Its terrible, I don’t even remember the proper name. I couldn’t even find a link after checking for a few minutes on the TransLink website.  They do a lot of things right in terms of web 2.0 communications, but I’m not crazy about their web page. On Saturday, I did a little volunteering for the Cooperative Auto Network (CAN) at one of these fairs. Its basically all about helping people get around during the Olympics. TransLink was there, so was the City of Vancouver, CAN, Zip Car and the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition. They had it down at the West End community centre this time but apparently they have been having these all over the city. The turnout was not bad considering how miserable the weather was. Lots of people came by to ask me about the Car Co-op which was great. What was even better is that I wasn’t on my own. Assisting someone else is far less stressful. And who wants a stressful, rainy Saturday. The most stressful part of my day was all the traffic I saw while driving to my hockey game.

Everyone was great and I definitely think a few more people are thinking about getting rid of their car in favour of a membership, which is awesome.

I’ve been to a couple so far, but I’d love to be more involved in events like this through the ministry.

Il Carsharing e´ un nuovo servizio di trasporto individuale ma in comune, è soprattutto un servizio di mobilità sostenibile. Con un abbonamento annuale e attraverso una prenotazione, consente di muoversi liberamente senza dover possedere un´auto di proprieta´, senza le spese e gli oneri di gestione , ma condividendo l´uso di un parco vetture distribuito sulla citta´. E´ la tua auto in comune ! La stessa vettura e´ messa a disposizione di più utenti iscritti al Servizio e quindi usata singolarmente da piu´ persone, in momenti differenti nell´arco della giornata. L´auto scelta, da un utilitaria ad un furgone, si puo´ utilizzare 24h su 24, giorno e notte, 365 giorni l´anno, ogni volta che si vuole. Si puo´ utilizzare per il tempo che serve, prenotandola con un anticipo minimo di 15 minuti, da un minimo di un´ ora ad un massimo di 72 ore. Collegandosi al sito dell’Atac Roma è possibile scoprire come funziona il servizio, quali sono vantaggi, i costi e la possibilità di iscriversi direttamente dal sito stesso utilizzando il form presente sul menu di sinistra. Car sharing: per una mobilità sostenibile del comune di Roma. Il Carsharing e´ un nuovo servizio di trasporto individuale ma in comune, è soprattutto un servizio di mobilità sostenibile. Con un abbonamento annuale e attraverso una prenotazione, consente di muoversi liberamente senza dover possedere un´auto di proprieta´, senza le spese e gli oneri di gestione , ma condividendo l´uso di un parco vetture distribuito sulla citta´. E´ la tua auto in comune ! La stessa vettura e´ messa a disposizione di più utenti iscritti al Servizio e quindi usata singolarmente da piu´ persone, in momenti differenti nell´arco della giornata. L´auto scelta, da un utilitaria ad un furgone, si puo´ utilizzare 24h su 24, giorno e notte, 365 giorni l´anno, ogni volta che si vuole. Si puo´ utilizzare per il tempo che serve, prenotandola con un anticipo minimo di 15 minuti, da un minimo di un´ ora ad un massimo di 72 ore. Collegandosi al sito dell’Atac Roma è possibile scoprire come funziona il servizio, quali sono vantaggi, i costi e la possibilità di iscriversi direttamente dal sito stesso utilizzando il form presente sul menu di sinistra. Car sharing: per una mobilità sostenibile del comune di Roma.

Dal 2012, in Olanda, entrerà in vigore la nuova tassa sulla circolazione basata sul numero dei chilometri percorsi e in base al tipo di auto che si ha.
Le auto, a tal fine, verranno dotate di un localizzatore satellitare che misurerà i chilometri percorsi su tutte le strade.
La tassa non implementerà quelle già esistenti ma le sostituirà. L’obiettivo è incentivare il car-sharing, diminuire il traffico e l’emissione dei gas di scarico.

Sono sempre avanti i paesi del nord Europa.
Ci dovremmo pensare anche in Italia a una legge del genere, sicuramente ci sarebbe una rivoluzione, ma forse le persone eviterebbero di prendere l’auto per percorrere 500 m…chissà???!!

L’articolo è su www.omniauto.it

Want to transform urban transit? Take a cue from Google (s GOOG), and invent a better algorithm. Service-based transportation networks offer a key for cities to address urban traffic congestion, encourage adoption of alternative transit and slash greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, says Ryan Chin, a PhD candidate in the Smart Cities research group at MIT. And it will likely be the company with the best algorithm for managing fleets of cars, bicycles, scooters and other transit options, and up to millions of users, that finds a way to cash in on the “Mobility on Demand” trend.

As Chin explained to me for an article on GigaOM Pro this week (our subscription-based research service), the MoD concept involves a comprehensive system in which city residents would be able to rent an electric car, scooter or bicycle when and where they need it in order to bridge the “last mile” gap in many public transit systems (e.g. getting between the subway station and your final destination).

