tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78178658370043067612012-01-27T11:56:47.288-08:00Creating communities for the 21st century and beyondSuehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.comBlogger1141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-18988569557379807672011-02-25T12:21:00.000-08:002011-03-21T09:43:04.128-07:00

I'm afraid circumstances beyond our control are going to force lifestyle changes on Americans whether they like it or not. Yeah, sure, GM's profits are soaring. ("The $4.7 billion it earned for all of last year was its biggest profit in more than a decade.") Or they were, kinda, last year, but now with all that stuff going on that's beyond our control, the price of GM stock is trading at below

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-66525341091402215572010-06-29T21:04:00.000-07:002010-07-01T13:53:13.218-07:00

June 29, 2010: A student of art at the California College of Art riding the 27 Bryant from the Flower Mart, loaded down with flowers that she will arrange at the restaurant where she works. You do not need a car ... Perhaps 100 people rallied in support of mass transit agencies all over the country -- and, in particular, two bills now in Congress to support mass transit -- the Public

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-12519800936275358672010-03-29T11:33:00.000-07:002010-03-29T21:52:22.937-07:00

Passengers wait to board the 38 Limited bus on Geary at Divisadero. On February 26, 2010, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors voted 4 to 3 to cut service by 10 percent in order to close a budget gap. This is a the third in a series about the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's financial woes. The first two are posted on Fog City Journal, which has

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-27079008941140821542009-12-17T17:05:00.000-08:002010-01-01T11:40:19.504-08:00

Two weeks ago I went to see Michael Ruppert, author of a popular 9-11 conspiracy theory/peak oil book called “Crossing the Rubicon”, at a showing of a recently released documentary about him called Collapse. And then on Tuesday morning, I sat in on an extraordinary rendition/torture case being heard in a federal courtroom in San Francisco.These two items are, of course, related. As a nation, we

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-71325589262333287682009-12-04T09:49:00.000-08:002009-12-04T16:49:56.276-08:00

Notice of service changes -- including the elimination of route segments (the Number 2 Clement) and the elimination of entire lines (the Number 4 Sutter) <!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-27972702493503852052009-11-15T23:01:00.001-08:002009-11-25T10:51:38.042-08:00

Two non-profits, Global Exchange and Green America (formerly Co-op America), hosted the eighth annual Green Festival in San Francisco on the weekend of November 13-15, 2009, at San Francisco's Concourse Exhibition Center. But just how 'green' was this event? Perhaps that depends on how you define 'green'.Green? For example, are plug-in cars really 'green'? Or do they just make us feel 'green'?

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-81342465203801691012009-09-24T11:29:00.000-07:002009-09-27T23:50:15.106-07:00

Mini Peak Oil Library <!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-46236939285849484482009-09-20T22:29:00.000-07:002009-09-27T15:47:28.103-07:00

Whether San Franciscans like it or not, the days of "happy motoring" -- as author James Howard Kunstler puts it -- are likely over. That's because since extraction of petroleum from the Earth's surface started on an industrial level in 1859, humanity has used up about half of the world's oil reserves, and because it is unlikely that there will be a technological fix to replace the energy that we

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-73083133043524511172009-09-19T10:31:00.000-07:002009-09-21T16:06:34.048-07:00

A map of pre-registered PARK(ing) Day locations in San Francisco.Friday, September 18 -- PARK(ing) Day -- was unusually hot in San Francisco. I headed out on my bicycle at about 11 a.m. to meet friends who had secured a parking spot on Valencia Street in San Francisco's Mission District. Along the way, I encountered ...... a spot taken over by the Mission Greenbelt Project, and ...... another

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-17247378898847562352009-09-17T12:23:00.000-07:002009-09-17T12:28:46.694-07:00

HomeArticles ▼ IntroductionLobbying A Lobbying Free-for-All MapAbout This Project Track this investigation facebook twitter A Lobbying Free-for-All Thousands of Special Interests Vie for Influence on New

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-9033751746904877742009-09-07T21:45:00.000-07:002009-09-07T22:38:21.714-07:00

This piece recently appeared in the Prague-based publication, Carbusters. The editor there gave me permission to reprint it here.As the most powerful person in the world, President Barack Hussein Obama has an unenviable task – saving humanity from its inclination to environmental self-destruction by transforming the way Americans travel. Obama’s Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, does a

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-16824107693676112892009-08-22T19:13:00.000-07:002009-08-22T19:29:16.511-07:00

Here we are in Safeway Heights at the Safeway on Market and Church Streets. There's one little bicycle parking rack that is UTTERLY inadequate. As you can see, the wheel of my bicycle (in the background) and of someone else's bicycle (in the foreground) are crushed right up against a concrete barrier.Someone else did not even bother draping his/her bicycle over the wavy rack and just locked his

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-78768733939155355482009-08-06T22:38:00.000-07:002009-08-06T22:41:49.416-07:00

I recently went camping with the chair of the San Francisco Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force. Here is my Facebook Diary of that experience:Yosemite Without the People

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-66632343778095976392009-07-27T18:11:00.000-07:002009-07-27T18:48:21.782-07:00

I was running around on my bicycle doing errands today when I encountered a caravan of cars in the bus stop on California Street at Presidio, right in front of the Jewish Community Center. The cars were preventing buses from pulling up to the curb and blocking the curb ramp -- you can see the textured yellow curb ramp surface and the hand of one person who was forced to walk around the back of

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-53187627657205706532009-07-24T23:14:00.001-07:002009-07-24T23:17:28.667-07:00

What's wrong with this picture?Taken on Friday, July 24, at about 5:30 pm, at the intersection of New Montgomery and Market streets in San Francisco.

