Gallup has gone looking for the commonalities among America’s most obese metropolitan areas. Here’s the top ten:
The study covers the usual suspects, e.g. poor eating habits and lack of exercise. But here’s something they overlooked: access to (or willingness to use) alternative transportation, i.e. burning calories instead of carbon.
In Montgomery, Ala., for example, data from [...]
Carbon Trace is also supposed to be about walking, but I don’t spend much time writing about it. Perhaps I need to change that. The last few weeks have given me much to think about because the weather has kept me on foot.
I’m prepared to ride my bicycle no matter what the temperature is. My [...]
Jason Peters continues to meditate on the virtues of walking at Front Porch Republic (re: Walk, Damn It!). This week he writes about what it means to walk in the cold.
And by now this walking has become habitual enough that, if for pressing reasons I do not or cannot walk, I feel that an important [...]
There’s still an uncomfortable amount of snow out there, so I continue to walk to work. Here’s the dreary scene from my office window this morning.
A wintry mix is on the way — due by noon. Yuck.
But not to worry. I wear on of those wonderful Carhartt jackets that are large and roomy to accommodate [...]
Serendipity is cool.
Yesterday I read an interesting essay on one of my favorite blogs about the virtues of walking. Some people apparently assume that a walker is in some distress, i.e. in need of a car or in need of rescue. Jason Peters writes:
The change in private behavior that I should so like to see [...]
This morning’s honk report is a bit different. I walked to work again today. I was honked at in a crosswalk while legally crossing with the light in my favor.
I walk north on Fremont to Grand. From there, I go left on Grand and cross National. My building is on the corner of Grand and [...]
The construction “zen and the art of ____” (e.g. perhaps the most influential book on my life) indicates a state of mindfulness regarding a particular endeavor. This state of being is exactly the opposite of the state of being associated with multitasking.
When one is mindful one may be able to truly identify with one’s task [...]
It’s a whole 3/4 of a mile, but it’s mine — my daily commute.
The spring semester began today. There’s snow on the ground, so I’m on foot. I just don’t like riding a bicycle in slippery conditions. Not that walking is any safer. I had to go downtown for a couple or errands. On the [...]
Bicyclists who ride too fast face tickets and fines on the 8-mile trail in Creve Coeur County Park in St. Louis County.
I like multi-use trails. I’m a member of Ozark Greenways, and I support the building of more trails in Springfield. I hope we can one day have a beltway of trails around Springfield.
Multi-use trails [...]
Take a careful look at these two maps. The first shows the percentage of obese people in each state. The second is a political map of red and blue states.
We’re all pretty fat. But some folks are fatter than others. Here’s a list of the top ten fattest states. And here’s a column about promoting [...]
I need to explain first that I know nothing about psychology.
I’m wondering about the role of speed in selfish driving behavior. By that I mean the psychological role of speed not the fact that some selfish drivers do speed. Does the fact that cars allow us to go fast encourage us to do selfish things [...]
An article in today’s Springfield News-Leader explained that the city can’t justify removing snow from residential streets. Only the major streets get attention.
Much of the snow that gets scraped off the major streets ends up on the sidewalks creating a hazard for walkers. And there are still plenty of them as can be easily read [...]
I had to do a lot of driving around town on Saturday.
I had to pick up a Christmas tree. I don’t have a cargo bicycle, so there was no way to substitute. The kid had to go to the mall. And while we sometimes ride our bicycles there, this was a trip (kind of a [...]
Let’s suppose that you think the 1-mile Solution is a good idea (background here, here, and here). What would help you make that first step out the door?
There are as many ways to answer that question as there are potential walkers and cyclists. Economic distress might push you out the door. Concern for your health [...]
Looking for a carpool? Want to find a friend for walking and/or cycling? Want to keep track of how gloriously green your transportation choices are? Then you need to visit the new OzarksCommute.com, a new service of the Ozarks Transportation Organization.
Technorati Tags: bicycle commuting, green transportation, public transportation, sustainability, walking
