Story and pictures from Eureka Reporter:

 

As seen on Streetsblog, a New York City blog for livable streets.

How To Live Well Without Owning A Car, Chris Balish, Ten Speed Press, 2006

I received a call early on a recent Thursday from the Humboldt County Sheriff's office. They asked me if I knew where my car was. I thought I did, but I was wrong -instead of its usual spot in front of the apartment, it had been taken to Eureka. The journey had left quite an impact: all of the lights were missing, the hood was missing, the front quarter panels were missing, the front bumper was gone, and the steering column had been taken apart to hotwire the car.

Attendees: Chris, Tommy and Aaron A. Snacks: Popcorn and beer, Mmmmmm, Aaaahhh. NEC Negotiations Greg is arguing on our behalf to get a deal of 7% of our grant money for inclusion under NEC’s non-profit status. Once we get this ironed out, we could start meeting there instead of Chris’ house. Advisory Board Selection

Like most other Green Wheelers I'm concerned about the many negative impacts of motorized transportation and am working to promote and use better alternatives.

For many years I've been working to make lower impact transportation choices. In recent years I've been doing research to quantify the impact of each transportation choice.

On Saint Patty’s Day I was biking home from my wilderness first aid class on the HSU campus, having just practiced a bunch of emergency medical scenarios over the course of two days. At the corner of 11th and H streets, I came upon a man lying on the sidewalk holding his bloody head as a few acquaintances and his bicycle sat around him. My first thoughts were something along the lines of: How did my instructors know which way I was biking home, where did they recruit these actors, and how did they get the blood on this guy’s head to look

What’s the best way to get somewhere? I went on trip a couple weeks ago where I had the opportunity to research this question. I traveled by car, bus, train, plane, SUV, van and helicopter.

So which was the best? I guess that depends on your criteria. Comfort, speed, and convenience come into play. Since so much of our impact on the environment comes from transportation, I was curious about the gas mileage per person for each mode.

Transportation is responsible for 45 percent of Arcata’s greenhouse gas emissions¹. This is an issue where each person’s actions are what could really make the difference. In eco-groovy Humboldt County and other liberal enclaves, many folks have taken to buying hybrid cars so they can feel like they are doing something good for the environment. There is good sentiment here, but a big problem. Hybrids aren’t all that great for the environment.

GreenWheels Minutes 1/22/07 (first of 07 hints the historic) Who was there? Nancy, Jeremy, Victor, Libby, Allisum, Alissa, Gaylen, Erin, Aaron, Sara. What we talked about? Composting Task Force- Erin is starting a bike delivery service for compost from local restaurants to the salmon house. She already has 3 Foods Café ready to give compost to bikers. Erin is looking for bikers and bike trailers. Email her at ejr9@humboldt.edu if you have/are either.

Where: Chris Rall’s house – potluck, yum!!! Who: Chris, Becky, Sara, Maya, Chris’s friend from TSC, Chad, Alissa, Victor, Aaron, Alyssum, Nelson 1. Chris’s friend (I am horrible with names) from Transportation & Safety Committee will present an idea to allocate staff time for HumBay city trails. Tentatively planned to speak about this 20 Feb, 6 pm at Arcata city council chambers. Have comments prepared, will be more info about this in the future.