where a Dollar Will Get You: Ticket prices start at $1 (plus a 50-cent booking fee) and go up to market value, according to Dustin Clark, a Greyhound representative. Currently the market value is about $25. The earlier passengers book their tickets, the lower their fare will be. Passengers can book tickets up to six months in advance, and $1 tickets will remain available until the tickets sell out. Any extra seats can be filled by standby passengers on the day of travel, and walk-up tickets can be purchased for full price (market value). Ticket holders who purchase tickets online are guaranteed a seat, but BoltBus advises getting to the pickup point about 15 minutes before departure. [Nice idea. Where’s the bike rack?]
Source: Intelligent Travel

Persuade Google To Map Bike Routes

Persuade Google To Map Bike Routes:

We are asking Google Maps to incorporate a bike travel as an equal option  to automotive and bus transportation.
This would be very cool and useful, especially with the new tracing algorithms they have recently implemented.
Pass it around to all the cyclists you know.  Google responds quite well to these things.
http://www.petitiononline.com/bikether/petition.html

[Cool. Ya’ll go!]
Source: the Practical Pedal Blog

Bike rack instructional video brings the groove

Bike rack instructional video brings the groove: TARC raps on bike rack
Louisville’s TARC employees hope a new rap video will teach bus riders how to use the bike racks that have been installed on many city buses, according to an agency spokeswoman.

The video, which features TARC employees singing and dancing, has only been released online, and there are no plans to pay for television advertising spots, said Nina Walfoort, a TARC spokeswoman. [As a multimodal commuter myself… it’s really nice to the folks in the transit agencies getting involved. I’d love to see a video like this produced by New York’s Finest. I guess I should add that the video is awful form an intructional standpoint, never clearly showing you all the steps required, but then I’d guess that it’s not all that hard to figure out, even under the pressure of waiting bus.]
Source: Bike Commute Tips Blog

A year before the tragedy, Austin Miller wrote “Please Do Not Run Me Over”

A year before the tragedy, Austin Miller wrote “Please Do Not Run Me Over”: A year before a tragic fate befell Austin Miller, the 15 year-old Beaverton student wrote an opinion article on bike safety for his school newspaper titled, “Please Do Not Run Me Over.”

Writing under the pseudonym “Charlie Elsewhere”, the article (full text below) was published in The Savant, the school newspaper at the Art and Communication Magnet Academy in Beaverton, where Miller was a sophomore.

Reading through it, I had mixed emotions. As a father, I found it chilling and immensely sad. As a bike advocate, I found it frustrating. [It is to weep.]