"We know that high-speed rail is the new frontier."
--
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7768
Article courtesy of Smart Growth
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
If Cities Focus on Walkable Communities, Economic Development Will Follow
With a third of metro area populations eager for pedestrian-friendly settings, a key path out of the recession leads through urban infill and walkable mixed-use redevelopment of car-dependent suburban malls and strips. Meeting that pent-up market demand will take a generation, said Christopher Leinberger with the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. Speaking at the fifth annual Louisiana Smart Growth Summit, Leinberger advised cities to combine transportation and affordable housing strategies to ensure the viability of walkable neighborhoods. ''Plan for your walkable future. Economic development will follow," he said.
www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7768
Article courtesy of Smart Growth News
Friday, August 20, 2010
Woods Hole says oil trapped deep, degrading very slowly
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution researchers have mapped a snaking, 22-mile-long underwater oil plume from the BP PLC well in the Gulf of Mexico, work they say provides strong evidence that oil from the disaster could remain trapped deep in the ocean for a prolonged period. Read more: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2010/08/20/woods_hole_says_oil_trapped_deep_degrading_very_slowly/
Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Beth Daley
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Frack Attack
Hydrofracturing ("fracking," for short) is a brute force way to extract natural gas. It's so lucrative (and potentially dangerous) that Dick Cheney made sure it was exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Unfortunately, public safety and environmental concerns about fracking have been swept aside with disastrous results. Where have we seen this before?
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune writes about the dangers of letting yet another energy industry run amok -- and what the Sierra Club is doing about it.
Article courtesy of the Sierra Club Insider
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Mangrove forests in worldwide decline
Gland, Switzerland / Washington, DC - More than one in six mangrove species worldwide are in danger of extinction due to coastal development and other factors, including climate change, logging, and agriculture, according to the first-ever global assessment on the conservation status of mangroves for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.
Mangrove forests grow where saltwater meets the shore in tropical and subtropical regions, thus serving as an interface between terrestrial, fresh-water and marine ecosystems. These forests provide at least $1.6 billion each year in ecosystem services.
Article courtesy of Conservation International
Monday, July 26, 2010
EZRide Shuttle Changes
Effective August 9, 2010
For Immediate Release and Distribution
CRTMA is pleased to announce the merger of EZRide Shuttle service with MIT’s NorthWest Shuttle, effective with the start of Morning service on Monday, August 9, 2010. The resulting service will be known as EZRide, and MIT will discontinue its Northwest service. EZRide will continue to operate seven (7) buses during the morning and evening peak commute hours, roughly 6:00-11:00 AM and 3:00-8:00 PM, with service every 10 minutes.
New Midday Service:
The new EZRide will include a midday loop between Kendall Square and a western terminus at MIT’s Sidney Pacific housing from approximately 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM, running every 20 minutes. There will be no midday service between Kendall Square and North Station. EZRide midday will be open to the public under the existing EZRide fare structure (free to affiliates of sponsor institutions with pass/ID, or for a cash fare for the general public).
Relocated Kendall Square stops:
Route and stops remain the same between North Station and Kendall Square for the morning and evening peak commute hours, with one significant change. EZRide stops will now be located in front of The MIT Press Building, 292 Main Street (E38) just outside the MBTA Red Line Inbound headhouse. This change will enable EZRide to provide service to MIT Sloan School. Additional Kendall area stops will be at Amherst & Wadsworth Streets, and on Ames St. between Amherst St. and Main St.
For North Station Commuters, the Morning Outbound and Evening Inbound routes remain largely the same:
If you are an EZRide North Station bound passenger, you will board and exit at the same stops as you currently board and exit at both ends of the day, with the exception of the stop relocation and additional stops at Kendall Square.
Morning Inbound and Evening Outbound changed to accommodate NorthWest Shuttle riders:
The Morning Inbound route from Cambridgeport (Erie Street), operates via Pacific St., Albany St., and Vassar St. before reaching Kendall Square. Stops will be made at all MIT Northwest Campus residences, Vassar and Mass. Ave., and the Stata Center (Vassar and Main). The Evening Outbound service will operate from Kendall to Cambridgeport via Memorial Drive, 77 Mass. Ave., Albany St. and Pacific St.
Existing EZRide customers should note that while the outbound schedules will be largely unchanged, inbound service will now depart Cambridgeport (Erie St.), every 10 minutes on the 10's, instead of on the 6’s. Inbound shuttles will depart Kendall Square on the 2's during morning and evening service.
