America Ends its Affair With Autos


Last Saturday, Lady Liberty formally announced that her long-standing affair with the automobile was over, once and for all. The original Miss America decided to call it off in honor of the New York Auto Show, with support from her friends at Streetsblog.

Streetsblog staged the event, dubbed “The End of The Affair,” at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan, where the auto show is held annually.

In California, it Pays Not to Park


If someone paid you to park your car at home and find an alternate way to get to work, would you take the money and run? Angelenos and commuters throughout California are cashing in on a new program that pays them to take transit or their own two legs, instead of their cars.

Ethanol Production is Spreading the Dead Zone


The large “dead zone” that grows in the Gulf of Mexico every summer is nothing new. The toxic runoff of nitrogen fertilizer used on conventional crops in the Midwest leads to a huge swathe of sea that is incapable of sustaining life.

Corn is the biggest culprit in creating these environments, and now that the U.S. is looking to biofuels as a solution to its energy needs, the problem's only getting worse. Bush signed legislation at the end of 2007 that will triple the amount of corn ethanol produced over the next several years.

New York City Council Approves Congestion Pricing


On Monday, the New York City Council voted to in favor of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s proposal to introduce congestion pricing on the clogged streets of Gotham. The measure passed in a 30-20 vote. It’s up to state legislators in Albany to pass the plan before it can be implemented. If Albany does approve the measure, the city would be eligible for $354 million in federal grants for improvements to existing mass transit.

Spring Break Trip Promotes California's High-Speed Rail


Rather than partake in the typical booze-binging spring break run to Mexico, fifty college students from all over California converged in San Francisco to show their support for the proposed statewide high-speed rail system. The students are members of CALPIRG, an environmental-advocacy organization that has set approval of the high-speed rail project as its top priority.

Pimp Your Ride, Light Your Bike!


Hip ways to light your ride! The Turn Signal Biking Jacket features LED signals built around a LilyPad Arduino microprocessor; Pedalites replace a bike's stock pedals and provide 360 degree battery-free lighting for visibility from all sides; The Puma Glow Rider, due out this spring, adds a glow-in-the-dark frame to their Urban Mobility Bike line.

U.K. Alliance Fights 4x4s on Urban Streets

The U.K.-based group The Alliance Against Urban 4x4’s is taking a stand against superfluous sports utility vehicles. Their blog, photos, demonstrations, and videos share a quirky sense of humor but take pollution seriously. The Alliance reveals the dangers and environmental damage of 4x4 vehicles, and their sheer ridiculousness—especially on crowded, narrow city roads, and their popularity in a time of climate change and ecological crisis.

Austin Okays Parking in Bike Lane

In Austin, Texas, the City Council voted to allow vehicle parking in the bike lane on Shoal Creek Blvd., a major thoroughfare for cars and cyclists. Local residents were engaged in a tussle with the city of Austin over this bike lane for several years, until the cars finally won out.

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