The Ciclovia

This is my 20th year free of car ownership(!), which I’m celebrating with an occasional series of posts.
I first learned about Bogotá’s Ciclovia while reading the EcoSpace: Conscious Community blog. Street Films terrific short film really brings it to life. Every Sunday, 70 miles of Bogotá streets are closed to traffic and opened to bikes and pedestrians. More than 2 million people of all ages and backgrounds spill out into streets that become their own. They have also added Recreovia: 20 stages where instructors lead giant aerobics and rumba classes (those segments are among my favorite in the film.) It’s inspiring to hear residents share how much the Ciclovia’s safety, freedom, and “community living” means to them. Enjoy.

Ciclovia: Bogotá (9:41).



Today’s mitzvah: Learn more about care-free spaces and cities at the World Carfree Network.

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Sunday Papers: May 18

Here’s a round-up of news and notes for your Sunday reading pleasure!

Wisconsin Man Says “No” to Gas for One Month
Brian LeFave of Sheboygan Falls, WI, has “parked his pick-up truck and refused to buy gas for a month.” He’s biking to work instead — no small feat for a third-shift worker with an 18-mile round-trip daily commute. Says LaFave: “I think just with the gas prices being so high, everybody complains about it but no one ever really does anything about it. People continue to drive nonstop and not think about it.” Go, Brian! (Courtesy AP)

Bush Administration Bars Drilling in Arctic Wetland
I had to read this twice, but it’s true. The same Interior Department that last week declared polar bears a threatened species yet vowed this would not inconvenience business interests — yep, the same folks on Friday officially banned any drilling in “potentially oil-rich [Arctic] wetlands, in a reversal of its earlier plan.” (Reuters via Environmental News Network)

Volvo vows to end crash deaths by 2020
Car crashes kill 1.2 million people worldwide each year and injure 50 million more. Car maker Volvo says: Enough. Their engineers believe they can end all fatalities in their cars by the year 2020. Gotta love engineers. Go, Volvo! Marty Finestone’s Activitybook has video. (Reuters)

Burma Aid Situation “Improving”
Briain’s Lord Malloch Brown says aid supplies are beginning to move (finally) in Burma/ Myanmar. It’s a slow process, unconscionably delayed by the country’s military junta. But world pressure may have finally produced movement to help the hundreds of thousands of victims of Cyclone Nargis. According to the BBC while “the relief effort had not been what many Western nations considered sufficient, thanks to support from the governments of the region and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) a compromise had been struck that the ‘Burmese can work with.’ ” If you’e interested in donating for Burmese cyclone or the China earthquake relief, see my Burma and China tags for posts that discuss different charities operating in each region.

And that’s your Sunday news round-up!

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An Electric Car in 2009?

This isn’t a personal good deed as much as a “Hey, this looks promising!” moment. The Think City Car — all electric and somewhat affordable ($25K range) — is on sale in Europe and allegedly coming to the U.S. next year. AutoCar UK test drove it and gave a thumbs-up. It’s an itty bitty car, which always makes me pause about highway driving. (With a max speed of 65 mph and a range of just over 100 miles, highway driving may be out in any case.) But an electric car for not too much more than a Prius — maybe 2009 will be the year I buy a car. Hmmm, it’s an idea. Gas 2.0 has mileage info and lots of pix. Check it out!

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Under Pressure?

The Fourth Wednesday in Lent
“Pressure a car-owner to check their tyre [tire] pressures. Low tyre pressure means high fuel consumption.”

The Carbon Fast realizes I do not own a car. The Carbon Fast is psychic!

While I figure out who to annoy about their tires . . . how much will this save? Ideal Bite says proper inflation can keep up to 383 lbs. of CO2 out of the air each year. Most sources I checked also agree with Ideal Bite’s financial calculations: one can save about 3% annually on fuel costs by keeping the tires properly inflated.

Today’s mitzvah: Already checked your tire pressure? Teach someone else how to do the same.

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Update: Reusable Bags from Recycled Soda Bottles

Although I like my new Baggus (not pictured) because they’re small enough to keep in my bag and use for shopping trips on the way home from school on the bus — for car trips I’m kinda crazy about the reusable stand-up bags I bought from our local discount grocery (pictured above; click for larger image). They’re too bulky to carry around in a backpack or purse, but for planned trips they work great — square and flat-bottomed, they stand-up perfectly in the back of the Community Car and nothing rolls out. They’re made from recycled 2-liter soda bottles, so that’s cool. And I noticed at least 10 other people using them at the store this afternoon, so they’re definitely catching on. If I were an actual car owner I think I would use these for all the grocery trips.

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Carbon Fast for Lent, Day 2: "Tread Lightly"

The First Monday in Lent:
“Tread lightly — whether that’s by foot, by bike, on to a bus, or on the gas as you drive. Find a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions when you travel today.”

In August I will celebrate 20 years of non-car ownership. After adjusting to the shock that more than two decades had passed since I sold the beloved Jane Honda for a move to NYC, I was pleased to realize all these years without a car have been, well, pretty painless. When I moved to the Midwest a few years ago for grad school, I was greeted by an excellent local public transit system, and not long afterward a terrific member-based car sharing service. Grad school living has been more affordable without car payments, insurance, gas, and repairs — plus I actually enjoy taking the bus (less stress, more reading time). Sometimes it’s inconvenient in bad weather when I don’t want to wait outside. And I do love to drive! (It takes very little incentive to convince me to rent a car on vacation.) But overall it’s been an easy and happy choice.

My challenge for today’s Carbon Fast for Lent action will be to reduce further. I have a doctor’s appointment for which I had planned to use the Community Car (it’s cold today!). But to keep with the Carbon Fast, I’m going to take the bus instead.

Today’s mitzvah: Be kind to the earth. Check out all 40 activities in Tearfund’s Carbon Fast for Lent PDF.

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“Modest Needs”: A Web-Based Approach to Unexpected Bills

I’m intrigued by an unusual charity I found surfing the blogosphere. Modest Needs works with low-income individuals facing a bill they simply cannot pay — typically a utility bill, car repair, or medical expense. The organization screens applications for help with one-off financial emergencies, and posts the need on their web site. Visitors can then make a contribution to Modest Needs toward a specific individual’s expense. When the requested amount is funded, Modest Needs sends a check directly to the utility, insurance company, etc. (not to the individual). The screening process is rigorous, contributions are tax-deductible (the group is a 501(c)(3) charity), and thanks to an external grant that covers their operating expenses, Modest Needs is currently able to use 100% of contributions for the designated applicant.

Today’s mitzvah: check out Modest Needs and see if this kind of contribution is right for you.

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