Urban Puddle

You may have seen the article by the UK Daily Times Online where they interview environmentalist Chris Goodall and claim that "Walking to the shops 'damages planet more than going by car'". While it's true that he does make some interesting points, the article does the entire world a disservice by advocating the use of an automobile over walking or taking a bicycle and they should be ashamed.

Ok, not fair to put those both in the same post, but Typo 4.1.1 is still acting up so it's all about making the best use of space. Here's the deal: I should be sad about this but I'm actually really really happy. Also, here's a free music download courtesy of Buyindie for Les Savy Fav called What Would Wolves Do?

I was lucky enough to sit down with a high level Ukrainian Railway delegation last week. They were in Washington, DC to discuss their plans to split the former Soviet railways into 4 vertical groups. As I sat there and listened I couldn't help but wonder whether they saw the impending doom and chose to ignore it or whether there was a silver lining that would allow some personal benefit at the expense of the country.

You should know something about me: I *hate* SUV's. I also have strong words for people who choose to drive them. I couldn't possibly go into all the reasons in one short blog post but let's just say it's more than just the fuel economy. This brings us to today's link of the day. One of my colleagues was killed a few years ago by an SUV while walking his dog. You know, it shouldn't take a 6000 pound vehicle to move 200 pounds of human flesh and groceries.

2007 doesn't have to be all about losing weight. There are a number of small things we can each do to make this year better than the last.

I've maintained that cars are one of the most dangerous inventions ever given to the mass public. Not only do they cause pollution and take up natural resources, but they have several other negative effects as well:

Muhammad Yunus just gave his acceptance speech for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. There are some great words but my favorite analogy is this one on poverty. I wonder though if there is enough soil in the forest?

Caveat: I don't know for certain that this picture was taken in a suburb. Still, the chances of ducks being in downtown Manhattan or downtown DC are much much smaller than a duck being in one of the many suburbs that have sprouted (and grow like viruses) all around the US. I wouldn't be surprised if this were Rockville, MD.

Journalism is a profession. The Press has been sometimes referred to as the 4th branch of government due to the amazing influence they have over the political process. Recently, the press used this power on two occasions. First, by ignoring Marie Johns' campaign completely instead choosing to name only Fenty, Cropp, and 'other candidates'. (Do they think Americans can't process more than 2 choices? Can we?)

Then yesterday, Marketplace conducted an 'interview' with Joseph Vranich about a new Amtrak CEO being hired. Coincidentally Mr. Vranich has a new book out calling for the dismantling of Amtrak. Again, coincidentally he is pushing his own private rail initiative.

In Part 1 we discussed this cartoon which postulates among other things, that houses have been steadily increasing in size every year and have now gotten too big. I theorized about some of the causes. The quest to have more and to impress those around us have dangerous side effects. One problem is that the real estate in the city is just far too valuable to allow everyone to have 2500 sqaure feet of house and a yard. Inevitably, one is forced out of the city to get houses with the space desired. Further and further they go as developers stretch the meaning of the word suburb.