Rather than having to return a vehicle borrowed from a car-sharing network to the station where you picked it up (two-way car sharing, which is what ZipCar offers), you’d be able to drop it off at a station close to your destination (one-way car sharing), and likewise for bikes.

Daimler (s DAI) has a pilot program called car2go in Germany and Austin, Texas, in which registered members can rent a Smart Fortwo car by the minute, hour or day, and then return it to any unoccupied parking space within a set operation area, and there are also examples of MoD-type services run by advertisers through public-private partnerships, explained Chin.

But we have yet to see a company do for MoD, what Zipcar, U-Haul, Hertz and other companies are now doing for 2-way car sharing: build a lasting business out of it, and push it toward the mainstream.

Here’s where the algorithm comes in: Google won the search business by building a better engine than anyone else. The company that outperforms competitors in MoD — always having a vehicle available within a reasonable time, using the least number of vehicles for the largest number of users — said Chin, will be the one that “builds a better engine based on historic and current data than anyone else.”

As we move into the era of Car 2.0 — in which vehicles are connected to the power grid as well as communication networks — an unprecedented amount of data will be collected regarding about where, when and how we drive, fuel up and get around. The trick is to analyze and manage that data, and turn it into something useful.

With processing power in the arsenal, a company could find itself holding a valuable technology for not only consumer transit networks, but also, we’ve explained over on Pro, corporate fleet managers, electric vehicle charging infrastructure providers and even smartphone app developers.

The New York Times’ Green, Inc. blog says “smart appliances” designed to save on energy usage are arriving in stores around the country. The catch: the “smart” grid that would allow these appliances to put their energy-busting technology to work is still a dream on Washington policymakers drawing board.

The toxic stew of chemicals in the Potomac River is killing fish and altering their sexual development, according to the Potomac Conservancy’s annual “State of the Nation’s Rivers” report, covered today in The Washington Post. The report, reportedly, makes no conclusions on the human health impacts. What goes unstated, however, is that our drinking water here in DC comes from the Potomac!

Ryan Avent laments the lack of car sharing in DC, while The Heights Life picks up on the rejoicing on city listservs now that parking-space hogging street cleaning is suspended until the spring.

Washington Business Journal says Montgomery County may opt for a more permanent but costly light rail instead of a bus for the planned 14-mile Clarksburg to Shady Grove line. The vote is set for Nov. 17.

Greater Greater Washington posts on a new report grappling with what the metropolitan DC area will look like in 2050. The take away: Revamping aging suburbs into denser, more pedestrian friendly communities of the future will be no easy task, David Alpert notes.  The Coalition for Smarter Growth is holding a forum tomorrow night.

Park View DC has the goods on last night’s ANC1A meeting in which developers discussed plans for the former Central Union Mission property at the southwest corner of Newton and Georgia Ave.

I thought I might share some world war two propaganda posters with you today. They seem strangely apt, with so much talk now days about waste and recycling.

The suggestion is, perhaps, a tad extreme for wasting that scrap of paper, still…

I can remember (in the UK) during the fifties taking bottles back to the shop in order to get the deposit money back. It was a good idea then…

Car sharing – as important today as it was all those years ago!

Finally, one for the EU court of Human Rights and their ruling that crucifixes should not be displayed in schools. Those wise, learned judges of Strasbourg obviously didn’t know about this when they made their ruling…

If your local council or government elects  not implement this  concept, why not MAKE THEM?  One million people can do anything they set their goals and energies towards. 

 So what is communal car sharing? 

Communal car sharing is a clever variation on short term car rental.  It suits anyone who requires occasional use of a car but cannot afford to buy a car or do not want the burden of vehicle registration, parking and running costs. 

You simply register with the organization running the program, pay a small monthly fee and book the car when you want to use it. To discourage communal car vampirism and to cover running costs, they also charge a small hourly fee for usage. There are no insurance costs, no petrol costs, no registration costs and no paying for repairs.

Car sharing was pioneered in Switzerland and Germany in the late 80’s and has since spread across Europe and North America.  There are currently around 500 communal car sharing companies globally however communal car sharing should be standard practice in ALL developed cities across the world.  Governments are slowly recognizing that communal cars are an environmentally responsible and cost effective alternative to car ownership. 

Communal car sharing means fewer emissions, less parking pressure, less congestion and much less cars on the road.  

A car is a good thing – we all need independence in regards to mobility – however too many cars on our planet (like all things in excess) becomes detrimental. And really, we don’t need them – there is ALWAYS a better way. 

by Dan Sherman

I have friends in Atlanta, New York City, Los Angeles, and even Durham, NC who are Zipcar members.  Despite having an eager 2006 Mazdaspeed6 hibernating in my driveway back home on Long Island, my parents insist that I instead use Zipcar at school.  Why is ZipCar so popular?  And is its strategy of infiltrating colleges around the country creating brand loyalists for life?  My network of 20-somethings provided insight.

