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Weekend Reading 10/14/11
Anna: I’ve been obsessed with the Occupy Wall Street phenomenon this past week, in part because I’m personally exhilarated by the growing, populist call for change, and in even greater part because of all the lessons in messaging and organizing and mobilizing that this crazy, leaderless, chaotic movement holds for those of us who’ve been trying to stir up interest in policy change by more conventional means for way too...Read more » -
Do Vehicle License Fees Make Driving Unaffordable?
Do vehicle license fees harm the poor? Even if car fees actually are regressive—and I think the answer is far from clear—it’s wrong-headed to think that voting down a fee will somehow make driving affordable. Even a cursory look at history shows turning driving into a necessity is what really harms the poor. In the early part of 2005, a driver in Seattle could fill up at less than $2 per gallon, but by 2011...Read more » -
Tackling the Other Carbon Problem
In this blog series, we’ve explained how carbon dioxide pollution is making the oceans more acidic, demonstrated that it’s happening now, looked at which marine creatures are most at risk and talked to oyster growers, commercial fishermen, and Native American teenagers about their prospects if the ocean systems that support their businesses and culture collapse. So what can we do about ocean acidification? Here are some of the key solutions:...Read more » -
Oil Subsidies and the US Debt
Editor’s note: This post was written by Japhet Koteen, a community builder, urbanist, and real estate developer in Seattle. He wrote this post as part of a project for Taxpayers for Common Sense. It’s not the trillions elected leaders are looking for today in Washington, DC, but I know where they can find $77 billion: outdated subsidies to the oil and gas industries. Oil and gas are two of the...Read more » -
The Environmental Case Against the Deep-bore Tunnel
Four of our friends and environmental colleagues recently made a case for tunneling under downtown Seattle to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. They, along with many of our friends in the labor and business communities, have concluded that the tunnel is the only viable path forward. It pains us to disagree, because we respect them and value the relationships and accomplishments that our work together has brought. As a citywide...Read more » -
Legalize Personal Car-Sharing
What if a stupendously enormous business opportunity were hiding in plain sight before our eyes? What if this same business opportunity would bring gigantic environmental and social dividends? And what if all that was required to unleash these benefits was a simple legal reform? Personal car sharing is such a business opportunity: a chance to trim emissions, crashes, and fuel costs, all while generating a profit for car owners and...Read more » -
Carsharing 2.0
Editor’s Note: David Brook is a long-time innovator and leader in the car-sharing industry. He contributed this guest post from Portland, where he consults and blogs on personal mobility. Many city dwellers are familiar with Zipcar and other carsharing companies cropping up in major cities and college campuses across America. The business model is based on a company leasing vehicles, placing them throughout an urban area, providing insurance, and requiring...Read more » -
Turning Over the New Leaf
Finally. If you don’t like being dependent on oil—but find that you do need to drive—you’ve got at least one decent option. The Nissan Leaf is the first mass-produced, mass-market electric vehicle to hit the US sales floors in…well, essentially forever. (Yeah, I know about the Tesla and the EV1. But the former is too expensive to be in range of most families, and the latter was never really offered...Read more » -
Who Likes Subsidies for Big Oil?
Who likes subsidies for Big Oil? Well, Big Oil, for one. They really like the billions of dollars they get in tax breaks. Then there’s the Republican caucus’s three votes this year to protect those loopholes. But that’s about it. Nobody else likes them much at all, including Republican voters. Center for American Progress pulled together some recent polling numbers. And we’ve piled more on: 66 percent: The proportion of...Read more » -
Blue and Red Makes…Green!?
Anyone with a box of Crayolas and a 1-year-old, and anyone who’s been following climate politics in the United States would tell you that, contrary to the rules of color theory, red and blue make an ugly mud color. But new research from Pew suggests that red and blue actually come out green—bright green, in fact, when it comes to “red-” and “blue-state of mind” support for alternative energy! All...Read more »