Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Agencies aim to drive up public transportation use

Community Impact Newspaper: "Experts and city officials agree that greater access to and reliability on public transportation will not only relieve traffic congestion but also the financial pressure placed on households that depend on cars to commute.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, most Austinites are car-dependent. The latest data shows that 73.7 percent drive alone to work, 9.5 percent carpool and 4 percent use public transportation while 12.8 percent use alternative modes.

Transportation is the second-largest household expenditure behind housing, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with car ownership being the most costly mode of transportation. The average annual cost to own a sedan is $8,558, according to a 2016 report from AAA."

Friday, May 19, 2017

Carbon capture is here and now. Stop cutting trees.

World Economic Forum: "Forests have been removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing carbon for more than 300 million years. When we cut down or burn trees and disturb forest soils, we release that stored carbon to the atmosphere. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, one-third of all carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere from human activities have come from deforestation."

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Richmond, VA, choked with cars, because, #racism.

richmondmagazine.com: "How did metropolitan Richmond come to have such a small footprint of public transportation?  It is, to tell the truth (and telling the truth would help a lot in this situation), an artifact of racial segregation."