My Emory friends are Zipcar members because Atlanta stinks.  Let me clarify—Atlanta stinks without a car.  Students who can afford a car and all the associated costs (driving/shipping it to Atlanta, insurance, gas, maintenance, and astronomical $654 on campus parking) do so in a heartbeat.  However, car sharing best serves the needs of the stereotypical car-less, cash-strapped college student who wonders, “How am I supposed to get food and alcohol?” With a $50/year charge for membership and around $10/hour car pricing, Zipcar has a low initial cost which entices students who drive sporadically or can’t afford having a car full-time.

So why doesn’t everyone have a Zipcar? For one, car sharing completely destroys the element of spontaneity associated with owning a vehicle.  Daily dialogues between my roommates and me go something like this: “Yo, I’m starving, let’s get some Chipotle for lunch. OH WAIT, the Zipcar’s booked until 8 o’clock.  Guess we’re not eating ‘til dinner!”

Zipcar advertises itself as “green” to no end.  I asked a cadre of Gen Yers whether the environmental aspect makes them more positively inclined toward car sharing.  Their response was that the only “green” factor that moved them had dead Presidents on it.

The appeal of Zipcar will most likely continue after my peers graduate and move to cities like New York City, Chicago and Boston.  Even those that anticipate being able to afford a car of their own will likely stick with Zipcar to reduce the expense and hassle of owning a car in the city.  As an added bonus for those from outside the country, a US state license is not required for Zipcar membership.

So it is cool, convenient, and inexpensive but how will they grow?  Will the Echo Boomers continue to use Zipcar even after they leave the cities and move into suburbia?  Probably not, but as long as it continues to communicate a hip image in college towns and large cities, it should maintain its position as the leader in automotive timeshare.

There are undoubtedly too many cars on the road–too many single-user cars that is. There is a growing trend, however, towards carsharing. Carsharing is similar to car rental with the main differences being you can use the carsharing vehicle for as little as a half-hour and the cars are located in the communities rather than at a central car rental location. In short, carsharing serves as a unique cross between a rental car and cab service. This implies that urban dwellers across the Eastern seaboard, Seattle, Chicago, Vancouver, Toronto and even London can take part in an environmental alternative to owning a car.

As a former car owner, I know the need for mobility-independence–the ability to leave the city on a whim; however, as a steward of the environment, I also understand the need to reduce, when possible, my carbon foot print. Well, I recently found a resource that helps to achieve a frequently sought after balance between wanting/needing a car and wanting/needing to help the environment: the Zip-Car.

Zip-Car is a membership based car haring service that includes gas, insurance, maintenance, and 180 miles of free driving. Membership fees vary based on the how you plan to use the vehicle but are generally less expensive than renting car. The fees are considerably lower if you are a student or part of business that takes advantage of the Zip-Cars business-friendly plans.

There are other programs that are starting to pop up, such as Connect by Hertz, but Zip car is still the market leader in the US for now.

Shana Tova loyal Transit Pass readers.  I welcome you all back and wish you all a happy and healthy new year.  In Sunday’s New York Times, long-time columnist Thomas Friedman wrote about the necessity of a hike in the gasoline tax.  Friedman challenges the masculinity of the nation, saying essentially that even the French have more courage to confront their problems than we do.

But are we really that tough? If the metric is a willingness to send troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and consider the use of force against Iran, the answer is yes. And we should be eternally grateful to the Americans willing to go off and fight those fights. But in another way — when it comes to doing things that would actually weaken the people we are sending our boys and girls to fight — we are total wimps. We are, in fact, the wimps of the world. We are, in fact, so wimpy our politicians are afraid to even talk about how wimpy we are.

Friedman goes on to say that America needs a gasoline tax because it would reduce our dependence on foreign oil, spur energy innovation and investment in alternative energies and improve some of our foreign policy issues (and, oh, people might drive less).

Such a tax would make our economy healthier by reducing the deficit, by stimulating the renewable energy industry, by strengthening the dollar through shrinking oil imports and by helping to shift the burden of health care away from business to government so our companies can compete better globally. Such a tax would make our population healthier by expanding health care and reducing emissions. Such a tax would make our national-security healthier by shrinking our dependence on oil from countries that have drawn a bull’s-eye on our backs and by increasing our leverage over petro-dictators, like those in Iran, Russia and Venezuela, through shrinking their oil incomes.

Friedman and I differ on how to spend the money from a gasoline tax.  He would use most of it on the defecit and healthcare.  I would put a gasoline tax toward improving our transportation infrastructure.  However, that’s small chickens compared to the notion of actually having a gasoline tax.

Americans, since the advent of large road building projects and the AAA and truckers’ unions have depended on largely free roads.  Of course there is no such thing as a free road, it gets paid for somehow.  But Americans have never really had to think hard how their roads get paid for.  On the other hand we’re all too well aware of the cost of public transportation, in the form of a fare.  But roads don’t have fares largely, it’s just pay the cost of a car and the gasoline and go driving. There aren’t even significant car taxes or licensing fees to pay for the upkeep of roads.  We like our big government, just not paying for it.

However, a gasoline tax is incredibly important, if for no other reason than we need to wean people from gasoline and cars because they will eventually be largely unaffordable if we keep driving at our current pace.  The whole notion of auto-based cities and suburbs and sprawling exurbs need to become ideas of the past.  The car cannot and should not be eliminated, but this country needs to emphasize the urban, and the car is not a significant part of our urban future.

There is no debating that our country is growing; the US census estimates there will be 392 million people in the country by 2050.  Those new people have to live somewhere, and the formula of quarter acre lots in the suburbs is not sustainable.  We should not and cannot raze the suburbs, but we can make sure that our cities are beacons for the next generation.  In order to do so the transportation networks must be better, more thorough, reliable and affordable.  A gasoline tax would go a long way towards helping to create those necessary infrastructure improvements.

One final thought, how about tax breaks for car sharing?  If the idea is to get people to drive less and own fewer cars, what better way than supporting car sharing systems with essentially subsidized gas?

Ci sono in Italia un sacco di Comuni che fanno azioni e politiche concrete per migliorare le proprie prestazioni ambientali (dai rifiuti alla mobilità, dalla gestione del territorio ai nuovi stili di vita, dall’energie rinnovabili all’impronta ecologica). L’Associazione Comuni virtuosi ne raggruppa alcuni: sul loro sito ci sono molti esempi e buone pratiche. Davvero interessanti, davvero bravi. C’è anche un breve video di presentazione (collegato ad un libro che racconta l’esperienze di questi comuni: “L’anticasta – L’Italia che funziona” di Marco Boschini e Michele Dotti) che pubblico qui.
Ne ha parlato anche il Corriere in un articolo, di Jacomella Gabriela dello scorso 8 settembre, e in un’intervista a Ezio Orzes, assessore all’Ambiente del comune di Ponte nelle Alpi (in provincia di Belluno). Incollo entrambi gli articoli qui sotto (qui trovate il pdf, dove ci sono in più immagini e numeri interessanti).

Focus Stili di vita e società

Il premio Giovedì in Campidoglio a Roma sarà presentato il bando di concorso per la terza edizione Gli esempi Raccolta differenziata all’ 85% a Capannori (Lucca), risparmio energetico a Padova, «matrimoni a mezzanotte» a Cassinetta (Milano)
La gara dei Comuni a cinque stelle
Dalla bioedilizia alla finanza etica, al «car sharing»: come unire vantaggi economici e sviluppo sostenibile
Si possono chiamare in molti modi: Comuni «a 5 stelle», amministrazioni «virtuose». Oppure, più ottimisticamente, l’ Italia del futuro. Nel 2005 erano in quattro: sindaci-amici che volevano, come in una canzone di Gino Paoli, cambiare se non il mondo, perlomeno quei pezzetti del nostro Paese che cadevano sotto la loro amministrazione. Oggi sono decine, forse centinaia. Per capirlo, bisognerà aspettare i risultati del bando per la terza edizione del Premio nazionale dei Comuni a 5 Stelle – nelle prime due, sul podio erano saliti Ponte nelle Alpi (Belluno) ed, ex aequo, Mezzago (Milano) e Avigliana (Torino)-: da pochi giorni online, sarà presentato ufficialmente dopodomani, in Campidoglio.
E non è un caso, forse, che a fare gli onori di casa sia il Comune di Roma. Ha quasi il sapore di un riconoscimento istituzionale, per un’ esperienza nata dal basso, a costo praticamente zero e con un solo obiettivo: mettere in rete le «buone pratiche» degli enti locali che lavorano per ridurre gli sprechi e l’ impatto ambientale, migliorando al contempo la qualità della vita dei cittadini. Ecco, l’ idea dell’ Associazione dei Comuni virtuosi (www.comunivirtuosi.org) sta tutta qui. I suoi 22 soci – ma anche le altre amministrazioni che, pur senza farne formalmente parte, hanno deciso e decideranno di concorrere – sono impegnati nella riduzione della loro «impronta ecologica», vale a dire la quantità di superficie terrestre necessaria per rigenerare le risorse consumate da chi vi abita e smaltire i rifiuti da loro prodotti.
È in questa direzione che si muovono le iniziative dei Comuni virtuosi. Si parte, come è ovvio, dalla gestione del territorio: dalla scelta più estrema (la «cementificazione zero» scelta nel 2007 da Cassinetta di Lugagnano, in provincia di Milano), alla bioedilizia e al recupero di aree dismesse. Poi c’ è l’ «impronta» della macchina amministrativa: strategie mirate per migliorare l’ efficienza energetica degli uffici, progetti di «acquisti verdi», mense biologiche. Altro capitolo fondamentale, i rifiuti: l’ obiettivo massimo è la «strategia rifiuti zero» di Capannori (Lucca), già all’ 85% di raccolta differenziata, senza sottovalutare i progetti più semplici, di riduzione e riuso del materiale di scarto. Per i Comuni più grandi – ma è una linea seguita anche da Morbegno, in Valtellina, neanche 12mila abitanti – c’ è la sfida della mobilità sostenibile, dai biocombustibili al car-sharing. Infine, i «nuovi stili di vita», dall’ autoproduzione alla finanza etica.
Tutto rigorosamente sostenuto, guidato, sovvenzionato dai Comuni. «Ed è questa la dimensione più innovativa. Veniamo sempre posti di fronte a un bivio: sostenere l’ ambiente o l’ economia, l’ efficienza o l’ occupazione? L’ esperienza dei “virtuosi” dimostra che possono benissimo coesistere vantaggi economici per il territorio e coesione sociale, tutela dell’ ambiente e dei posti di lavoro». Michele Dotti è coautore de L’ anticasta, libro-dvd sull’ «Italia che funziona» (www.anticasta.it). «Un viaggio di oltre 3 mila chilometri, ispirato dalle realtà conosciute a Capannori, per la seconda edizione del Premio – spiega -. Ho scoperto così che queste esperienze sono diffuse ovunque, dal Trentino alla Sicilia, in centri piccolissimi come in città da 200 mila abitanti». Un censimento per forza di cose incompiuto, che dell’ Italia tratteggia un ritratto inaspettato.
C’ è Padova con il suo piano di risparmio energetico, che prevede un «taglio» annuale alla bolletta comunale di oltre 600 mila euro (senza contare la riduzione di emissioni di Co2, -4.318 tonnellate all’ anno). C’ è il progetto «Cambieresti?» del Comune di Venezia, che nel 2005 era riuscito a coinvolgere migliaia di famiglie nel tentativo di modificare lo stile di vita quotidiano: ridurre il fabbisogno energetico delle case, passare dall’ acqua in bottiglia a quella di rubinetto… Perché giocare in grande si può, eccome: lo ha dimostrato, per dire, una metropoli come San Francisco, capace di sfondare il tetto del 70% di raccolta differenziata. «Ma in Italia – interviene Marco Boschini, l’ altro autore de L’ anticasta – esistono anche mini progetti originali e innovativi, come la differenziata porta a porta, a dorso d’ asino, del Comune palermitano di Castelbuono; oppure, nella stessa Cassinetta, il sindaco che per aumentare gli introiti (senza impatto ambientale) si è inventato i “matrimoni a mezzanotte”, a tariffario speciale, nelle ville restaurate dal Comune…». Sul micro è più semplice, forse. Sul grande, però, i vantaggi sono ancora più impressionanti.
Si inventa, si sperimenta, alla fine si fa il punto. Insieme. Marco Boschini sa di cosa parla: assessore a Colorno (Parma), è coordinatore dell’ Associazione dei Comuni virtuosi e, di fatto, tra i suoi membri più attivi. Il lavoro non manca, «entro la prossima settimana spediremo il dvd ai sindaci di tutti gli 8.101 Comuni italiani, invitandoli a partecipare al premio e a mettere in atto alcune delle buone pratiche che stiamo raccogliendo. È la prima grossa iniziativa che facciamo: il primo anno i partecipanti erano una ventina con circa 40 progetti, l’ anno scorso 50 con 150 progetti, ora chissà». Il passaparola è andato ben oltre gli effetti auspicati; quei quattro sindaci-amici al bar – per essere precisi, i primi cittadini di Colorno, Melpignano (Lecce), Monsano (Ancona) e Vezzano Ligure (La Spezia) – sono riusciti a creare un movimento che ha attirato l’ attenzione di centinaia di migliaia di addetti ai lavori. «Nel sito – spiega Gianluca Fioretti, attuale sindaco di Monsano e presidente dell’ Associazione – ci sono ormai decine e decine di progettazioni, con tanto di delibera di giunta o di consiglio, cui ogni Comune può liberamente attingere. E copiare». Per esempio, il porta-a-porta «spinto» di Monsano, che è al 65-70% di differenziata e fa parte del centinaio di Comuni certificati Enas, uno strumento della Comunità europea che aiuta gli enti a migliorare le prestazioni ambientali.
Progetti concreti, seguiti dallo stadio embrionale alla messa a punto burocratica; un serbatoio di buone pratiche in campo ambientale, «economicamente vantaggiose per il territorio». Quasi 400 mila contatti in un anno e mezzo. «L’ aspetto di “messa in rete” – commenta Dotti – è fondamentale, la partecipazione è la chiave di volta di questa esperienza e di altre simili, dai Comuni solidali alle Città del Bio… L’ ambizione è che si passi dallo stato di “oasi” isolate a quello di “valanga”. Anche in verticale: se la differenziata porta a porta mostra i suoi frutti, anche in termini di risparmio e posti di lavoro, a un certo momento dovrà diventare legge…». Per Boschini, nel futuro del movimento c’ è anche l’ estero, le esperienze europee. In Italia, intanto, il prossimo passo è già pronto: «Una scuola itinerante, in cui gli amministratori verranno a spiegare nel concreto i progetti realizzati. Ci sposteremo su tutta la Penisola, facendoci ospitare dai nostri soci». Per ammortizzare i costi dei partecipanti. E ridurre al massimo la loro «impronta» sul pianeta. Gabriela Jacomella gjacomella@corriere.it
Jacomella Gabriela
Pagina 15 – (8 settembre 2009) – Corriere della Sera

