George Will wrong again on climate change issue

Today's Washington Post included George Will's regular op-ed column.  Although the column's topic was not climate change, he couldn't help himself but to try to bring the issue up.  He has been wrong so much on climate change, it is surprising (and disheartening) that the Post keeps publishing his errors.  (For more on this topic, Joe Romm at Climate Progress has written quite a bit).

From today's column:

Often the goals government pursues by surreptitious indirection are goals that could not win legislative majorities — e.g., the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of greenhouse gases following Congress’s refusal to approve such policies.

This statement is wrong in almost every way.  He has completely missed with all three branches of government.

Arlington County's new "wayfinding" signs going up.

Within the last two weeks or so, Arlington County has restarted its placement of signs along the multi-use trails.  I am very pleased to see that, for the most part, they meet the first and most important criterion of a sign--to tell you where you are.  My previous post on this issue criticizes "wayfinding" signs for not adhering to this extremely simple and common sense dictum.

I also blogged last year when the County piloted a few of these signs.  Based on what I am seeing, it seems some of the issues I raised are being noted.  So far, these signs are a big improvement over anything I have previously seen pretty much anywhere.

The Climatographers

I just came upon a blog written by long-time climate experts Mark Trexler and Laura Kosloff that I really like: The Climatographer.  I'm not sure why I haven't bumped into it earlier.  With their many years of experience and knowledge, they bring what I think is a very realistic view of the magnitude of the climate problem.

I have bookmarked the blog, and you should, too.

Why the KXL pipeline should not be approved

The EnergyCollective recently published a post (Why Should the Obama Administration Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline?) by John Miller.  His post, as the title indicates, analyzes various aspects of the KXL pipeline in depth and comes to the conclusion that the benefits are greater than the costs.

I disagree.

Freezing Saddles Winter Bike Competition

I just joined the "Freezing Saddles" friendly winter bike competition here in Arlington County.  It will be a fun way to track our winter bike rides.  Riders were assigned to teams to make for an even challenge.  I'm on Freezing Saddles Team 9, but the suggestion "Bollard Busters" has been proposed as a better name (particularly given my reputation as being anti-bollard).

All this is being tracked in Strava.  Here's the link to the ongoing results page.  Finally I'll be able to put my Garmin device to good use.

I regularly cycle 2-3 times a week to Kensington, MD (about 13 miles each way) for some work I do.  I also cycle around town for errands and such.  So hopefully I will be an asset to our team.

And here's the link to the DC Bike Forum conversation about the challenge.

Should be fun!!

How to take the I-495 Express Lanes without an E-Z Pass

The new I-495 Express Lanes (also known as HOT lanes, for High Occupancy Toll) on the Capital Beltway opened in mid-November 2012.  For those paying attention, there has been a lot of information about what they are.  Importantly, they have been making the point that one MUST have an E-Z Pass to travel on the lanes (or an E-Z Pass Flex for travelers who want to travel free with 3 or more passengers - see my critical post about this policy).

In fact, this E-Z Pass requirement has been made so strongly that numerous crashes occurred at the southern entry point caused by drivers trying to get out of the Express lanes, because they did not have an E-Z Pass.

However, less well publicized is the fact that one can use the Express lanes without an E-Z Pass for a slight additional charge.  There is a "Missed a Toll?" link on the Express Lanes website where one may pay the toll on-line.  There is a $1.50 administrative fee added to the toll as long as you pay within five days.  Certainly that's a small amount to pay to avoid a crash.  It may even be a reasonable amount to pay if stuck in interminable traffic.

Bikes represent 2-3% of Washington-Lee HS population

Earlier in the school year, on a nice day, I stopped by Washington-Lee High School in Arlington to see how the new bike racks they installed were doing.  Last spring they doubled the number of bike racks from 23 to 46, which increased capacity to 92 bikes.

It's a good thing they added the new racks.  On September 12 I went past the school and counted 59 bikes locked up in them.  This represents about 2.6% of the student population.  Including faculty and staff reduces that percentage somewhat.  I did not look around the school to see if there were more bikes parked elsewhere.

That's not bad, but it would be great to have them max out and have to add even more bike parking.

Arlington Public Schools Should Evolve Bus Plan to Comprehensive Transportation Plan

Photo by afagen on flickr

My hometown of Arlington, VA has been embroiled in a minor controversy regarding bus transportation for school students since a few weeks prior to the start of school.  The school district made changes to bus routes and reduced the number of students eligible to ride buses by more rigorously enforcing the 1-mile and 1.5 mile walk zones.  Details of the controversy can be Googled, so I won't go into the details here.

My point of view, and this blog post, have to do with the overall transportation plan for Arlington Public Schools.

A visit to the web site under the transportation department reveals this statement:

It's GOOD that extraction of resources from public lands is down (if it is)

From Barack Obama's photostream on flickr

During the second presidential debate, candidate Mitt Romney accused President Obama of causing a decline in extraction of energy resources from public lands.  Although this accusation is misleading if not outright false, Obama could have derailed Romney entirely by agreeing with him and taking credit.

How about this exchange:

ROMNEY (what he actually said):  "As a matter of fact, oil production is down 14 percent this year on federal land, and gas production is down 9 percent. Why? Because the president cut in half the number of licenses and permits for drilling on federal lands and in federal waters."