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-40610952017665462322009-07-23T11:44:00.000-07:002009-07-23T12:04:11.338-07:00

People frequently pull into the red zone on Geary Boulevard at 19th Avenue, park, and run into the Starbucks/Wells Fargo to get a Mocha Grande (or whatever those things are) and/or complete a bank transaction.But parking in red zones at the intersection of streets is illegal -- and with good reason. Cars backing out of this particular red zone back right into oncoming north bound cars on 19th

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-21100464476315500302009-07-14T19:51:00.000-07:002009-07-20T21:51:37.365-07:00

Texting?Talking on cell phones?Queuing up to cross the Bay Bridge? (Notice bus creeping up in back.)This woman harangued me for taking pictures of the cars in the bus stop. Imagine that!One thing bus stops certainly are NOT for is buses pulling up to the curb to pick up passengers.I'm taking a free painting course at the Academy of Art on Federal Street in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoons. I

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-64900698253181725612009-07-01T16:33:00.000-07:002009-07-20T21:53:10.001-07:00

I recently wrote a story for SF Streetsblog about some sloppy curb ramp construction on Park Presidio in San Francisco. Someone later posted a comment asking if the curb ramps had ever been repaired, and the contractor himself posted a comment on the Streetsblog story saying his company would be doing the work within the next few days -- and it did, as you can see by the above photograph and two

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-47783144448485546002009-06-16T17:42:00.000-07:002009-06-16T18:18:35.037-07:00

That's a good question. I always thought they were for walking, but when I left for work at about 6 am this morning, I discovered otherwise ...And bicycle parking is for ... ???? This is what I discovered outside the US Post Office on Geary at 21st Avenue when I returned at about 3:30 pm. The bicyclist came up behind me just as I was getting my camera out. Perfect timing ...

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-40392533568632990292009-06-14T17:00:00.000-07:002009-06-14T17:33:40.012-07:00

The Richmond District Branch Library reopened recently, after being closed for a year or more for renovations. And it is a shining example of the blessings of civic bonds in all respects except for at least one ... bicycle parking.Above, I have parked my bicycle parallel to the new bicycle rack that otherwise is not very functional.Books ...Note that in this photograph, before I have locked up

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-39423087290221784412009-06-11T18:37:00.000-07:002009-09-23T21:20:04.535-07:00

Jon Eisenberg, counsel for the plaintiffs in Al-Haramain v. Bush/Obama.Criminy, what a title.We thought things would get better under Barack Obama, but at least I'll give him credit for these two things: 1) the Bush administration left him a legal can of worms; and 2) he tries. George W. Bush never had to try. When you are a white male scion of privilege, that's your lucky break. You think you

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-61819852991708916322009-05-29T13:29:00.000-07:002009-09-23T21:12:14.499-07:00

Amendment IVThe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.Several civil suits involving extraordinary rendition,

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-64227206657360888212009-05-28T17:49:00.000-07:002009-05-28T18:16:07.866-07:00

The amended San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency budget, adopted by the Board of Supervisors on May 27, 2009, impacts transit users more negatively than car drivers. The 38 Geary pulls up to a stop at 20th Avenue and Geary in the Richmond District.On Wednesday, May 27 at a special meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to consider the San Francisco Municipal Transportation

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-86444570393635306252009-05-21T08:40:00.000-07:002009-05-23T20:17:41.301-07:00

Muni riders on the 47 bus, one of the more infrequent buses that is usually at capacity when I board it.Here's a quick update on everything that has gone down with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency budget at the level of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors:At the May 12 Board of Supervisors meeting, the supervisors, MTA staffers, and Mayor Gavin Newsom engaged in last minute

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-69507587271206489542009-05-09T09:47:00.000-07:002009-05-11T10:19:07.000-07:00

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, who does not own a car, introduced a motion to reject the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency budget after the April 30 SFMTA Board of Directors vote. This motion was heard at the Budget and Finance Committee on Wednesday, May 6, 2009. His measure passed, four to one, and has been forwarded onto the full board, where it will be

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-28647806463602571672009-05-04T10:25:00.000-07:002009-05-05T23:11:29.528-07:00

Students wait at a bus stop at the corner of Presidio and Jackson in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood.Times are tough all over, and San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency is feeling the pinch, as are our Department of Public Health and other municipal departments. It's times like these that reveal the true color of politicians as they attempt to scramble up the public office

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-22659604919269155602009-04-22T16:39:00.001-07:002009-09-12T21:34:41.697-07:00