The changes may result in slightly longer rides, or somewhat longer walks to new bus stops, for EZRide and Northwest patrons who currently use either service in the non-peak direction.
If you have any questions or require more information regarding the mergers contact Jim Gascoigne of CRTMA at (617) 324-6119 or Jim@charlesrivertma.org.
For Immediate Release and Distribution
CRTMA is pleased to announce the merger of EZRide Shuttle service with MIT’s NorthWest Shuttle, effective with the start of Morning service on Monday, August 9, 2010. The resulting service will be known as EZRide, and MIT will discontinue its Northwest service. EZRide will continue to operate seven (7) buses during the morning and evening peak commute hours, roughly 6:00-11:00 AM and 3:00-8:00 PM, with service every 10 minutes.
New Midday Service:
The new EZRide will include a midday loop between Kendall Square and a western terminus at MIT’s Sidney Pacific housing from approximately 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM, running every 20 minutes. There will be no midday service between Kendall Square and North Station. EZRide midday will be open to the public under the existing EZRide fare structure (free to affiliates of sponsor institutions with pass/ID, or for a cash fare for the general public).
Relocated Kendall Square stops:
Route and stops remain the same between North Station and Kendall Square for the morning and evening peak commute hours, with one significant change. EZRide stops will now be located in front of The MIT Press Building, 292 Main Street (E38) just outside the MBTA Red Line Inbound headhouse. This change will enable EZRide to provide service to MIT Sloan School. Additional Kendall area stops will be at Amherst & Wadsworth Streets, and on Ames St. between Amherst St. and Main St.
For North Station Commuters, the Morning Outbound and Evening Inbound routes remain largely the same:
If you are an EZRide North Station bound passenger, you will board and exit at the same stops as you currently board and exit at both ends of the day, with the exception of the stop relocation and additional stops at Kendall Square.
Morning Inbound and Evening Outbound changed to accommodate NorthWest Shuttle riders:
The Morning Inbound route from Cambridgeport (Erie Street), operates via Pacific St., Albany St., and Vassar St. before reaching Kendall Square. Stops will be made at all MIT Northwest Campus residences, Vassar and Mass. Ave., and the Stata Center (Vassar and Main). The Evening Outbound service will operate from Kendall to Cambridgeport via Memorial Drive, 77 Mass. Ave., Albany St. and Pacific St.
Existing EZRide customers should note that while the outbound schedules will be largely unchanged, inbound service will now depart Cambridgeport (Erie St.), every 10 minutes on the 10's, instead of on the 6’s. Inbound shuttles will depart Kendall Square on the 2's during morning and evening service.
The changes may result in slightly longer rides, or somewhat longer walks to new bus stops, for EZRide and Northwest patrons who currently use either service in the non-peak direction.
If you have any questions or require more information regarding the mergers contact Jim Gascoigne of CRTMA at (617) 324-6119 or Jim@charlesrivertma.org.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Fishing for pollution in the Atlantic
Researchers from the Sea Education Association have removed tens of thousands of plastic fragments from the Atlantic Ocean over the past six weeks in what many believe is just a small part of a giant collection of debris in the middle of the ocean.
In their search for marine pollution, crew members of the expedition found more than 48,000 plastic fragments, most no larger than a pencil eraser, of the type of plastic used in bags, straws, bottle caps, and other household materials floating throughout the Sargasso Sea, a region in the middle of the North Atlantic extending south and east of Bermuda
Continue reading http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/14/fishing_for_pollution_in_the_atlantic/
Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Marissa Lang
Monday, July 12, 2010
Solar farm planned for Canton landfill
A solar farm could begin sprouting on about half of the Pine Street landfill as early as this fall. Town Manager Bill Friel said negotiations are moving along well on a long-term lease and power purchase agreement with Virgo Energy of California and Southern Sky Renewable Energy for the town-owned capped landfill.
Read more http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2010/07/11/solar_farm_planned_for_canton_landfill/
Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by E. Cushman Carroll
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Massive oil-skimmer latest weapon in fight
NEW ORLEANS — With hurricane-whipped waves pushing more oil onto the Gulf of Mexico’s once-white beaches, the government pinned its latest cleanup hopes yesterday on a huge new piece of equipment: the world’s largest oil-skimming vessel.
The Taiwanese-flagged former tanker named A Whale is the length of 3 1/2 football fields and stands 10 stories high. It just emerged from an extensive retrofitting to prepare it specifically for the gulf, where officials hope it will be able to suck up as much as 21 million gallons of oil-fouled water per day
Story courtesy of The Associated Press by Tom Breen and Jay Reeves
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