I used part of my last day of my car-less vacation going to the dump to throw away three 60-gallon bags of trash. I try. I try really hard not to make trash. But when you go to a new place, you have to start figuring out all over again how to do it. And […]
Environment
Top UN climate scientist says eat less meat, I’m teaching a course at NYU, and Park(ing) Day is coming
I want to tell you about a course I’m helping to teach at NYU and about my plan to turn a NYC parking space into a park, but first, according to the BBC: “People should consider eating less meat as a way of combating global warming, says the UN’s top climate scientist. “Rajendra Pachauri, who […]
Parking Day 2008
This September 19, my parking day partner Jen Petersen and I are planning a park(ing) space in front of the Whole Foods market on 7th Avenue between W. 24th and 25th Streets, in Manhattan. We need your help to construct an inviting, joy-filled park! Peruse this list and consider contributing time, labor, creativity, objects, or […]
The Tom Sawyer approach to saving the world
To change people’s values, so the shrinks say, you change their behavior. You don’t barrage them with ideas and cause information overload. You don’t tell them their existing values are wrong and get their backs up. What you do is you get them to change their behavior and, once you’ve done that, you let their […]
Does high resource use make a great life?
This photo (sorry for the poor quality) shows one half of an empty basketball court that I’ve ridden past many times during my car-less vacation in Greenport. It’s in someone’s back yard. Never once have I ever seen anyone playing basketball on it. And I thought: some dad or mom might have worked so hard […]
Celebrate a great organization and hear me speak
This coming Saturday, September 6, New York City’s Lower East Side Ecology Center (LESEC) is having its annual fund-raising bash, and I have the honor of giving a talk (I’ll be brief, promise). This excellent party with a local-food dinner, music and activities for kids and adults will be at the East River Park amphitheater […]
If you’d like to ditch the car but worry about emergencies
Suppose you’d like to commit to leaving your car in the driveway or getting rid of it altogether and instead making your commute by foot, bike, carpool or public transit. You want to save the money, skip the traffic jams, get the exercise, cause fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and have less stress. It’s just that […]
Going on bikes where a car driver can’t
So you know, when you’re on a carless vacation, one thing you find out is that you’re allowed on bikes lots of places where cars aren’t. First off, on the ferry to and from Shelter Island, out here on the tip of Long Island, you can get straight on with a bike while cars wind […]