Dave Snyder, Newest Appointee to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation DistrictThe past week and a half, San Francisco's progressive political junkies, a group of fiercely intense -- or intensely fierce -- addicts of the drama that unfolds in San Francisco's City Hall were justly rewarded for their addiction.Dave Snyder is a well-known bicycle advocate and transportation wiz. He did

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-10161339403853616352009-03-23T21:16:00.000-07:002009-04-14T10:59:27.432-07:00

Ed Dierauf, San Francisco community gardenerSometime in 1975, Ed Dierauf, pictured above, was taking a jog down 15th Avenue in San Francisco's Richmond District. Passing what had long been a sandy lot adjacent to a San Francisco Unified School district child development center -- filled only with the garbage that passersby had left there -- he noticed a small group of people diligently at work

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-530858943430856772009-03-09T22:54:00.001-07:002009-03-15T21:01:12.718-07:00

My sister and her husband bought a house in this Boston bedroom community in late 1989 or early 1990. While there remain a few Revolutionary War-era farm houses, in the decades since World War II, it has been transformed into a thoroughly suburban community with with strip malls, and wide, tree-shaded streets with few sidewalks. Everyone drives everywhere, and during the dog days of August,

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-23941082751480696472009-03-02T21:23:00.000-08:002009-03-02T21:49:11.699-08:00

This is my community garden.I'm going to admit that in the past few years I have neglected my own plot. But this year, with the economic downturn and possible arrival of peak oil (which may in part have triggered the economic downturn), one of my New Years resolutions is to tend my garden better.Gardening comes as naturally to humanity as salmon fishing comes to Alaskan Brown Bears. In fact, it

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-59950176097941528162009-02-23T19:54:00.000-08:002009-02-23T20:24:09.456-08:00

The case of Binyam Mohamed:Binyam Mohamed, the lead plaintiff in the case Mohamed v. Jeppesen, was released from Guantanamo today, and is probably on his way to Great Britain right now -- even though he no longer has family there and his residency status has expired.Through his lawyers, he made this statement:"Before this ordeal torture was an abstract word to me ... It is still difficult for me

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-16825936308885236022009-02-22T12:56:00.000-08:002009-02-22T13:26:44.624-08:00

The refinery in Richmond, California; taken from the Amtrak train on August 8, 2008There is a group of people in San Francisco who are preparing the city's official Peak Oil Preparedness Report. The report is now in its draft form and available for public comment. In the introduction, there is one paragraph that references a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The San Francisco

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-63707141728644391312009-02-15T19:04:00.000-08:002009-02-15T19:27:50.701-08:00

The following excerpt is from Common Dreams:'My Silence Cannot Be Bought' On Thursday night, Beverly Eckert, whose husband died on 9/11, died herself in the Buffalo plane crash. From our archives we wanted to share a piece Beverly wrote over 5 years ago:By suing, I've forfeited the "$1.8 million average award" for a death claim I could have collected under the fund. Nor do I have any illusions

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-20516352602883635402009-02-10T23:04:00.000-08:002009-03-21T22:51:48.695-07:00

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Ben Wizner; February 9, 2009; San Francisco, CaliforniaOn February 9, 2009, three judges with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard a arguments in a motion to appeal the decision of a lower court. The case is Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. Mohamed is one of five suspected terrorists who were subjected to extraordinary rendition either by

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-36512178556299099792009-02-04T13:02:00.001-08:002009-03-21T22:55:38.627-07:00

A small "d" democrat throws a shoe at a likeness of George W. Bush, getting everything out of his system, on January 20, 2009, at UN Plaza in San Francisco just after the inauguration.On June 22, 2004, a few weeks after the Abu Ghraib scandal had broken, then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, then General Counsel to the Secretary of Defense Jim Haynes, and then Deputy General Counsel Dan Dell

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-55465706055844198012009-02-02T13:10:00.000-08:002009-02-23T11:45:05.208-08:00

"CARB" is the California Air Resources Board. According to the January 28 East Bay Express, the CARB has backed off plans to impose strict regulations on the conversion of hybrid cars into mostly electric vehicles because of concerns about smog production when converted vehicles are plugged in to recharge batteries. A small company that converts hybrids to electric vehicles in Berkeley rallied

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-21206755921710792302009-01-24T22:26:00.001-08:002009-01-24T23:41:00.618-08:00

Life is full of bizarre coincidences, and below I describe one that is a few years old. It is doubtful that it has any meaning other than being something unusual that should inspire people to reexamine the events that would unfold a few weeks later – and to reexamine everything that led up to those events.Sometime in the mid- to late 1990s I was headed for a walk in the woods that are featured

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-58580944798928095752009-01-24T19:10:00.001-08:002009-01-24T23:26:22.214-08:00

Here's the -- tentatively -- good news:New CEQA Guidelines Expected to Shift Transportation PrioritiesHere's the bad news:Oberstar: Mass Transit Got the Shaft to Make Room For Tax Cuts"The reason for the reduction in overall funding -- we took money out of Amtrak ..."Say it ain't so, Joe.

