Making Getting Around Easier
Singapore and London have implemented congestion pricing schemes and now possibly soon New York will follow as first steps in programs to clean the air, reduce congestion & pollution costs and improve the quality of life and public transport. Fossil fueled vehicles are likely to become cost-ineffective dinosaurs in cities first, hopefully precipitating a trend that will spread outward from urban cores. Congestion pricing has as much to due with changing traffic & transportation patterns as is does with behavior modification of both the people who plan and use them. It is a first step on the road to planned obsolescence of petroleum fueled vehicles and their replacement both by less destructive fuel systems and more efficient public transportation in urban areas where air quality really suffers and residents pay an additional carbon based lung tax with every breath.
Hard to Break AddictionsLess traffic and more efficient transportation may eventually lead to the development of cost effective 'people mover' type technologies, ZipCars being a first iteration of this in the US and the personalized people movers planned in the UAE a second. It also offers a significant opportunity to begin replacing roadbeds with pervious surfaces better for both walking and run-off control and ultimately leading to a reduction in the pavement area needed to support traffic. Nicky Gavron, the Deputy Mayor of London makes clear, well thought out points that are based on the practical experience of the large scale implementation of congestion pricing in a big city. The system in London works even though the US Embassy, for example, has gained local notoriety for its refusal to pay its congestion charges.
Central LondonOne of the most important points Deputy Mayor Gavron made was the importance of 'doing your homework so as to have answers ready for the questions your constituents will inevitably ask about how it will affect them.' One of her main goals was to make the last mile home a safe and enjoyable commute for everyone. When you change the pattern of transportation you make the look and feel of the streets better which causes a boom in people outside on the streets and leads to a general improvement in sidewalk amenities across the board. "Right now we are feeling the effects of oil burned in the 1950's. Today we use the same amount of oil in 6 weeks we used in a year back then. The consensus is we have 10 years to stop runaway climate change. One of the principle ways we can do this is to reduce fossil fueled car & truck use which accounts for 60-70% of CO2 (and other) greenhouse gasemissions," Nicky Gavron."London introduced congestion pricing as a first step. It was done against hysterical and sustained press opposition and after a London City Government was re-instated after having been abolished 14 years previously by PM Margaret Thatcher. "At that time London had the worst air quality, in terms of nitrous oxides and particulate matter at street level of any city in Europe. At baby carriage level this meant children were getting advanced placement in Asthma from the cradle on."As part of congestion pricing, London decided that buses were the most cost effective and immediate way to get people moving quickly. Using established techniques such as dedicated lanes, express buses and developing a reliable schedule TfL started overhauling the bus system.
The JamAfter congestion pricing was implemented, all bus schedules had to be changed because all the buses started running ahead of schedule for the first time in memory. There was a strong bias against using buses due to Margaret Thatchers famous remark 'if you are seen on a bus after 30, you are a loser in life.' A perception that took some effort to change so that the bus system is now perceived as classless.' Modern, convenient and on time scheduled transportation have done a lot to change that previous view. Doing the advance research and groundwork is really important to get congestion pricing implementation right. In addition to dedicated bus and bicycle lanes you need:-reliable number (license) plate recognition technology
-reliable comfortable and timely bus service
-resident discounts
-free weekends
-local resident parking permits
-vouchers for visitors
-exceptions for alternatively fueled vehicles, hybrids & handicapped
-and multiple payment technology optionsIn London's case one can be billed, pay online, pay by text message or just about any other variation you can think of. Also London has worked out schemes to keep neighborhoods on the periphery of the central zone from becoming in Nicky Gavron's phrase : 'Rat Runs' places where drivers descend en masse upon to avoid the central zone charges passing through or leaving their vehicles to clog these border or peripheral areas with traffic, parked vehicles and noxious fumes. The system works in London. Councilman Goia from LIC District in New York states that we already have a pricing regime that encourages rat running in NYC and helps put asthma inhalers in kid's pockets. So implementing an actual charge that can be put into the transportation coffers is not such a big step since commuters are already paying the costs but getting no benefits.
A Google ViewNumbers:
Some features and statistics. Residents of London's central zone receive a discount of upto 90%, alternatively fueled vehicles go free, wherever they come from. The number of cars in the central zone is down 30%, traffic in general is down 25%, 60% switched the means of their commutes while there was no overall change in the number of commutes. Like in London over 40% of New Yorkers do not have cars so the majority of people already use public transport. The system costed about 190 million sterling to setup and costs about 95 million sterling to run annually in Central London. It generates about 212 million in revenue of which 120 million is reinvested back into the system. Particularly into freight transfer centers which act as joint depots for the delivery of materials, goods and cargo. It seems to have had a neutral impact on businesses, some business have benefitted other niche businesses have been forced to relocate to different parts of London indirectly stimulating those neighborhoods with unexpected new development. There have been increases in average speed and people feel much better about their streets.
Lagos Rush HourThe program affected about 15% of Londoners, 10% of car commuters but the 10% of shoppers who journey by car stayed the same. Tourists, commuters in general and cyclists seem to have benefited. Their successful implementation shows the importance of getting your technology and monitoring right and take into account the public. Congestion pricing leads to and can encourage emissions influenced charges effectively a system of differential charges based on tailpipe outfalls. It will encourage the use of alternatively fueled vehicles and help create the market infrastructure to produce, fuel and maintain them. Effectively stimulating growth from the center out. Vehicles, especially commercial ones, are often replaced in a 6-10 year cycle as they live out their appointed lifespans. This can lead to a significant change in vehicle composition in only a space of 10 years. Congestion pricing is a tool to get there. Effectively an aging, congested transportation system already levies a time and a gas tax on business. Who if they change their vehicle types go free or at a reduced rates of 33% which would give them and advantage over their competition and result in more available loans for vehicle change-over, lower cost insurance and other benefits such as cutting down on vehicular emissions which affect the public health because as a recent USC study has shown 50% children who grow up withing 500 meters of a expressways have lung damage by the age of 10.Things that can be done now with little or now capital outlay:
-Intermodal Hubs
-Express Bus service
-Commuter Rail access
-Light Rail Expansion is necessary but more expensive so comes later. Congestion pricing also effectively changes the pattern of real estate and business development by feeing up resources and giving people a different route for the last mile home. For example New York's transportation system was mostly designed 100 years ago to bring workers from the Boros to industry in Manhattan. The city has changed a lot since then and so has the demand for better interboro, interregional, intermodal passenger & freight connexions.
New York, Same ProblemsMaking the right economic choices for the future helps. Congestion pricing is a tool that Singapore & London have used to get on that road to regional transportation systems that work better and ecourage the purchase and use of fossil fuel free personal and commercial vehicles. Planned implementations, are likely to be criticized in the press as some kind of social engineering from the top down whether the result is ultimately good or bad. Sometimes it takes the carrot and the stick to get a slow moving beast on the right road. For More information:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

