Moving Beyond the Automobile

I'm discovering an untapped resource for all things nerdy and dear to my heart :)

The folks at Streetsblog, through their film organ, Streetfilms, have been releasing films for years that get to the core of many of our most pressing urban problems in a fun and visually stimulating way.

Many of their subjects are ones I've already tackled here at Green My Fleet, like car-sharing, bike-sharing, electric cars, congestion pricing, walkability, and public transit. Others are more far-reaching and poignant than I could possibly get on this blog.

My favorite part about their new series, Moving Beyond the Automobile, is their roundtable of celebrity (kind of :p) panelists who talk about the steps they are taking to move their cities in a progressive, less car-dependent direction.

Here's their promo:

Today is an exciting day here at Streetfilms as we are officially announcing the debut of our 10-part series "Moving Beyond the Automobile" (MBA).  Each Tuesday over the next ten weeks, tune in to Streetfilms as we'll be posting a new chapter about smart and proven strategies to reduce traffic and improve street safety for all users. 

We'll be tackling many fascinating topics in the next few months from "Bus Rapid Transit" to "Congestion Pricing" to "Car Share" to show how each can help people to use cars less - or not at all. 

We've been out talking to the experts.  Well-respected voices like former Bogotá mayor Enrique Peñalosa, Tri-state Transportation's Kate Slevin, Commissioner of NYC Department of Transportation Janette Sadik-Khan, Portland's Mayor Sam Adams, former 4-term Mayor of Milwaukee, and President of the Congress for New Urbanism John Norquist and dozens of other transportation authorities across the country to get their input and advice. 

At about the halfway point of the series, we'll also be posting a MBA curriculum that includes lessons and discussion points for each of these fun and important films. Streetfilms would like to thank The Fund for the Environment & Urban Life for making this series possible.

MBA_Trailer from Streetfilms on Vimeo.


If you have a spare moment, I'd definitely encourage to check out their weekly web series, starting every Tuesday on February 15th!

Plastic Waste Output as a Component of Sustainable Purchasing

One of the major shortcomings with current green fleet modernization is its lack of focus on the total environmental impacts (or "carbon footprint" if we wanna get really technical) of its operations from a lifecycle analysis standpoint.

In other words, how can we calculate the energy savings or emissions reductions that take place apart from the emissions created by vehicles themselves? After all, vehicles not only produce emissions from the fuel they burn, but require a series of maintenance products that consume a variety of plastics and hazardous wastes with significant environmental impacts of their own. Even recycling plastic or paper products creates harmful emissions that are seldom included in lifecycle analysis. This recognition has led to the development of "Sustainable Purchasing" policies in many cities including Seattle, which attempt to procure maintenance and supply products from the most environmentally-friendly source. However, green fleet modernization schemes like Evergreen Fleets have yet to incorporate sustainable purchasing into their official Best Practices.

This story from Inhabitat examined an interesting project recently completed by students at Northeastern University, under guidance of Professor Yiannis Levendis. Their plastic waste compactor converts plastic into electric energy without harmful emissions of traditional recycling. Over 20 years in development, this type of compactor could be very useful as a new Best Practice to incorporate in green fleet modernization.

Photo Credit: Mary Knox Merrill

Via: Physorg