Transportation
See also Energy page
Also Global Warming
Transportation cost calculator
True Cost of Cars 5/30 $142 billion in obesity-related health care costs and lost wages due to illness. As much as $80 billion in health care costs and premature death caused by air pollution from traffic. A whopping $180 billion from traffic crashes - lost wages, health care costs, property damage, travel delay, legal costs, pain and suffering. These are some of the hidden costs of a car-centric society. The American Public Health Association, in a recent report, argues that these costs have been ignored for too long as decision-makers hash out transportation policies. Instead, transportation projects usually focus on construction costs, acquiring rights of way, expected revenues (such as tolls), and operation and maintenance. More
Transit vs obesity infographic from Transparency
Mass Transit
California High Speed Rail video 2007. Audio update and interactive map 11/09. video image gallery
Trains vs Cars in Federal funding (grapp).
Panel discussion videoJune 25 2010 Within the next two decades, the Census Bureau estimates that the U.S. population will increase by as many as 50 million people, including at least a 25-percent increase in California’s population alone. This population growth, combined with a growing backlog of overdue maintenance work on roads and transit systems, creates a need for significantly expanded transportation revenues. However, the current political climate is generally unfavorable to tax increases. Given these political realities, what new or expanded revenue sources could be generated for transportation? In particular, what options will be politically feasible in the short and medium term? Our panel of transportation experts, representing viewpoints from the national and state level, will discuss possible revenue options and their likely reception from the public and legislators.
Automobiles
Car of the Future Nova PBS 4/11 (video)
Mark Hertsgaard has an excellent overview in Earth Odyssey, Ch 3 The Irresistable Automobile."
Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back by Jane Holtz Kay
2 Billion Cars: An American Love Affair World Affairs Council video 2009
Electric Vehicles
Revenge of the Electric Car is a sequel to Who Killed the Electric Car?.
Arcimoto practical and fun three-wheeled electric vehicle with motorcycle drivetrain.
The 400 MPG Future Aspen Institute 2009 video panel discussion.
Robin Chase founded Zipcar, the world’s biggest car-sharing business. That was one of her smaller ideas. Here she travels much farther, contemplating road-pricing schemes that will shake up our driving habits and a mesh network vast as the Interstate. TEDtalk video.
"Free Parking Isn't Free". ""...These 9' by 18' rectangles of urban real estate have a vast impact on North American communities. They affect the economy, land use patterns, the design of cities and even individual lifestyles...Urban economist Donald Shoup argues that parking requirements are one of the costliest hidden subsidies in US cities today. Shoup, who teaches urban planning at UCLA and authored the recent book, The High Cost of Free Parking, is one of the leaders in the flight to reclaim cities for people, not parking. "
Solar powered wheelchair (video)
Future of the Electric Car from Rocky Mountain Institute.
Lightweighting video from Rocky Mountain Institute.
Electric Cars
Forget about the hybrid auto -- Shai Agassi says it's electric cars or bust if we want to impact emissions. His company, Better Place, has a radical plan to take entire countries oil-free by 2020. TEDtalk video.
Electric Car Dreams Now PBS video.
Nice overview of recent history, including local.
Rocky Mountain Institute has lots of good info on solar in general and EV's in particular on its blog.
Electric Bikes
Saul Griffith's, (quite simply one of the most creative and versatile green designers around) Onya cycles, excellent cargo trike with excellent steering.
Human Powered
Dyson Prize winners includes regenerative powered bike.
American designer Eric Stoddard’s solution to the problem of urban congestion is a sustainable three-wheeled, electric-assist HPV TrikE.
Electric Bikes and three trends that favor them.
Earth Policy Institute overview/stats/status Link
The Commonwealth Club's panel of experts discuss how San Francisco can integrate bike policy into urban planning and become a cohesive, harmonious city for people on foot, bike and other non-car forms of transportation. video
Bicycle Highways and other cool innovative ideas. People for Bikes and Google Maps give you bike directions.
Bicycles burn calories, not carbon, so they're considered among the cleanest forms of transportation. But most bikes are made of aluminum and steel which leave a large carbon footprint since the materials are mined and processed. Now a group of young men have come up with a clean, renewable replacement: bikes made of bamboo. Living on Earth's Jessica Ilyse Smith went to the Bamboo Bike Studio in Brooklyn, New York and has our story. (6:00) audio and text 3/10. French company website
Walkscore.com tells you how walkable a neighborhood is.
DIY Bike truck Another design from Instructables
Out There Ideas
Flying car TEDtalk video