The New York Times wrote about US brands that now make their way into recycling by shrinkening the packages of their products. Coca Cola and Mc Donald's for instances - by simply showing the new and old wrapping the paper makes this point. Here the whole text:May 12, 2007
Incredible Shrinking Packages
By CLAUDIA H. DEUTSCHMarketers usually boast about what they have added to their products. Increasingly, though, they are bragging about what they are taking out — by cutting down on packaging and its impact on the environment.Procter & Gamble, for example, has introduced rigid tubes for Crest toothpaste that can be shipped and displayed on shelves without boxes. Aveda, a beauty products company, is expected to soon roll out a men’s care line that is packaged in bottles made of 95 percent recycled materials.And Coca-Cola plans to cut the plastics in its Dasani water bottles by 7 percent over the next five years, just by tweaking the shape of the bottle and the cap.“Waste of any kind is inefficiency, and inefficiency equals cost,” said Scott Vitters, Coca-Cola’s director of sustainable packaging.The number of companies making such changes is growing sharply, as they try to reduce costs and address growing environmental concerns.And their ranks are expected to grow even more, because of Wal-Mart Stores. The world’s largest retailer, known for pressuring vendors to lower their prices, has begun pushing its 66,000 vendors to get rid of excess packaging.Wal-Mart has promised to become “packaging neutral” by 2025. That means that, through recycling, reusing or perhaps even composting, it will try to recover as much material as was used in the packaging that flows through its stores.To reach that goal, it is enlisting the help of vendors to cut back on their packaging — for the products themselves and by using less shrink wrap or cardboard for shipping.Wal-Mart introduced a “packaging scorecard” in February that lets vendors rate themselves on criteria like the ratio of package size to product and whether the package uses recycled material. The company may even pay more for products with better packaging, as long as it can recoup the money through recycling revenue or lowered disposal costs.“The consumer will see the same price, we’ll just be getting some of our money at the back end,” said Matt Kistler, a senior vice president for Sam’s Club, a unit of Wal-Mart.In fact, many companies began tinkering with their packaging long before Wal-Mart entered the fray. They do not expect consumers to buy their products purely for the package — but they are hoping that “greener” packages will give them a competitive edge over similar products, even as they hold down costs.And many companies that do not even distribute through Wal-Mart are also pushing to streamline packaging.Estée Lauder, for one, spent more than a year working with aluminum smelters to design tubes and caps made from 80 percent recycled aluminum. Much of the packaging of its holiday gift boxes is now made from recycled paper. And its Origins line is expected to soon ship only in folding cartons made with solar, wind or other clean energies.Environmental groups are playing their part, too. Four years ago, Environmental Defense, which was instrumental in getting McDonald’s to give up plastic foam clamshell packages in 1991, devised a calculator that enables package designers to compare the weight, recycled content and performance traits of about 20 materials.Recently, the tool was adopted by GreenBlue, a nonprofit research institute that operates the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. The Environmental Protection Agency has given GreenBlue a grant of $150,000 to further refine the tool.“Packaging offers major opportunities for reducing energy use and greenhouse gases, and for saving the $4 billion worth of materials that now ends up in landfills,” said Matt Hale, director of the agency’s Office of Solid Waste.Environmentalists applaud Wal-Mart’s involvement, but they want more. Environmental Defense, for example, wants Wal-Mart to give greater weight to greenhouse gases emitted when the paper, plastic or other packaging material are made — and to methane emitted from landfills if the final package is dumped.“We want them to look harder at the greenhouse gases associated with the package’s entire life cycle,” said Gwen Ruta, director of corporate partnerships for Environmental Defense, which is working with Wal-Mart to upgrade the scorecard.Many suppliers say they welcome the scrutiny from Wal-Mart. Nestlé Waters North America, which owns Poland Spring, Deer Park and other brands, said that it had saved 20 million pounds of paper in the last five years by using narrower labels on many bottles.It recently switched to clear caps that are more easily recycled. And it is rolling out half-liter bottles that contain 12.5 grams of plastics, among the lightest water bottles around.“I’m pretty sure we’ll score an A; let’s see if it translates into more business,” said Kim E. Jeffery, chief executive of Nestlé Waters, part of Nestlé.Many of the easy changes to packages have already been made. Beverage cans are much lighter than they were 10 years ago, and most use recycled aluminum. Deodorants are rarely packed in separate boxes now. Shipping cartons contain large percentages of recycled fiber.But a dearth of municipal programs to collect recyclable materials may hamper further progress. The E.P.A. is trying to persuade local governments that recycling makes economic sense. “It’s a useful argument with city councils,” Mr. Hale said.Another hurdle is that the need for durable, attractive packaging still bumps up against many plans to make packages green.McDonald’s, for example, has been steadily reducing the amount of virgin paper and plastic in the boxes that hold its fries and the lids that top its coffee cups.But when it tried shipping toys, cups and other nonfood items to its restaurants in biodegradable packages, the company found they could not withstand the heat inside the trucks. And it had to use more virgin fiber to attain the whiteness of its food bags.“We’re offsetting it with other package reductions, but that white bag is important to the brand,” said Bob Langert, the vice president for corporate social responsibility.Wal-Mart, too, has had to compromise. It tried biobased plastics for the 50-pound bags of dog food it sold at Sam’s Club, but they failed to provide an effective barrier to moisture and oxygen. So Sam’s has switched to bags made from woven conventional plastics.Even Marcal Paper, which sells paper products made from 100 percent recycled fiber, uses some polyethylene film for packaging. The film is easily molded to the product, and lets the customer see the contents, explained Peter A. Marcalus, a senior vice president.Packages that seem, at first glance, to be environmentally sound can create other problems. When bottles made of biobased plastics like polylactic acid are recycled along with conventional plastic bottles, they create a mix of molecules that is hard to reuse. And reusable containers, be they refillable glass bottles or stainless steel canisters, require a lot of energy to transport and to clean for reuse.Consumer behavior presents its own challenges, since smaller packages can appear to be more expensive than those with more packaging.Coke recently redesigned its classic contour bottles to be lighter and more impact-resistant. The new bottle looks smaller. “Our challenge is persuading consumers that they are getting the same volume in a better bottle,” Mr. Vitters said.Mr. Jeffery of Nestlé Waters said the company would begin an education campaign around its new bottles to “make sure that customers don’t think the bottles feel lighter because they hold less water.”And sometimes, aesthetics will trump environmentalism in the end, anyway. That recycled aluminum that Estée Lauder fought so hard for does not shine up well, and some of the brands refuse to use it.“That shiny cap is part of Clinique’s brand image,” said John A. Delfausse, vice president for package development at Estée Lauder. “And they will not switch.”