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-51605552577916414902009-01-21T23:09:00.001-08:002009-01-30T21:43:12.697-08:00

This is Joni holding an egg. She and I have recently gotten to know each other through our volunteer activities -- we've been tabling across from each other at different events for a couple of years now. She is originally from Upstate New York, but she and her husband have been living in their house in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco for 35 years now. For 30 of those years, she

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-58223890114945181232009-01-18T22:02:00.000-08:002009-01-18T22:44:21.217-08:00

Friday, January 16, 2009Bicyclists gather at the intersection of Market Street and the Central Freeway in San Francisco to rally against the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) plan to remove the bike lane and force bicyclists to merge with vehicle traffic.California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano encourages participants to throw their bike shoes at members of the MTA commission.San

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-57318350456509261022009-01-17T22:10:00.000-08:002009-01-18T00:12:05.785-08:00

Cows in the mist, November 2008Country ChickensAs part of my grandmother’s effort to live closer to the land, she got hens and roosters, began raising chickens, and started collecting their eggs and selling them to customers who wanted truly farm fresh eggs. This was at least a decade before the term “free range” became popular. Knowing full well that eggs have probably been the single most

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-26778387820705835452009-01-14T07:43:00.000-08:002009-04-06T16:24:13.386-07:00

A bicyclist travels down the Market Street bike lane in San Francisco at the Entrance to the Central FreewayTransit Reform, Parking Regulationand Emissions ReductionsPROPOSITION A, November 6, 2007Shall the Municipal Transportation Agency be provided greater governing authority, and additional funding, and be required to develop a Climate Action Plan, and shall the City not increase the maximum

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-80630903612626688412009-01-12T22:19:00.000-08:002009-01-12T22:54:27.648-08:00

The following is an item on the January 13, 2009 San Francisco Board of Supervisors agenda for anytime after 4 pm.It's relevant because it's about a residential development at 299 Valencia in which the developer requested -- and was granted unanimously by members of the San Francisco Planning Commission -- a CU, or conditional use permit, to exceed the allowable parking.The project at 299

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-23536094078036015172009-01-11T21:19:00.000-08:002009-01-12T20:42:47.988-08:00

Illinois, the Land of Ethanol?It’s January 11, Barack Obama’s inauguration is a little more than a week away, and we are beginning to see how things are shaping up for his administration.I live in San Francisco, a dense, expensive community, and think that almost all issues come down, eventually, to land use and transportation – how we develop as a city, who gets to live here based on the cost of

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-9985870962316056792008-12-26T10:28:00.001-08:002008-12-26T22:43:40.816-08:00

During this past Thanksgiving, an aunt told me that there had been a "back to the land" movement in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and that my grandmother, unhappy in her role as a mother and housewifein the Texas community where my grandfather was teaching, caught the fever and convinced my grandfather to pick up the family, move back to New England and buy a farm.There was nothing romantic

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-34103945170038295362008-12-21T22:57:00.000-08:002008-12-22T20:32:02.607-08:00

Ok, as of today, the 2008 Winter Solstice, the auto industry is still teetering on the brink of insolvency, though lame duck President George W. Bush threw it a lifeline recently. That lifeline is a grant of $13.4 billion now, with another $4 billion to come in February if necessary. Bush is tapping the TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, more colloquially known as the bailout of Wall

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-8034544913953637652008-12-14T22:24:00.000-08:002008-12-26T22:51:05.029-08:00

Photos:1) The Big Pond2) The beaver home3) A beaver dam4) The beaver "kitchen"5) A paw printYears ago the big pond in the woods was shallow and nearly dry. But that began to change in the 1980s and 1990s when beavers returned and successfully reestablished themselves, building homes and dams, and restoring the pond. Their return has been centuries in the making.According to William Cronon, in

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-54822056548945670122008-12-11T23:31:00.000-08:002008-12-27T23:54:34.877-08:00

Yesterday the House of Representatives approved a $14 billion bailout of the domestic auto industry, largely along party lines. The original bill had some good stuff in it, especially a provision that would prevent the auto makers from suing states that have passed laws to limit greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. It also had some kind of unrelated rider that had to do with the original

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-83719474506528561752008-12-09T21:58:00.000-08:002008-12-15T17:10:11.111-08:00

My grandparents left Texas in 1950 and bought a farm in New England where both of them had centuries old roots. We know that the farmhouse and barn, built in a marshy wetland, were started before the American Revolution and completed afterwards.My grandfather died in 1978. At that time, other farm families that had been in the area for generations could no longer farm profitably or chose to

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-25108977291274649112008-12-05T08:49:00.001-08:002008-12-22T20:47:35.597-08:00

We all know about the CEOs of the Big Three auto companies flying on their corporate jets to Washington, DC to beg Congress for a bailout of $25 billion. Congress sent them back empty-handed. So what did they do next? They came back (driving hybrid cars) with a plan and asked for more -- now they want $34 billion!I object. For one thing, it seems to me that the three companies are colluding,

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-54720091281823115372008-11-26T20:15:00.001-08:002008-12-22T20:12:19.103-08:00

Re-Localization?For many decades, this farm was a dairy farm. By the time the farm came into my mother's family, there may have been on average 20 dairy cows -- Holsteins, Jerseys, and Guernseys, among other types -- named after the places where they had originally been bred. Every morning, they would gather at a fence across the street and wait for my grandfather -- who had been born and