L’assessore di Ponte nelle Alpi (Belluno)
«Dalla voglia di non rispondere sempre no nasce lo sforzo di trovare soluzioni dal basso»
Abbattimento dei costi Ridurre e trattare i rifiuti non è affatto un lusso come credono in molti, alla fine i cittadini spendono meno
«All’ inizio c’ è stato il comitato contro la discarica da un milione di metri cubi, progettata dalla Provincia. Poi, però, è subentrata la voglia di dimostrare che ci potevano essere soluzioni diverse. Insomma: dopo aver detto molti no, ci siamo chiesti se fosse possibile dire anche dei sì». Usa parole semplici, l’assessore all’ Ambiente Ezio Orzes, per raccontare le tappe dell’ avventura che ha portato Ponte nelle Alpi, un paesino da 8.500 abitanti nel cuore delle Dolomiti bellunesi, a vincere l’ edizione 2008 del Premio Comuni a 5 Stelle.
Dalla sindrome Nimby, «not in my backyard» (non nel mio cortile), alla riprogettazione dal basso del cortile stesso…
«Dal basso e, soprattutto, partecipata. Dopo il comitato è nata la lista civica, con al centro l’ attenzione alla raccolta rifiuti, al risparmio energetico, a una diversa gestione amministrativa. L’ aspetto significativo è che alcuni di questi progetti sono cresciuti nel confronto con la città: ad esempio, quello della raccolta differenziata è migliorato perché sul territorio abbiamo tenuto più di venti assemblee. È la gente che si chiede, insieme, qual è la strada migliore da scegliere; i cittadini sanno riconoscere le prospettive di futuro, e l’ orgoglio, il senso di appartenenza aumentano».
Però questi progetti richiedono anche sacrifici e investimenti; l’orgoglio, da solo, forse non basta. «Certo che no. Ma la percezione secondo cui queste sono pratiche di rinuncia, di ritorno al passato, va sfatata. Al contrario: si possono offrire servizi migliori a costi inferiori. Ad esempio, il progetto di cui dicevamo: nel 2007, avevamo costi elevati e risultati insufficienti; solo il 23% dei rifiuti era effettivamente differenziato».
Oggi, invece, siete all’ 80%, con un guadagno di 450 mila euro all’ anno sui costi di smaltimento. Come ci siete arrivati? «Abbiamo capito che il porta a porta era il metodo che avrebbe consentito i risultati migliori. Da qui, un piano industriale con l’ acquisto dei contenitori e una grande campagna di comunicazione. Poi, una schedatura dei negozi per capire tipologie e quantità dei rifiuti prodotti. A ciascuno sono stati dati contenitori adeguati e un calendario annuale di raccolta. I vecchi cassonetti e le campane sono rimasti per due settimane, poi li abbiamo rimossi. Nelle aree recuperate, gli stessi cittadini hanno organizzato feste, messo fioriere».
D’ accordo, ma i costi? «Che la raccolta differenziata sia più cara è un altro luogo comune. Noi abbiamo ridotto i costi dell’ 11,6% nel 2008, e nei prossimi due anni prevediamo un ulteriore calo del 15%. I rifiuti che finiscono in discarica sono diminuiti dell’ 88%, tutto il resto (compresi 22 tipi di plastiche diversi, lavorati dal Centro riciclo di Vedelago) lo vendiamo. Il consumo di fonti fossili si è ridotto e abbiamo aumentato l’ occupazione: da 5,4 a 11 persone. E i cittadini spendono meno».
Buone pratiche, dunque, uguale risparmio ma anche innovazione, lavoro. «Certo. Noi le stiamo applicando anche sul fronte energia: oggi su un lampione è possibile risparmiare oltre il 50%, lo sa? Abbiamo fatto un’ analisi energetica delle strutture comunali, la scuola media è già autonoma grazie al fotovoltaico e i ragazzi possono vedere su un tabellone quanto si produce e quanto si consuma, quanta Co2 viene “risparmiata”. Pensi alle possibilità di un progetto così su scala nazionale. È per questo che l’ esperienza dei “Comuni virtuosi” è importante: perché dimostra che si può fare. Con pragmatismo e concretezza».
Jacomella Gabriela
Pagina 15 – (8 settembre 2009) – Corriere della Sera

We watched a series of 5 short videos on alternative transportation subjects, including bus rapid transit, walking school buses, city-wide “smart bike” systems, electric vehicles, and even skateboards and canoes. With a few stunts of the “don’t try this at home” variety!

