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From the Chairby Jonathan Harris Hello, fellow Sierra Clubbers. It is a pleasure to address you for the first time as Chair of the Executive Committee. I look forward to working with you all this year to promote Green Routes, our transportation choices agenda. If you are reading Coastlines for the first time, you may wonder why your local environmental group is focusing on transportation choices. The reason is that approximately 42% of greenhouse gasses (GHG) in Rhode Island come from transit. The next largest offenders are the electricity sector, at 26%, and the residential sector, at 21%. This means that per capita GHG transportation emissions in our state are twice as much as per capita emissions from our homes! But the fact that our transportation-based GHG emissions seem so out of proportion to our needs only means that they will be easier to reduce. Sierra Club's Green Routes campaign is about cutting transportation emissions down to a size more in synch with Rhode Island's size, culture, and history. Historically, our streets were community spaces with a variety of users: pedestrians, delivery vehicles, bikes, personal vehicles, and public transit. Public gatherings took place in the street; kids played in the street. I remember playing kickball in our neighborhood, using bases we had painted on the asphalt. I still have the scars from sliding into second base. But I wouldn't let my child do that now -- not because of the knees, but because automobile traffic raises the ante. When we decided to give up the last public realm to the automobile, we gave up rights to use it for anything else. Speed, through-put and level of service are now the primary considerations. Unfortunately, none of these objectives help create the communities we want to live in. I'm not demonizing the car. The automobile has its place among our transportation choices and among the great human achievements. The problem occurs when the transportation system grossly weighs the concerns of the automobile over the concerns of our communities. It has been shown that as traffic increases, human contact decreases and the number of friends a person has goes down. It has also been shown that people who walk or ride a bike, even for short periods, are healthier that those that don't. I think that most of us would agree that the ideal community is one that promotes health and provides space for quality human contact. One way to get closer to this ideal is through Liveable Streets. A liveable street is one that provides amenities to the pedestrian in the form of buildings with active ground floors, places to sit and congregate, and easy transitions from one side of the street to the other. A liveable street provides, where appropriate, space for public transit and for bicycles, while reducing the impact of the car. It is time that we demand a reduction of traffic in our neighborhoods and on our streets. It is time to reclaim the last public realm for everyone, not just the automobile. For many of us, this is the only public area in our neighborhoods, and it should be a safe place for our children, our siblings, our parents, and our grandparents. We are beginning a canvassing campaign to inform people of the options that are available in order to create liveable streets, and we will be informing them of avenues we can take to achieve change. Our goal is to have the city mayors sign a Liveable Streets Agreement -- a statement of their intention to create communities for all. In support of this campaign, call or write your mayors and other elected officials, and participate in your neighborhood planning process. Demand less traffic. Demand transit options. Demand a community for everyone. At the Statehouseby Abel Collins Last year, the New Public Transit Alliance (NUPTA), a group that the Sierra Club formed to unite organizations seeking transportation reform, joined with the members of the Coalition for Water Security to create the Coalition for Transportation Choices (CTC). The Coalition is a diverse, powerful, and growing group of businesses, non-profits, and advocacy groups. Currently, it has 35 member groups. The RI Sierra Club Chapter is on the executive Working Group and co-leads the Communications and Coalition Building Committee. In conjunction with the CTC, Sierra Club is working for the passage of three pieces of transportation legislation this session. Two have a good shot at making their way to the governor's desk to be signed into law. The first of these, a non-binding resolution calling on R.I.’s national delegation to pass four transportation bills in the U.S. Congress, has already passed through the Senate (S2241), and now only requires House approval (H7497). The second bill would create a study commission to investigate the feasibility of implementing a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) fee to replace the gasoline tax in Rhode Island (S2247). The third and final bill would create a trust fund for transportation by raising vehicle registration fees by $20 per year and establishing a petroleum products gross receipts tax (H7734). This bill is both the most important and the toughest one to pass. The economic and political climate in the state is such that any talk of raising taxes or fees is anathema at the Capitol. It usually takes a concerted effort over multiple years to get legislation like this passed, but the Coalition has been heartened by the fact that legislators understand the need to change the way we fund transportation. It is good that the conversation has started and is moving forward. We desperately need to put public transit on a sustainable financial path. The Coalition is off to a good start, but this is just the beginning. Considering the general lack of action at the legislature this session, tranportation is doing well by at least getting some attention. The Rhode Island Chapter of the Sierra Club can take pride in the fact that it has brought so many of the state's organizations together to promote this important issue. Thank you for your support in making this work possible. The Zen of Woodcockby Ben Jones For the twenty-plus Sierrans who trudged out on a chilly Saturday evening at Nature Conservancy's Carter Preserve, the March 27th Woodcock outing was a reminder