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-38885559962115375722008-11-25T18:57:00.001-08:002008-11-29T13:20:21.570-08:00

Revolutionary Era Farm House These rooms are part of a Massachusetts farm house. Construction on the house was started before the American Revolution and completed afterwards. It would have been at one time an all purpose home where the occupants would have raised their own chickens and cows, and perhaps pigs and sheep. Over one hundred acres of rocky fields, woods, and wetlands are a part of

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-15716857872970927622008-11-23T15:01:00.000-08:002008-12-19T23:40:39.851-08:00

Scenes from LowellThe system under which young, farm women were recruited into the Lowell Mills was called the "Waltham System," based on the first center to consolidate all aspects of the transformation of cotton into cloth in nearby Waltham, Massachusetts. While work beyond the home was not conventional for most New England women of the era, it was acceptable for young women to leave their

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-16331201865979626392008-11-22T18:14:00.000-08:002008-12-16T17:13:44.356-08:00

My mother’s roots are in the northeast, mostly New England. She was born in Connecticut, and in 1950, after some years in Texas, her parents bought a farm in Massachusetts and moved the family there. The farm is still in the family, close to historic downtown Lowell.This city is famous as one of the places where the American Industrial Revolution began. It was there that Francis Cabot Lowell

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-73103663332257547972008-11-22T17:46:00.000-08:002008-11-25T13:09:11.658-08:00

Wow. People still just don't get it.Ok, I'll admit, I'm about to head back to the East Coast for the grand Thanksgiving get-together at my extended family's farm in New England. But I know that I need to reduce my carbon footprint and restrict my movement (I'm getting there: I live in San Francisco and call anything on the other side of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge "California" at best,

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-61021206223449465842008-11-21T11:41:00.000-08:002008-11-22T14:01:37.870-08:00

A New Transportation Deal for the Nation?I participate in an email discussion group in San Francisco called "Car Free Living." Most of the participants are transportation wonks who ride bicycles and/or walk and then gather on the first Wednesday of every month at popular local watering hole to discuss transportation policy.Right now, people are talking about the auto bailout, Barack Obama's

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-84701150504322060252008-11-19T11:00:00.001-08:002008-12-11T23:31:20.723-08:00

Subsidizing the Auto Industry v. Union BustingThe pundits on this matter seem to be torn between the Democrats who are allied with the unions representing the workers and the Republicans who, in this particular instance, are salivating at the opportunity to union bust. See former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's op-ed in the New York Times today here.Search as I do, I can find very few

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-36173263163197177782008-11-18T23:09:00.001-08:002008-11-18T23:24:07.600-08:00

Scenes from theLowell Folk FestivalMy sister and her family attend the Lowell Festival every year. This festival is as good as any in San Francisco or any other large city -- in fact, maybe it's even better because the crowds are small.Musicians, singers, and dancers come from all over the nation and the world to perform. Two of the women in the top photograph eventually stepped down onto

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-45491263771822658212008-11-18T22:51:00.000-08:002008-12-16T23:14:24.442-08:00

The Lowell Commuter TrainFrom North Station in Boston, I took the Lowell train. Usually, I don't go all the way to Lowell, instead disembarking at an earlier stop where my sister picks me up.Thanks, sis.It's usually an uneventful train ride through mostly working class towns outside of Boston and through wetlands areas with ponds overlaid with water lilies -- and those are scenes that you have

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-3346002080045481892008-11-13T21:24:00.000-08:002008-11-21T11:11:37.421-08:00

The Big DigOnce I got from South Station to North Station, I had an hour or so to spare before my next train to my sister's town near the New Hampshire border. Tired and grimy as I was, I decided to wander outside with my luggage and take some pictures.Above are two photographs of the famous (or "infamous") Big Dig bridge. Boston Garden and North Station are to the left.This bridge is a work of

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-79034471051703792008-11-12T21:54:00.000-08:002008-11-12T23:05:03.474-08:00

Getting Around in BostonAt 10 pm on the night of July 25, I boarded a train from Washington, DC to Boston. The train was filled to capacity when we left, but by the time we arrived in New York City, I was able to stretch out on two seats and sleep. We arrived at Boston's South Station at about 7 am the next morning. From there, I needed to get to my sister's house near the Massachusetts border

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-63950663855720201212008-11-11T19:44:00.000-08:002008-11-12T21:48:43.223-08:00

Since the election of Barack Obama on Tuesday, November 4, and the election of Democratic majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the media has been talking about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plans to meet with representatives of America's Big 3 automobile companies and the unions that represent the auto workers. There have been hints that she wants to craft a bailout

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-11271701603775028312008-11-10T20:52:00.001-08:002009-04-06T16:27:30.454-07:00

Union Station, Washington, DCWhat will happen now?I was eager to contemplate the Bush administration transgressions against democracy when the train got to Washington, DC -- the efforts to repeal the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 which restricts the use of the military in domestic law enforcement, the creation of the Northern Command -- a new center for military operations in North America -- and

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-41022730358967170802008-10-23T01:06:00.001-07:002008-11-10T20:51:55.968-08:00

