Transportation solutions

Can we move forward on transportation? I hope so. Our transportation thinking has been shallow. We've been locked into the bus/light rail/bicycle paradigm. What we need is a move toward systems thinking. In that mode, we look at every urban planning and transportation challenge with new eyes. It's time to think mobility, not simply transportation. Students at MIT did an interesting project. They noticed airports have these neatly stacked carts in them. They extended the airport shopping cart concept further---to automobiles. In this integrated system, stacked rows of two-seat mini-cars, perhaps powered by a diffused engine system, sit at the entrance to subways. Passengers collect their public mini-cars there, which are good for short trips. The cars are then deposited in another stacked row at another terminus, such as a subway entry. Such an integrated, networked system can function almost the way a beehive does. Each part within the system compliments the whole system. An integrated system of vehicles of varying shapes and sizes, each dedicated to a particular function, would fit into a systems approach to mobility. What we have today works, to an extent. But it is a limited vision.

Inconvenient truths

Al Gore's star seems to be rising again. It started with an appearance on Saturday Night Live last month. Now comes a film about his slideshow on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, which my wife and I watched today. The films a little hard to sit through but I came away from it really angry and concerned about our future. At times, the whole issue can seem overwhelming. It's similar to the feeling I get when I have a huge project due. If I chop it into manageable pieces, it's far easier to handle. Same with environmental issues. Rather than take on Big Oil, I'm working at the local level. I've researched pesticides. They're everywhere and people, I think, can relate to wanting safe yards. So that's where I started, just reading everything I can get a hold of about pesticides and herbicides. The next step was to do a Powerpoint presentation for my Condo association. They weren't moved to action, so I have to improve the oratory. Next up: more neighbors. This is my antidote for my day job, where I'm expected to write objectively. I don't think the environment is an objective issue, if such an issue exists. We're all in this bowl called earth, breathing the same air, drinking the same water. God does not recognize Human boundaries, neither does nature.