that we experience nature on her terms, not ours. Patrick Beck, our Woodcock guide, had spotted a half-dozen just a few nights before, but the weather was cold and we just weren't in luck. We even had nationally- recognized Charlestown video producer, Robert Malin, on hand for video, but weren't able to obtain any footage. Still, we plan on making this an annual last-Saturday-in-March outing. Despite the lack of woodcock encounters, there was a serenity in walking along the outskirts of the large glen, just listening, breathing, and watching the sun go down. Even though we didn't glimpse a woodcock, it was exciting to learn more about this fascinating bird, and refreshing to see how much hunger there is in the Club for connecting with nature. Getting together to share a love of nature is a great motivating factor in protecting the wild places on earth -- and a reminder that some of them are just a few miles off a paved road. If you have favorite spots or hikes to share, especially if they are particularly inspiring for you personally or they have a strong conservation tie-in, please get in touch. We want to grow the outings program in Rhode Island, and you don't have to be a certified outings leader to coordinate a trip - you just need to bring a certified leader along, and there are several of us who are eager to play this role. Contact: Ben Jones, 401-598-6639, email: ben@leftbain.net Transportation Factoid of the Month!In the Netherlands, they are experimenting with streets that allow all traffic to move freely -- without lane demarcations or curbs. This may sound like an accident waiting to happen, but it actually provides for a safer street. Think about it: each mode of travel must respect the others as they share space, and users must make eye contact, slowing traffic to a manageable speed. Are we ready for this here in Rhode Island? To read an article about these alternative roads, click here. RIPTA Commuter ChallengeRIPTA and the RI Bicycle Coalition are challenging Rhode Islanders to lower their carbon footprints by tracking and reducing their transportation-based CO2 emissions. The 2010 Commuter Challenge, which takes place during the month of May, invites teams of RI residents to sign up online and compete with each other to see who can make the biggest reductions in the carbon footprints of their commutes. Participants log the modes of transportation they use to commute on a website, and those with the greenest commutes win prizes. Bike MonthMay is Bike Month! Events are taking place around the state to promote this healthy and eco-friendly form of transportation. Find out more at Bike Providence.
Personal Reflection: The Joys of a Car-free Lifeby Sarah Schumann Like many environmentalists, there is sometimes a gap between what I wish I did and what I really do. I wish my actions did not in any way contribute to the warming of the planet, the destruction of habitat, the overexploitation of resources, or any other of the environmental ills that I lament every day of my life. Unfortunately, the reality is that they do. But recently, I was forced to not just talk the environmental talk but to walk the environmental walk -- literally. That’s because my four-wheeled friend suddenly quit shifting gears, and for two weeks I forced to do without the convenience, comfort, and camaraderie of my car. At first, I felt helpless. Then, I dusted off my $10 yard-sale bicycle, downloaded a RIPTA schedule, and embarked upon a new way of getting places. For those two weeks, I had no choice but to spend more time outdoors, get more exercise, and watch my wallet grow fat with the cash I saved by not paying for gas. I had no alternative but to get through two good juicy books, soak up the sun, and watch the flowers bloom, while I sat waiting for the bus. I couldn’t help but enjoy the banter of the bus driver with the regular passengers as they boarded each morning, and to eavesdrop on the gossip exchanged between young RIPTA riders late on Friday nights. After a few days of my new lifestyle, I informed the mechanics working on my car to slow down and take all the time in the world to fix it. But something happened when I got my car back. There was again a machine in my driveway, ready to take me anywhere at a moment’s notice, willing to free me from the confines of the bus schedule, and eager to spare me the effort of uphill biking. With those conveniences at my disposal, it took me no time to return to my old gas-guzzling habits. What I realized in the two weeks I lived car-free is that it’s not just the environment that suffers when I drive, but my own life. With my car, commuting is quick and convenient, but always feels like a waste of time – a tedious but necessary step to get from Point A to Point B. In contrast, my bike-and-bus routine became the part of the day I most enjoyed. Rather than taking time away from my busy schedule, it seemed to add time, by making my commuting time something I actually enjoyed. For those two weeks, I felt lucky not to have a car. I learned a lot from temporarily losing my car – about how to slow down and engage with my surroundings; about how to find within my own body the energy to power my commute – but I still have a lot to learn. A lot of you are probably like me – convinced that we need a large-scale approach to transportation that is more attuned to its environmental consequences, but unable to make the personal transition to a more sustainable way of getting around. Deep down, we are no more eager than our most apathetic neighbors to leave the comfort and convenience of our cars. What I found out this spring is that getting around without a car is no sacrifice at all; it’s an enrichment of daily life. Driving a car is easy and quick – but it’s nothing like feeling the wind in your face, hearing the birds sing, and watching the seasons turn as you walk, bike, or wait for the bus. Those finer things in life are available only once you break free from that four-wheeled cage you think you can’t live without. Got any personal reflections you'd like to share? Send in your thoughts on transportation, the environment, or anything else Rhode Island, and we'll share them with fellow Sierrans in our new Personal Reflections column! Contact: schumannsarah@gmail.com |
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