Paralleling the Blue Ridge Skyline in VirginiaI'm burning the midnight oil right now, working on the campaign of a local candidate. We've got a set of them here in San Francisco, three or four or five individuals (if you take in the second and third rankings in our ranked-choice system) who have self-identified as "progressives" -- including the fellow whom I'm working for.To me, progressive

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-32669504536059767062008-10-05T22:27:00.001-07:002008-12-03T21:03:20.364-08:00

West Virginia Mountains.George W. Bush made his way to Washington, DC surrounded by individuals -- Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Cheney's lawyer David Addington, among others -- who scorned democracy and who longed to concentrate power in the executive branch. When five members of the United States Supreme court ruled to stop the Florida vote recount in 2000, they had their chance ...Among

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-49374714060299474902008-09-13T21:07:00.000-07:002008-11-11T19:43:55.223-08:00

West Virginia"Drill, baby, drill!"That's what Rudy Giuliani chanted at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.Here's the link to the text of his speech in the Los Angeles Times: Drill, baby, drill!Americans are not entitled to the earth's natural resources at the expense of the rest of the planet and future generations, contrary to what Republicans are telling them -- yet Obama's platform

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-52201314595012177712008-09-07T21:23:00.000-07:002008-09-07T22:33:03.386-07:00

The New River Gorge Bridge, West VirginiaOur Trailways bus arrived in Indianapolis at about midnight. We disembarked and walked through the train station, past a concession stand, and up some stairs to the train whose departure we had missed in Chicago. Friendly conductors hustled us onto the train, families with children and individuals with special needs first. When I finally got on, there

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-42512910565235167032008-09-01T23:40:00.000-07:002008-09-05T22:38:12.856-07:00

Illinois, Just east of the Mississippi RiverWe traveled through Nebraska and on to Burlington, Iowa. When we finally crossed the Mississippi River, we were nearly four hours late.By this time, I was tired and feeling pretty grungy. I was also concerned about missing my connection in Chicago -- I was booked to get on a train bound for Washington, DC, and then to change to a train for Boston in

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-62659090337107972372008-08-31T19:24:00.000-07:002008-08-31T19:33:56.440-07:00

For bicyclists, a widening patchwork worldAs oil prices rise, U.S. lags behind two-wheeled boom in rest of worldhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26478179/Peds, bikers, joggers out in full force to enjoy first Sunday Streetshttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/31/BAC212M16J.DTL

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-80412917611846115202008-08-27T12:49:00.000-07:002009-03-11T13:52:45.319-07:00

Former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons production plant, near DenverGovernor Brian Schweitzer, of Montana, might as well have screamed from the podium at the DNC in Denver yesterday: Stop driving cars!Think about it: the human population has exploded (largely due to fossil fuel inputs into the soil) and humanity has taken over habitats that were formerly uninhabitable before we learned how utilize

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-70367289832551566452008-08-25T23:04:00.000-07:002008-08-26T11:11:09.030-07:00

North Station; BostonThere's a discussion going on in an online a group that I participate in, Carfreeliving. It's about the efficiency of train travel, and it's bringing out the true train fanatics in us. It started when one guy linked this story about Amtrak and its efficiency compared to travel by plane:http://www.masstransitmag.com/publication/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=6765The conclusion

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-17800763232475635252008-08-21T21:09:00.000-07:002008-12-05T08:48:51.278-08:00

Eastern NebraskaI didn't take any pictures of this part of the trip -- going to the East Coast or coming back. It just isn't very remarkable, though some would say it is beautiful in its own way. Flat, endless fields of corn, soybeans, alfalfa, what-have-you, with the train tracks paralleling the Platte River. Something like that. Strangely, if you Google "Eastern Nebraska Farmers," the first

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-69732798760132251072008-08-16T23:27:00.000-07:002008-08-19T22:53:51.630-07:00

West of DenverOk, remember that the members of the "War Council" were David Addington, Tim Flanigan, Alberto Gonzales, John Yoo, and Jim Haynes. And remember that in the hours, days, weeks, months and years after September 11, 2001, they were busy, very busy, finding inventive ways to reinterpret the Constitution, the laws passed since its adoption, and treaties to which the United States was –

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-73985902703594206612008-08-10T23:31:00.000-07:002008-08-11T00:22:41.775-07:00

I'm back, and hope to continue the story of my travels -- and the Bush administration descent into torture -- as soon as I get access to my photos.In the meantime:No room for bikes at the 'greenest convention in history'http://www.coloradoindependent.com/view/no-room-for-bikes-atElectric cars and the electric gridhttp://fogblog.tumblr.com/post/45245886/electric-cars-and-the-electric-gridI've

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-81769107557395472332008-08-04T20:35:00.000-07:002008-08-04T20:37:18.696-07:00

Be back on August 9th or 10th.