OBAMA (what he could have said):  "As President and steward of our federal lands, I am proud of the fact that the resources on these lands are managed and conserved.  Our federal lands are meant not just for our generation, but for the next and the next and the next ten after that.  Governor Romney appears hell-bent on extracting every drop of oil, molecule of gas and lump of coal from our federal lands as soon as humanly possible. Right now the private sector is preferring to find resources on private lands rather than public.  That is good.  Since that's the case, I believe we should conserve the resources we have on our public lands for the future, when our descendants may need them more than we do.
So thank you, Governor Romney, for complimenting me on my conservative approach to use of our public lands.  I am proud that we are deliberately and carefully managing those resources for use of all Americans, present and future."

Benefits of Investing in LEED Certification in Retrofits - Guest post

GUEST POST

Transform to Sustainability has previously written about LEED certifications and the work required to obtain them. This guest post by Noelle Hirsch touches on the benefits of LEED certification as it relates to several states within the U.S. -- not surprisingly, thousands of dollars can be saved over time from just a few simple green tune-ups on an old building. Noelle claims to write for an expert construction management website called www.ConstructionManagement.net (although I have had trouble verifying this claim).

The Benefits of Investing in LEED Certification and Retrofitting Old Buildings

As the effects of climate change have become increasingly apparent in recent years, the importance of reducing carbon emissions for environmental health has been espoused in all forms of media. While many people today acknowledge the environmental necessity of raising energy efficiency, most individuals are still unaware of how sustainable construction and building maintenance can substantially reduce power costs. Yet, an increasingly wide body of research is finding that by following the standards of The US Green Building Council's LEED program, building managers and residential owners can save thousands of dollars by building with green principles in mind or retrofitting existing structures.

Happy Birthday to Capital Bikeshare!!

Today, September 20, marks the 2nd anniversary of the launch of Capital Bikeshare in DC and Arlington.  I was there for the launch (see a couple of photos below).  Although I was optimistic about CaBi being successful, it has far outstripped my expectations.  To see some stats, click here.

My own personal stats are:
68 rides (just under 3 per month)
56 miles.

These stats reflect the way I use CaBi.  I use my own bike for commuting and for trips from home to Metro, local shops and around town.  There are no stations near my house. 

I primarily use CaBi when I go into DC via Metro and then want to travel from one location to another.  Or if I want to shorten my trip by replacing a Metro transfer with a bike ride.  My most common trip is between Foggy Bottom and DuPont.  On Metro I would have to switch between the Orange and Red lines.  On CaBi, it's a 7-9 minute ride--faster than the Metro.  And often I end closer to my destination.

With CaBi expanding to new areas, I may have even more opportunities in the future.  Hope to see you out there on the red bikes!

The bikes lined up on the plaza ready to be staged

Remember this guy?

Another hidden advantage of the hybrid car

We bought a 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid in the spring of 2007, and I have blogged on my experiences with it numerous times in the past (brand new feelings, disappointing mileage,  hypermiling, tire efficiency, taxes,).

One nice advantage is that some maintenance costs are reduced due to the use of the electric motor.  For one, the gas engine runs less and more efficiently than in a regular car, so one can stretch out oil changes a little.

The one that caught my attention recently, though, is brakes.  Our car now has 66,000 miles on it.  When I took it in for regular maintenance the front brake pads, which are still original, look great.  Since many of the hybrid cars on the road use regenerative braking, the brake pads are rarely employed to slow the car.  Instead, the energy to slow the car is used to charge the battery.

So not only do we enjoy the added efficiency of harvesting the brake energy, we also almost never have to purchase new brake pads.  Sweet!

Virginia HOT Lanes: For Insiders Only

The new I-495 HOT lanes, also known as 495 Express Lanes, are expected to go into operation late this year.  Discussion of these lanes and the concept of dynamic pricing can be found in many places on the web (official site,  a previous post of mine re: the theory of HOT lanes).

My particular concern for this post is the requirement that all users must have an E-ZPass in order to use the lanes.  What this means is that only local drivers with knowledge of the system and those who are willing to bear the monthly admin charge will be able to utilize the lanes. Thus, in order to use the HOT lanes for free one must:

• Have 3+ persons in their vehicle, AND
• Have an active monthly E-ZPass Flex Account, AND
• Make sure the Flex pass is set to HOV mode

Romney is not for favoring particular technologies (well, unless it's nuclear, that is)

A quick glance at the "Energy" tab on Romney's website led me to notice this logical inconsistency.

"History shows that the United States has moved forward in astonishing ways thanks to national investment in basic research and advanced technology. However, we should not be in the business of steering investment toward particular politically favored approaches. That is a recipe for both time and money wasted on projects that do not bring us dividends."

So he doesn't want to play favorites.  There are plenty of economists who share this basic philosophy: let the market determine the winners.  (In general I agree with this philosophy, but only if the market prices externalities appropriately.)

His site also says:

Humankind wins the Darwin Award with anthropogenic climate change

People like me who follow climate-change news closely often find it difficult to understand why it is that we ("we" as in humankind) are doing so little to stop it.  Maybe I can't speak for everyone, but I certainly find it difficult.

Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben's recent article in Rolling Stone was another hard slap in the face that exposed how close to doomed we are.  So close, yet so little is being done.  Why?

There have been many articles and studies and opinions written about this, claiming everything from genetics to politics to economics to obliviousness--most of which contains at least a little truth.  I think that the real answer is more Darwinian.  Like this: