Comments on: Amazing “Green-Ways” Obliterate Traffic http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/amazing-green-ways-obliterate-traffic/1230 for environmentalists who don't take themselves too seriously Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:41:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: RedSoxFan http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/amazing-green-ways-obliterate-traffic/1230/comment-page-1#comment-60193 RedSoxFan Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:02:33 +0000 http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/amazing-green-ways-obliterate-traffic/1230#comment-60193 Success? The Big Dig? Though it's clear that the Big Dig has made aesthetic improvements in Boston, it's certainly not an example of "green" building. The promises made for public transportation improvements in return for getting approval for the big dig (and to avoid a lawsuit by the Conservation Law Foundation) have yet to be realized. The cost overruns and mismanagement of the project are legendary, and the shoddy construction even cost a driver her life when the tunnel ceiling panels fell. Even the parks have not lived up to their grand plans. It is generally viewed as a lesson in what not to do. Success? The Big Dig? Though it’s clear that the Big Dig has made aesthetic improvements in Boston, it’s certainly not an example of “green” building. The promises made for public transportation improvements in return for getting approval for the big dig (and to avoid a lawsuit by the Conservation Law Foundation) have yet to be realized. The cost overruns and mismanagement of the project are legendary, and the shoddy construction even cost a driver her life when the tunnel ceiling panels fell. Even the parks have not lived up to their grand plans. It is generally viewed as a lesson in what not to do.

]]> By: green thinking http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/amazing-green-ways-obliterate-traffic/1230/comment-page-1#comment-54788 green thinking Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:46:57 +0000 http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/amazing-green-ways-obliterate-traffic/1230#comment-54788 Thirty years ago, if you said the country was living beyond its means, people would have thought about economics. Now, if you talk about the country, or the planet living beyond its means, you think about the environment. We are taking out more than we are giving back. We are consuming energy, water, and other natural resources in a way that is leading to huge and often irreversible damage to the planet. So too are most other developed nations. Thirty years ago, if you said the country was living beyond its means, people would have thought about economics. Now, if you talk about the country, or the planet living beyond its means, you think about the environment. We are taking out more than we are giving back. We are consuming energy, water, and other natural resources in a way that is leading to huge and often irreversible damage to the planet. So too are most other developed nations.

]]> By: Steve N. Lee http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/amazing-green-ways-obliterate-traffic/1230/comment-page-1#comment-54519 Steve N. Lee Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:44:44 +0000 http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/amazing-green-ways-obliterate-traffic/1230#comment-54519 I do like the idea of greener cities. Not only would it make them visually pleasanter to live in, but the reduced pollution and traffic would make them physically healthier (e.g. respiratory problems would decline) and psychologically healthier (e.g. a vast reduction in stress), so it's a winner all around. The problem lies in the transportation system that replaces the traffic. (Something I'll be writing about on my blog this week.) The main reasons people object to public transport in the UK is that it's unreliable, expensive, unsafe, and, frankly, often dirty. If these issues could be addressed - en masse! - then there's a high probability that traffic could be reduced. But that's a very big 'IF'. That said, if other cities have pushed it through and made it work, then the model is there for others to learn from and follow. Let's hope they do that. Clean, efficient, cheap public transport? What a wonderful idea! Steve N. Lee author of eco-blog Lions led by Sheep - http://www.lionsledbysheep.com and eco-suspense thriller 'What if...?' I do like the idea of greener cities. Not only would it make them visually pleasanter to live in, but the reduced pollution and traffic would make them physically healthier (e.g. respiratory problems would decline) and psychologically healthier (e.g. a vast reduction in stress), so it’s a winner all around.

The problem lies in the transportation system that replaces the traffic. (Something I’ll be writing about on my blog this week.) The main reasons people object to public transport in the UK is that it’s unreliable, expensive, unsafe, and, frankly, often dirty. If these issues could be addressed – en masse! – then there’s a high probability that traffic could be reduced. But that’s a very big ‘IF’.

That said, if other cities have pushed it through and made it work, then the model is there for others to learn from and follow. Let’s hope they do that.

Clean, efficient, cheap public transport? What a wonderful idea!

Steve N. Lee
author of eco-blog Lions led by Sheep – http://www.lionsledbysheep.com
and eco-suspense thriller ‘What if…?’

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