Then we had coffee and decided which three of the suggested five breakout subjects we would discuss. We broke up into three groups:

• Walking
• Biking
• Better use of Cars

(the two we left for a later date were Public Transportation and Giving Up Your Car)

Here are the ideas discussed by the groups:

Better use of Cars:

Car sharing – one car shared by several people. Might be a group of people who buy a car as a group, or a pre-existing car owned by someone who agrees to share it. Good for occasional trip needs. Works best if the car sharers live close together.
Car Pooling – regular shared rides, often by a group of people who work at the same location or locations very close together. Might work best for mill or hospital employees, or people who work at the various business around the mall. Could encourage an employer to sign up for a sub-site at the Jack Bell Ride-Sharing website (see below) which non-employees could also use.
Ride Sharing – like car pooling but including ad-hoc sharing of rides at irregular times, like organized hitch-hiking. Members post available or wanted rides on a website or bulleting board. A requirement to have a verified name and address on file for each member could help with security concerns. Membership cards? Can work well for short local rides or rides via ferry to the Island, Lower Coast or Vancouver. Can also have regular “pickup points” where those wanting a ride can wait for a ride-providing member to pass and pick them up. Needs a critical mass of people to work really well, like Freecycle. There is a BC-wide site which can be used:
Jack Bell Ride-Share for BC: https://online.ride-share.com/en/my/index.php
Nelson has a ride-sharing site specifically for their area which we could base one on:
http://www.kootenayrideshare.com/rideshare/view.php
Anti-Idling campaign – could be a public education campaign (“social marketing”) and/or request to Council for a bylaw restricting idling time. Not face-to-face confrontation as most people are not comfortable with that.
Car Co-op – like the Co-operative Auto Network as established in Vancouver. They even have a car in Comox but it might be expensive for individuals here to join just to take advantage of that. Maybe we could be a satellite of their co-op? Co-op reduces cost of car use and takes cars off the road as people don’t need to own one. Can work well for low income people if they can afford the membership fee. Zip car is a similar but for-profit organization. Low density in small towns like Powell River make it hard to get car co-ops started. However, Nelson BC has one – see http://www.nelsoncar.com/

Walking

(Some public transport ideas got included here)
Walking School Bus: Henderson school in Townsite seems the most likely to be interested as they don’t have a (motorised) school bus. However non of us has small kids anywhere. Probably needs to be a project coming from the PTA and/or school staff.
Walking map of Powell River – showing trails, shortcuts etc
Separate bus passengers and smokers at the North end of the mall where people wait for buses. Perhaps paint a line on the ground outside the doors showing how far away smokers should be?
Bus access to the Complex
Better pedestrian safety around the mall area. RCMP says that there are more walking/car accidents around the mall area than anywhere else in PR.
Mass walk event around the mall/parking area: invite councillors and mall management: show them how dangerous it is. Involve seniors groups, mom/child groups, people in scooters (scooter suppliers e.g. Medi-chair?). Maybe spring 2010 when the weather gets better again.
Hydro pole line route as alternative transport corridor for biking/walking. Need to be separate from current ATV/dirt bike trail to avoid conflicts and accidents.
Rural bus should terminate at the same place as the others, to improve linkage.

Biking

Bike paths or bike lanes –

• Separation from traffic
• Also for walking
• Make space for lanes by disallowing on-street parking on Joyce Ave in town
• On the highway, bike lanes should be the other side of a ditch or over the ditch (like near Roberts Creek)

Safe storage / bike racks / locks provided around town (eg at City Hall)
Bike Advocacy Group – promote ideas to various levels of govt
Bike Fair – Include…

• 2 bike shops
• RCMP
• Safety
• Innovations
• Rain gear
• Bike swap
• Maybe combine with Eco-Fair that TPR is proposing to run in Jan/Feb 2010

Community Bike Resources

• CRC toolkit available
• Repair clinics
• PRACL bike repair/training centre, employment for PRACL clients and others, use bikes that RCMP passes to PRACL

SprocKids project http://www.sprockids.com/
SprocKids teaches people…

• how to mountain bike – 55 skills over 4 program levels
• how to maintain your bike
• environmental stewardship
• trail safety and trail building

(Is there some kind of a street-riding program equivalent to this? While any kind of bike-riding training is good, riding safely in traffic is a skill of its own and the SprocKids program seems to be off-road focused)
Comfort / Elder-Friendly bike event or tour showing that riding doesn’t hae to be hard work

Bike Map

• color-coded for elevation change, points of interest
• tourism help produce
• include bike lockups / bus stops / bike shops

Load-carrying Devices for Bikes – trailers, panniers, baskets, brackets etc.
Find local bike clubs and connect with them – ask Frank at Suncoast Cycles
Courses on bike repair at VIU / Brooks / (Rec Complex?) – could Frank teach?

