Skip to content

Tag Archives: sustainability

Bicycling Op-Ed in the N-L Today

STAR Team chairman Bruce Adib-Yazdi wrote an op-ed for the editorial page of the Springfield News-Leader today about alternative transportation. It’s also a promo for the Ozarks New Energy Conference that will be held October 7-8 at Plaster Student Union at Missouri State University. I’ll be part of a panel discussion on alternative transportation on 7 October at 2:15 [...]

Posted 25 August 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § announcement § news ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: , ,

Faux Honk Report

On my way to the STAR Team meeting yesterday afternoon I noticed a distinctive car in my mirror as I was riding downtown — a Miles Electric Car owned by fellow team member Rick Scarlet. Unlike the hybrids, this is an electric-only vehicle. And it is quiet. He and I have discussed before the possibility [...]

Posted 19 August 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology § news ‡ Comments (3) ° Also tagged: , , , , , ,

Problems and Opportunities

Feeling chipper today? On top of he world? Do you have a spring in your step and a song in your heart? Well, I’ve discovered the cure for that. It’s called The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler. Warning: Do not drink alcohol while reading this book. Also on my reading list this summer was [...]

Posted 31 July 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology ‡ Comments (6) ° Also tagged:

We’re On Our Own, Part 2

Last year I wrote about the role riding a bicycle can play in helping us stay healthy. I don’t ride for sport, so I usually don’t work up much of a sweat. But even pedaling at modest speeds is excellent exercise that pays big health dividends. Given the state of our health care system and its [...]

Posted 25 July 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (3) ° Also tagged: , , , ,

Interesting Stuff Re: ‘Burbs and Diets

Two items of note today from Planetizen: Many Ways to Reimagine Suburbia takes a look at the finalists in a contest to figure out what to do with Long Island. That is, BTW, the home of Levittown — kinda the start of it all. There’s much to read and ponder in the 23 entires left [...]

Posted 12 July 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § policy ‡ Comments Off ° Also tagged: , , , ,

Apocalypse Someday, Maybe

Thomas Friedman highlights the following letter to the editor in his column today: “I’d like to join in on the blame game that has come to define our national approach to the ongoing environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This isn’t BP’s or Transocean’s fault. It’s not the government’s fault. It’s my fault. I’m [...]

Posted 13 June 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged: , , , , , ,

Creating Connections With ‘The Link’

I’ve mentioned the coming improvements to the Springfield bicycle route system that will be paid for with the CIP tax. The improvements include route number signs and sharrows. The City also has plans for a new project called The Link — an exciting plan to link existing and new greenway trails into a coherent transportation [...]

Posted 11 June 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Vote Yes For CIP Renewal

Tomorrow is election day in Springfield. We have the opportunity to finish an important project begun last year by the STAR Team: An enhanced bicycle route system with numbered wayfinding signs and sharrows. All you have to do is vote YES for the CIP tax renewal tomorrow. It’s a tax you’re already paying. And it [...]

Posted 07 June 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments Off ° Also tagged: , ,

Built For Cars, Not People

American suburbs were built for cars during a time in which it seemed oil would shoot from the ground forever. And once we knew that such was not the case, we kept building suburbs because people wanted to live in them. People were also encouraged to do so by the culture and the government. I [...]

Posted 26 May 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (3) ° Also tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Car Lite: One Year On

A year ago this week my family and I drove my Ford Explorer across country for the last time. I gave the vehicle to my brother. We returned home by train and bus. We have been living “car lite” for a year. We own a 1996 Honda Civic. I drive it so little that my [...]

Posted 24 May 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology ‡ Comments (7) ° Also tagged: , , , ,

Our Urban Challenge: Build It First

I swear I’m not making this up. The following is a snippet of conversation I heard at the Mudshouse. The interlocutors were high school kids: Kid 1: “There’s just too much sprawl here.” Kid 2: “Yeah, not enough density.” Kid 3: “It doesn’t matter. We’re not going to live here anyway.” How do we make [...]

Posted 16 May 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology § policy ‡ Comments Off ° Also tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cars: Fewer v. Better

From David Roberts at Grist (extra links added to quote): On one side, you have people like Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Geoff Anderson of Smart Growth America, or Tom Murphy of the Urban Land Institute, who are focused on using land and urban assets more effectively, which means increasing density and [...]

Posted 13 May 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § ecology § policy ‡ Comments Off ° Also tagged: , , , , ,

Our Urban Challenge: Cost of Living

Image via Wikipedia Take a look at this presentation by the Ozarks Transportation Organization, and pay particular attention to slides 17 though 30 about housing and job growth in Springfield and surrounding communities. You’ll see that demographic projections predict more sprawl. We must find a way to prevent further sprawl unless we wish to see [...]

Posted 12 May 2010 † Andy Cline § ecology § policy ‡ Comments (3) ° Also tagged: , ,

Earth Day 40 Years On

I was 13 years old on the first Earth Day and already an eco-warrior of the sort young teenagers tend to be — earnest, strident, and clueless. I’m not sure how much has changed. Scattered thunderstorms here today, so I’m on foot. I’ll “celebrate” the day by pretty much just doing what I usually do [...]

Posted 22 April 2010 † Andy Cline § Uncategorized ‡ Comments (4) ° Also tagged: , , ,

Our Vision

Yesterday’s transportation committee meeting for the new city/OTO strategic plan focused on writing a vision statement. I’ve done this kind of work before, and it is usually painful (partly because I’ve usually done vision writing stuff with fellow academics). But yesterday’s exercise was remarkably invigorating and productive. We enjoy a great deal of consensus on [...]

Posted 20 April 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § news § policy ‡ Comments Off ° Also tagged: , , , , , , ,