Tamara Giltsoff is the MD of OZOlab. OZOlab creates and markets eco businesses. She writes regularly for Treehugger.com on service innovation and green growth. We spoke with her in New York.
What is OZOcar about?OZOcar is a 'luxury' eco car/taxi service in New York. It competes with the black Town Car/limousine services that ferry corporate execs all over the city and are used as a bookable taxi service by individuals. OZOcars are all hybrid Toyota Pruis' (and some Lexus') – each equipped with wifi, XM radio, AC power (to charge laptops/phones) and access to an Apple laptop. And all the drivers are trained to give personal customer service and invited to engage in the success of the company.We often talk about OZOcar being the 'first seed of green' for many. OZO exists to make sustainable living a desirable and intuitive choice. Does it make sense to drive a car in Manhattan at all – even though it is a not so emissive one?I don't drive in the city, but occassionally I need to take a taxi. The subway is excellent in Manhattan, but connections to the airport aren't great for instance. It's not an integrated transport system here. And sometimes, when there is an important meeting and work to be done on the way, yes it makes sense. OZOcar makes much more sense than sitting in a car twice as big that burns more twice as much as fuel with less than half the service experience. How do you see the future of individual mobility?I see the future of individual mobility not being 'individual'. This is a huge leap of faith, particularly in the US. Each time I've written a piece about this on Treehugger.com I get a barrage of comments from (rightly) cynical readers who assure me that Americans will never give up the (big) cars they own and certainly will never share them. "This country was founded on the notion of property and ownership", I am told. But here's a thing: We have reached peak oil. No one really talks about this. I saw a great film The Crude Awakening the other day. I live and breathe this stuff, but I was even surprised about soon there will no more fuel for us to be driving around like loonies in cars 40 times our weight. Couple this with pro-social trends sweeping the networked society and the rise of community supported initiatives and cooperative models, that are changing our notion of property and single ownership.I am not saying we are all going to ride-share, but I do think that it will soon/is already beginning to be socially un-acceptable to sit in traffic alone in a large car amongst thousands of others doing the same. Living in the US and the UK – do you see any difference in the level of awareness of the people regarding ecology / climate change and a difference in the consumer reaction?I am going to talk about the market not people. And by that I mean consumers and businesses because one responds to the other. Since I left the UK, exactly a year ago, awareness levels have tipped there largely because of consistently provocative and brilliant media coverage (God bless The Guardian, The Independent, The BBC, and George Monbiot) as well sustainable development becoming a political obsession. I am very proud to hear about the innovative policy debate around sustainability building momentum in the UK; I also want to see market action. A year ago I would've responded by saying that in the UK we are ahead on policy (compared to the US), but the market is slow to respond and is stuck in a "I will if you do" situation (waiting for gov to implement policy before market innovation). Today I might be disagreeing with myself. Marks & Spencers are case in point. They have put sustainability at the strategic heart of the organisation; it is a business issue but also a problem opportunity. M&S are using their presence as a retailor to demonstrate their role and the opportunity to consumers, inviting them to participate in sustainable consumption and "look behind the label". This is strategy, not reaction. Plus, eight major companies in the UK (including M&S) have rallied together to unveil "We Are In This Together", a campaign to provide consuemrs with compelling products and services that make it easy to reduce their CO2. (Check this at www.together.com/solutions)
The US in contrast to the UK 'is' an enterprising nation. It responds and is somewhat largely led by markets, not policy. Hence, this country is in trouble because it's the world's greatest consumer of natural resources and because central policy has chosen, until recently, to ignore this. So the market kicked in and change started to happen.