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-25979941287545170222008-08-04T08:56:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:15:03.488-08:00

Ok, there were more than two memos, but here I'm just talking about two, and in this particular entry, only one, the August 1, 2002 one penned by John Yoo and signed by Jay Bybee. Remember, John Yoo was the deputy chief of the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel. Jay Bybee was the Assistant Attorney General, serving under then Attorney General John Ashcroft.John Yoo was primarily

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-16510537873362749942008-08-04T08:34:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:15:03.771-08:00

The Observation CarI probably took this picture in Utah, but I have gotten my photographs out of order. No matter, the man in silhouette was traveling between southern California and somewhere in Colorado. On the table in front of him was a cowboy magazine -- literally, a cowboy magazine. Across the front cover was written the name of the magazine: Cowboy.He was not reading the magazine. Instead,

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-48557898888301205092008-08-01T09:49:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:15:03.918-08:00

Approaching DenverDuring the train ride, my attention wandered between the views outside and Jane Mayer's book, The Dark Side. Prior to reading this book, I could only make generalizations about how the Bush administration came to accept torture as a legitimate means for gathering intelligence, generalizations such as the following: George W. Bush is an intellectual lightweight and a scion of

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-60273828254292515092008-08-01T09:36:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:15:04.401-08:00

ColoradoThe image on top is a little blurry, but if you look closely, you can see the opening to a canyon in the middle and a cut into the bedrock coming outside to the right of the opening. The Amtrak train had just emerged from that canyon along the tracks in the cut in the bedrock. The photograph on the bottom is a little further along the tracks.

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-11458261962632806862008-08-01T09:20:00.000-07:002008-08-31T20:25:57.565-07:00

ColoradoSomewhere along the Colorado River after we had crossed the border into the state of Colorado, I saw a large black object on a grassy ledge on the other side of the river. It was at a point in our travels where the river was extremely narrow and the distance from the train to the other side of the river was maybe 200 feet, if that -- much narrower than the distance in this photograph. The

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-59933286459515870722008-07-31T21:30:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:15:04.926-08:00

The Australian, Pete, and I also talked about the difference between the American electoral system and the Australian system. He said that in Australia all elections are compulsory -- if you do not vote, you are fined. Candidate elections are also ranked. If 16 people are running for president, you can rank each candidate in order of preference. San Francisco now has a similar system -- called

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-88032957986762304562008-07-30T20:22:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:15:05.625-08:00

The California Zephyr travels along the Colorado River for more than 230 miles, and it passes through 18 canyons. During the summer, passengers see many groups of people rafting down the river. One winter when I took this train, I saw eight bald eagles perched in barren trees, looking for fish below. This time, we saw white pelicans and mule deer.

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-13981598001735877852008-07-28T20:09:00.000-07:002009-03-11T13:55:04.944-07:00

I met a man from Australia, "Pete," in the observation car. We both had our cameras aimed at the dry, lifeless hills outside. We got to talking about the Australian health care system versus the American system, and the Australian electoral system versus the American system. Though he spent about $400 annually on private health insurance, he had recently gone to a public hospital for heart

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-86587060094242602252008-07-28T19:55:00.001-07:002008-12-09T17:15:06.140-08:00

I'm making a list of people whom I think could be charged for war crimes on the inside cover of The Dark Side. I'm starting with the obvious ones: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Alberto Gonzales and Donald Rumsfeld. Then we add the less well-known people: David Addington, counsel to the vice president, and John Yoo, formerly deputy chief in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. But the

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-26348829502619345092008-07-27T08:25:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:15:07.064-08:00

On July 23, I woke up outside Provo, Utah. At this point, we began to encounter scenery that I could imagine Georgia O'Keefe painting.During the trip, I alternated between taking in the scenery and reading. My book? The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals, by Jane Mayer, staff writer for the New Yorker. In this book, Mayer details the story

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-78879426506991785092008-07-27T08:14:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:15:07.261-08:00

UtahPamela had started her travels on a bus in Fresno and boarded the train in Reno. By this time, the train was around two hours behind schedule. Amtrak leases track usage from the freight companies that actually own the tracks -- thus freight trains take priority over Amtrak. Pamela's husband is a model train buff and an amateur astronomer. I thought he would be a natural person to lobby

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-14328764716042022392008-07-26T13:33:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:15:07.494-08:00

UtahThe train departed Emeryville at about 8:20 a.m. Late in the afternoon or early evening we pulled into Reno. A woman named "Pamela," who was on her way to visit her daughters in Denver, sat down next to me. The first night fell by about the time the train reached Elko, Nevada. I slept some and then awoke the next morning near Provo, Utah. We were both mesmerized by the striped mountains and

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-41746707666142694752008-07-26T13:12:00.001-07:002008-12-09T17:15:07.606-08:00

In the Beginning ...On Tuesday, July 22, I began a train trip across the country to see family in New England. My travels started in San Francisco at about 6:15 a.m. when I boarded the Number 2 Clement Street bus to the Ferry Building.At the Ferry Building, I got on an Amtrak bus to take me and other travelers across the San Francisco Bay to Emeryville, where I got on the California Zephyr. The

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-3542448349161675522008-07-18T14:57:00.000-07:002008-07-18T15:31:37.194-07:00

Forest Hill Station, San Francisco, Californiahttp://fogblog.tumblr.com/post/42625966/forrest-hill-stationCastro Street Station, San Francisco, Californiahttp://fogblog.tumblr.com/post/42626237/castroShortage at the Pumphttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/nyregion/15four.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=sloginBumper prices charged for parkinghttp://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-72780801786180170382008-07-14T11:42:00.000-07:002008-07-14T13:56:22.564-07:00

