[CitizensTruth] Grow, Transport

[Daniel Stafford]

Grow <http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500318617>, (Airs Tuesday, 
May 20th at 9pm Eastern & Pacific, 30 minutes) is the next episode in 
the Sundance Channel's <http://www.sundancechannel.com> "Big Ideas For a 
Small Planet 
<http://www.sundancechannel.com/series/thegreen_bigideas_2>" series.

Featuring three examples of ways to increase urban green space, Grow 
<http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500318617> begins with green roofs 
in the Bronx, featuring the South Bronx municipal courthouse, and an 
individual home owner's green roof being installed. Grow 
<http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500318617> gives a thorough 
reasoning for doing green roofs, and covers many of the benefits such 
roofing methods create, including tripling the life of the roofing 
material and significantly reducing heat load on the building.

Next, Grow <http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500318617> moves into 
xeriscaping, the art of using local native plant life to replace the 
traditional lawn in order to drastically reduce watering needs and 
increase habitat area for local species of bird and insect life. 
Focusing mostly on Phoenix, Arizona and touching lightly on California, 
this segment lays out a powerful case for rethinking suburban landscapes.

Finally, instant parks are featured, springing up in twenty minutes all 
across the country. The sheer joy of urbanites able to wiggle their bare 
toes in the grass is uplifting, and there are some statistical reasons 
that you'll want to know about for your own sake in this segment.

For an uplifting and hopeful dose of greenery, tune into Grow 
<http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500318617> tomorrow night at 9pm.

----------------------------------------


Transport <http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500318643> follows the 
following Tuesday, May 29th, at 9pm Eastern & Pacific. (Run time 30 
minutes)

Following the three example format, Transport 
<http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500318643> leads off with the New 
York City transportation district's multiple-method approach to 
increasing transportation efficiency and reducing energy consumption, 
emissions, and congestion. Bicycle lane improvements, interconnection, 
and increases is a major portion of the plan, followed closely by bus 
rapid transit lanes, increased commuter rail, and far more.

The next, and I think most uplifting segment, features bicycling efforts 
in Portland, Oregon and Boise, Idaho. Especially in Portland, bicycles 
are a major factor in sustainable transportation, increased fitness, 
lowered stress, and best of all, community spirit. Featuring numerous 
bicycling events and conveniences, Portland bikers actually talk to each 
other as they ride, a stark contrast to my experiences on Chicago 
mass-transit, where people kind of freak out if you say "hello."

Finally, Transport <http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500318643> 
takes a ride into the future, with the development process of the City 
Car, an all-electric, stackable vehicle for lease. This vehicle concept 
just plain makes a ton of sense, and when implemented, will greatly 
reduce carbon emissions for short urban trips.

I've seen studies that indicate we could power 75% of the current U.S. 
vehicle fleet with electricity produced by power plants idling over 
night and not add a single extra plant or burn any extra fuel. Given 
City Car's range and battery duration, a lot of these cars could charge 
at night and take advantage of wated night-time electrical production. 
Although this point isn't mentioned in Transport 
<http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500318643>, it is logical that 
this would be a net positive result of using this concept.

In all, Transport <http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500318643> gives 
a great hope for the future of urban transportation and overall 
well-being of those who live and commute around American cities.

Tune in next Tuesday at 9pm.

Regards,

Dan Stafford
Publisher,
The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal 
<http://www.whizzyrds.com/Windblog.html>
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