Margaret Lydecker manages green drinks New York a monthly gathering of about 600 people thinking and working in the environmental sector.greendrinks.org is represented in more than 100 cities around the globe, green drinkers have one venture in common: to dicuss solutions for global warming and environment question in an open and relaxed form. Everybody is welcome. Check out green drinkers inyour neighborhood here.

Lots of folks are very quick to critize that the US isn´t really doing much to protect the environment. But when you look closer, this isn´t true at all. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) carbon monoxide emissions between 2000 and 2004 increased by 1.7 percent in the largest economically advanced nation under the sun, while in the member states of the EU during the same time period the average increase was 5 percent - even though economic and population growth was higher there than in the countries of the European Union.An overall American agenda for climate and environmental protection does not exist. Many of the states, on the other hand, have created new realities through amendments that have come into force regardless whether the state is governed by Republicans or Democrats. In Wyoming and Alaska energy consumption per capita is far above the US average, while in California and the New England State of Rhode Island on the east coast it is so low that these two states can keep pace with international comparisons in their handling of resources and exhaust emissions.California, the most populated and economically powerful state in the USA, is the trendsetter in environmental legislation. For generations the people in West Virginia have lived from coal mining. Here an acceleration of environmental laws is not given much support for obvious reasons.Seven states in the northeast – Delaware, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Vermont – joined together in 2005 as a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). They want to reach a ten percent reduction of carbon dioxide emission by the year 2018.