Forests to fall for food and fuelhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7503304.stmBush to Lift Offshore Oil Drilling Banhttp://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/14/10358/Above, the BBC and Agence France Presse are reporting on the concept of "drawdown, the process of stealing resources from future generations." For a more detailed analysis of current human behavior in regard to natural

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-68010726822901007302008-07-12T14:23:00.000-07:002008-07-12T14:28:16.628-07:00

Monday, July 14, at 7 p.m.http://www.ustream.tv/channel/car-free-talkGuest: Marie Harrison of Green ActionTopic: Plans to regulate engine idling in the southeast sector of San Francisco

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-2576622582344429252008-07-12T12:03:00.000-07:002008-07-12T12:47:25.336-07:00

Chile’s Subway Goddess: An inducement to get people to ditch their cars and use public transportation.http://fogblog.tumblr.com/post/42019883/chiles-subway-goddess-an-inducement-to-getFrom the bikescape podcast (http://bikescape.blogspot.com/):James Kunstler on the Colbert Reporthttp://bikescape.blogspot.com/2008/05/jim-kunstler-on-colbert-report.htmlTowards Car-free Cities Keynote Speech: Gil

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-68764226547289052002008-07-11T09:28:00.000-07:002008-07-11T09:48:52.668-07:00

Speier seeks national speed limit to save gashttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/07/11/MNNP11N0G7.DTLWays to boost fuel economyhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/07/11/MNNP11NABF.DTLThis list neglects the most obvious way to boost fuel economy: if you can't stop driving, then minimize the amount you drive as much possible by taking public transportation,

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-15753953698998404762008-07-09T10:45:00.000-07:002008-07-09T11:14:00.022-07:00

Burning Blog: The Streets of Black Rock Cityhttp://blog.burningman.com/?p=2008Excerpt:For richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, the romance of the road is a quintessential American dream. For Americans, cars have always represented independence, self-expression and the mythos of mobility. And yet, like any love affair, relationships with cars are fickle and results are mixed. The story of

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-27923345607705086772008-07-06T21:53:00.000-07:002008-07-07T10:39:24.199-07:00

As Gas Prices Soar, Elderly Face Cuts in Aid http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/05elderly.html?fta=yAt $100 for a Tank of Gas, Some Choke on 'Fill It'http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/business/06tank.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=sloginOff the Charts: Gas Was Once a Bigger Expensehttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/business/05chart.html?fta=yFor Nascar Fans, High Price of Gas Not Only

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-23639423657128959422008-07-04T11:05:00.000-07:002008-07-07T20:24:34.726-07:00

Sweet Melissa, a brilliantly funny Georgian transplant, weighs in on statewide November 2008 California ballot measures, including Proposition 10. She takes no position for or against, just gives an analysis and suggests some slogans:Let the Names Begin! Part Twohttp://sweetmelissa.typepad.com/sweet_melissa/2008/07/let-the-names-b.htmlLocal, unnamed, public transportation and bicycle advocate

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-62806442353322111132008-07-03T20:31:00.000-07:002008-07-07T20:22:13.791-07:00

The Battle for San Franciscohttp://bikescape.blogspot.com/2008/07/battle-for-san-francisco.htmlThe Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportationhttp://fastlane.dot.gov/Politics Failed, but Fuel Prices Cut Congestionhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/nyregion/03congest.htmlThe N-Judah Chronicles: Special Edition on the Woes of Muni on July 3, 2008 ...http://www.njudahchronicles.com/2008/07/

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-34189705629255240522008-07-02T12:30:00.000-07:002008-07-07T20:18:20.385-07:00

Speeders to pay for police chaseshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7482934.stmSUV sales go to the birds:Car Sales at 10-Year Lowhttp://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/07/02/business/02auto.inline2.ready.htmlThe carfree challengehttp://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=6649&volume_id=317&issue_id=385&volume_num=42&issue_num=40And Proposition 10, which will appear on the November, 2008 California

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-12366611154434245002008-06-30T23:39:00.000-07:002008-07-07T10:50:20.896-07:00

And, finally, someone links oil extraction to global climate change:Moyers on Big Oilhttp://www.fogcityjournal.com/wordpress/2008/06/30/moyers-on-big-oil/Parents can begin to breathe a little more easily:As Gas Prices Rise, Teenagers' Cruising Declineshttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/us/29teengas.html?scp=1&sq=cruising&st=nyt

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817865837004306761.post-86972731664246800622008-06-29T21:06:00.000-07:002008-07-07T10:52:08.555-07:00

Canadian bank predicts $7 a gallon gasoline by 2010, driving cars off U.S. highwayshttp://research.cibcwm.com/economic_public/download/sjun08.pdfInterview with primary author Jeff Rubin on MSNBC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh6x9gA2u-AThe bank predicts 10 million fewer cars on American roads and calls that "the greatest mass exodus of vehicles off America’s highways in history." Yes, that's

Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168044208040037694noreply@blogger.com0