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BALTIMORE GREEN FORUM

THE BALTIMORE GREEN FORUM
An environmental education & discussion forum, features:
BRAD HEAVNER
Executive Director, Environment Maryland, and

SHELLEY MORHAIM
Environmental advocate & award-winning documentary film maker

Sunday February 24th, 2008 4:30 - 6:30 pm
MD Presbyterian Church, 1105 Providence Road, Towson, 21286
<a href="http://www.mpchurch.org/directions.htm">http://www.mpchurch.org/directions.htm</a>;

Brad Heavner is the state

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My Other Car is a Bright Green City


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This is a rough draft of a long essay about why I believe building compact communities should be one of America's highest environmental priorities, and why, in fact, our obsession with building greener cars may be obscuring some fundamental aspects of the problem and some of the benefits of using land-use change as a primary sustainability solution.
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This is what economists call "the commuting paradox." Most people travel long distances with the idea that they'll accept the burden for something better, be it a house, salary, or school. They presume the trade-off is worth the agony. But studies show that commuters are on average much less satisfied with their lives than noncommuters. A commuter who travels one hour, one way, would have to make 40% more than his current salary to be as fully satisfied with his life as a noncommuter, say economists Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer of the University of Zurich's Institute for Empirical Research in Economics. People usually overestimate the value of the things they'll obtain by commuting -- more money, more material goods, more prestige -- and underestimate the benefit of what they are losing: social connections, hobbies, and health. "Commuting is a stress that doesn't pay off," says Stutzer.
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In other words, there is a direct relationship between the kinds of places we live, the transportation choices we have, and how much we drive. The best car-related innovation we have is not to improve the car, but eliminate the need to drive it everywhere we go.

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Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change

&quot;Curbing emissions from cars depends on a three-legged stool: improved vehicle efficiency, cleaner fuels, and a reduction in driving,&quot; said lead author Reid Ewing, Research Professor at the National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland. &quot;The research shows that one of the best ways to reduce vehicle travel is to build places where people can accomplish more with less driving.&quot;

Depending on several factors, from mix of land uses to pedestrian-friendly design, compact development reduces driving from 20 to 40 percent, and more in some instances, according to the forthcoming book Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change. Typically, Americans living in compact urban neighborhoods where cars are not the only transportation option drive a third fewer miles than those in automobile-oriented suburbs, the researchers found.

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The Three-Legged Stool Needed to Reduce CO2 from Automobiles

Transportation CO2 reduction can be viewed as a three-legged stool, with one leg related to vehicle fuel efficiency, a second to the carbon content of the fuel itself, and a third to the amount of driving or vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Energy and climate policy initiatives at the federal and state levels have pinned their hopes almost exclusively on shoring up the first two legs of the stool, through the development of more efficient vehicles (such as hybrid cars) and lower-carbon fuels (such as biodiesel fuel). Yet a stool cannot stand on only two legs.

As the research compiled in this publication makes clear, technological improvement in vehicles and fuels are likely to be offset by continuing, robust growth in VMT. Since 1980, the number of miles Americans drive has grown three times faster than the U.S. population, and almost twice as fast as vehicle registrations (see Figure 0-1). Average automobile commute times in metropolitan areas have risen steadily over the decades, and many Americans now spend more time commuting than they do vacationing.
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This raises some questions, which this report addresses. Why do we drive so much? Why is the total distance we drive growing so rapidly? And what can be done to alter this trend in a manner that is effective, fair, and economically acceptable?

The growth in driving is due in large part to urban development, or what some refer to as the built environment. Americans drive so much because we have given ourselves little alternative. For 60 years, we have built homes ever farther from workplaces, created schools that are inaccessible except by motor vehicle, and isolated other destinations

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Bill would make it illegal to feed the obese


Three legislators want to make it illegal for restaurants to serve obese customers in Mississippi.
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About two-third of Mississippians are considered overweight or obese, according to a recent analysis of federal health data.

Maryland's overweight or obese rate is 60.7% just below the National average of 61.6%.

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Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance presentation

Joan Norman from One Straw Farm will speak on community support agriculture and how buying local supports a sustainable lifestyle.

Rick Packie from Earth Alley will speak on upcycling and how local retailers can make a difference by offering items that are sustainable.

Join a lively mixture of people from NGOs, academia, government and business are welcome and encouraged! This is an opportunity to share information, network and find out about who is doing what in the Baltimore area.

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