The member States of the Regional Greenhouse Gas InitiativeThe federal government appears to be altering the focus of their climate change policies. Already in 2006 President Bush lamented the dependence of American on oil imports. In the meantime the White House seems to be convinced that climate change is expedited by humankind. In spite of this the US government is not setting a maximum limit to toxic emissions, but is relying rather on the promotion of innovative technology and environmentally compatible energy sources.

American President Bush and Brasilien President da Silva after signing an agreement on economic cooperation at Mar 10th 2007The world’s largest quantity of environmentally sound ethanol is produced from corn in the USA. President Bush recently signed an agreement on economic cooperation with the Brazilian president. Brazil is the world’s second largest producer of ethanol.

Well its official, Chicago is the United States' City of the Future. UrbanLab was voted Winner of City of the Future Design Challenge. This Chicago team wins a $10,000 prize and some recognition. All the contestants addressed future engineering challenges to the built environment faced by cities in the coming century.

Here in the US the History Channel sponsored a competition of visionary ideas based on the 'Engineering an Empire Series.' While it has a kind of Sim City approach to Urban Planning look to it, the competition showcased some illuminating ideas for New York, Chicago & Los Angeles. Some of them take into account sealevels upto 4 meters higher and temperatures that will approach those of the last interglacial period. Think grapevines in Scotland and Palm Trees in New York. Urban Labs winning proposal featured a series of eco-boulevards, 300 ft wide canals filled with different vegetation and habitats including savanahs, marshes & dunes. All native to the Chicago area. These canals would run through the city every half mile and would biologically filter and clean runoff from the city and the waters of nearby Lake Michigan. 21st Century bio-active versions of theChicago Ship & Sanitary canal.

ARO’s plan for New York came in second, and the scheme for LA by Eric Owen Moss in third. For New York City I particularly like the self propelled islands that move around Manhattan and can have various functions. We saw something like that earlier this year with Robert Smithson's postumous project. Perhaps with rising sea levels the future holds something like that for the world's oceans. Hydropolises that manoeuvre with the current and alter course away from weather obstacles as they cruise around the planet like mini citystates, large ships or mobile duty free ports.

Unfortunately their are no plans for a new 'Urban Makeover Competition' television series this season.
But you can tune in live this afternoon, from 12pm-3pm GMT -5 and listen to the 2010 Imperative Webcast featuring James Hansen from NASA and a cast of Architectural Luminaries. Sponsored by the New York Academy of Science.

2010 Imperative

Once many small rivers in the northeastern United States had pocket hydropower stations that supplied clean, easy to tap hydroelectric power to municipalities and local industries. These were largely phased out and supplanted by large dams and by monolithic power authorities in the 1950's & 60's.Most of these stations are no more but a few small facilities have been restored and there is great interest putting the machinery back in some of the old stone power-plant buildings and spillways.

Photo by Kit Latham: Housatonic River, MassachusettsNew York City on the other hand is trying out a tidal electric installation on the bottom of a river. Verdant Power, a developer of free-flow turbine systems recently began installing its new kinetic hydropower plant in New York City's East River. The East River is a tidal estuary that runs right by Manhattan through the middle of New York City. Tides flow through the river which connects New York harbor with Long Island Sound and can sometimes run in excess of 8 knots, fast enough to roll good sized boulders along the bottom of the river according to some coast guard personnel. The Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project (RITE) seeks to harness the potential kinetic energy of the river's motion by installing free-flow hydopower turbines on the riverbed. These turbines resemble smaller versions of wind turbines often seen on land using the flow of water instead of air to generate energy potential.

The first two of the six turbines were deployed on December 11th and 12th of 2006, the remaining four turbines will be installed in the first part of April for an 18 months test. One of the initial turbines has a dynamometer to measure load factors and the other turbine contains a power generation system.According to Trey Taylor at Verdant Technologies the turbines are being put through their operational paces in their first 5 weeks with following results:• 40 days of continuous operation (about 155 tides)
• 100% turbine availability during that period.
• reached or exceeded every performance specification
• world's first grid-connected power without any switching or power-quality problems
• generated power to the grid 77% of the time
• performed equally well in both tide directions, another first
• average power output during tidal generation periods of 14.5 kW
• average energy production of 270 kWh/day = 8.1MWh/month = 97 MWh/yr
• generated a total of over 10 MWh

This underwater turbine farm is completely submerged but essentially located directly in front of the United Nations Building, not a bad location for the first test of its kind in the United States.