Copenhagen is Cool

How many cars are in the United States? Take a guess. Answer is after the video.


There were 254,403,082 cars in the United States as of 2007. Did you guess correctly?
Here is an interesting table that shows the Number of U.S. Aircraft, Vehicles, Vessels, and Other Conveyances in the US from 1960 to 2007. The numbers paint an interesting picture. There are more than a quarter BILLION cars in the country now. There are only around 300 million people in the US. This is simply not sustainable. What we need to do at the local, state and national levels is promote the two most sustainable forms of transportation... walking and bicycling.

Small things can make a big difference SALT

A 3-gram daily salt reduction per person would lower annual cases of heart disease and stroke by about one-third, according to an analysis published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine. One-half teaspoon does not seem like much to me. And the study estimated that "consuming just half a teaspoon less salt each day may save as many as 92,000 US deaths and as much as $24 billion in medical costs a year." Here is the article from the Boston Globe.

It seems that this is a reasonably easy goal to accomplish. If food manufacturers across the board would reduce the amount of salt in their products, bingo, healthier Americans. If we as consumers buy reduced salt products, we are on the road to substantial savings in health care costs and a better and longer life. Small changes can have big results. A little less salt, a little more biking or walking, a little less car driving, and we are on a way to a healthier planet and a healthier population. Except for the additional label reading for salt content, I am sure that I would not notice a reduction in flavor by reducing salt.

Tell Congress: Make walking and biking safe!

In the last 15 years, 76,000 Americans have been killed while walking or crossing a street – too many of our roads are built for cars only.

But thousands of people are stepping up to make biking and walking safe. Rep. Earl Blumenauer introduced a piece of legislation that could set aside $2 billion for grants to fund safe networks for biking and walking in communities all across the country. And Secretary Ray LaHood just joined the fight by issuing a directive that makes safe walking and biking a priority for the U.S. Department of Transportation!

Help us keep the pressure on! Urge your representative to co-sponsor the Active Community Transportation Act.

Back from Santa Fe

WOW!!! The train ride was a vacation in itself. I met many people including Andy from Brighter Planet www.brighterplanet.com who was traveling by train all the way across the country. Lots of good information on the web site which says this:

On Brighter Planet you’ll measure your carbon footprint, discover simple ways to reduce it, track your progress, and share your experiences.

No politics, no arguments. Just real people, real actions — all making a real difference.

I am enamoured with train travel. Here is a list of 10 advantages to travel by rail vs by airplane or automobile:

More room compared to plane or automobile travel
Friendly conversations with fellow passengers
Better views through bigger window
Dining car with good food and good conversation
Observation lounge with bigger windows to view the great American landscape
Coach seats with lots of leg room
Doors between cars are exciting to pass through
Very cool sleeper cars
The pace of travel is slower and the feeling is civilized
The number one thing... lower carbon than other modes of travel

Look for videos of some of the train travel.

I am going to Santa Fe without traveling in a car or an airplane. I will leave the house with a nice rolling luggage bag and walk to the bus stop (about a mile) then take the bus to downtown San Diego, catch the Surfliner to LA and catch the Amtrak Southwest Chief to Albuquerque and from there, the Rail Runner to Santa Fe. Pretty low carbon travel. My reading material for the trip is "Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream", plus I will have the Helmet Cam and will document some of the trip.
The train ride is overnight, I'll see how that is in a coach seat. I am really looking forward to traveling through the southwest in this manner.