We tried to identify projects which could be carried out without “official permission” or grant money, to increase out public visibility and to get concrete actions moving. Best bets for this seemed to be:

• Walking - mass walk around the mall area to highlight safety concerns
• Biking - now – research and publicise biking resources (local bike clubs, load-carrying devices, existing trails, existing bike rack locations, CRC toolkit.
  Later: include Bike Fair in proposed eco-fair in Spring 2010
• Better use of Cars - ride sharing could be started with a simple website or use of existing Jack Bell website

GreenTech Media has reported that the federal government, via the Department of Energy, has granted $300 million for cities to work with industrial partners to buy alternative-fuel vehicles and set up refueling stations.  The list of city winners, under the Clean Cities Program, includes New Haven, San Bernandino and Chicago.  Some of the highlighted projects include natural gas garbage trucks in New Jersey, using landfill natural gas in Atlanta and Texas incorporating propane-fueled buses.  The DOE estimates that these 25 projects will offset the usage of 39 million gallons of petroleum annually.  That is nothing to laugh at for both environmental and foreign policy concerns.

In an unrelated story, Government Technology reported that city government in Washington, D.C. has adopted ZipCar technology to manage its communal fleet of vehicles.  In the process, the city has been able to better organize its fleet and reduce its size.  Here are some of the notes on the FastFleet program.

The city ultimately eliminated 360 vehicles from its fleet, bringing the total to approximately 1,200 (not including law enforcement vehicles, which aren’t eligible for the program).

At press time, DC Fleet Share used 58 passenger sedans — 56 of which are hybrids and two of which are powered by alternative fuel. Burns said the district’s vehicles are parked at several large office complexes that are home to city government. Between 10 and 25 Fleet Share cars are parked at each site.

Both of these programs are great news.  Think about how many vehicles every city owns, from cars used for everyday puposes to police cars, firetrucks, ambulances, street cleaners, garbage trucks, school buses, delivery vans, postal service vehicles, maintenance vehicles and much more.  Many towns and cities furthermore have their own refueling station for this vehicles.  Transferring a percentage of these cars and trucks to alternative fuels and beginning the process of building the infrastructure to refuel them has enormous benefits to both the environment and the communities.

One of the greatest challenge of alternative fuel vehicles is there are few places to get the right fuel and frequently there is no standardized fueling method.  When government begins the process in tandem with industry standards are easier to set and the foundation is laid for private car-owners to follow.  Such progress is even more reassuring when fewer vehicles need to be owned, as in DC.  Clearly this is a savings for the taxpayer, but is also a savings for congestion and fuel usage as well.  Lower congestion and better fuel usage are two pillars of cleaner, more efficient transportation.  Public transportation represents a large part of the solution, but certain vehicles will never be eliminated.  Making those vehicles better is a step forward.

Eieiei, da geht was in München, und BMW wird keine Freude haben: Der TESLA Roadster ist da, und am 10. September eröffnet der Showroom seine Türen. Der TESLA Roadster bringt mit seinem Elektro-Roadster ein ganz heisses Gefährt, zur richtigen Zeit; und das nicht mit den bisher bekannten, langweiligen Eigenschaften eines Elektroautos. NEIN! Dieser Wagen aus Palo Alto beschleunigt in weniger als 3,9 Sekunden von 0 auf 100 km/h, und kommt fast 400 weit. Unglaublich? Aber wahr. Dann schaut Euch mal gut um auf den Strassen Münchens, aber Vorsicht den Tesla Roadster ist nicht einfach zu finden, denn er ist lautlos unterwegs….

I-GO Car Sharing, for the second consecutive year, has been nominated in the annual Chicago Innovation Awards.

Want the lowdown on the accolade? From their site:

Established in 2002, the Chicago Innovation Awards shine a bright light on the creative spirit of Chicago by focusing attention on the most significant new products and services introduced in the region. The ten winners each year are innovations that uniquely fill unmet needs, spark a competitive response in the marketplace, exceed market expectations, achieve financial success, and improve people’s lives. They emerge from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Most importantly, the Chicago Innovation Awards remind is that innovation is thriving in America’s heartland.

There are 75 nominees covering a wide array of innovators—big and small, public and private. Sifting through the list is an eye-opener: It’s encouraging to see how many enterprising innovators are on the cusp of great ideas in Chicago. Eat your tech-nerd heart out, Silicon Valley.

Best of all: You can vote for I-GO to win! Not that we’d twist your arm on the way to the virtual ballot box. But, c’mon, our particular take on car sharing—partnering with mass transit; extending alternative, sustainable transportation to ALL neighborhoods; only using low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicles (including dozens of hybrids and two bona fide plug-ins)—is worth a spot atop the podium, eh?

As a student of a very large, though mostly commuter university, I have always wondered if a car-sharing system would be a suitable here at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. I have read success stories on “Zipcar” implementation at hundreds of Universities nation-wide, but wasn’t completely sure if it would be an appropriate initiative for our campus and its current fiscal situation.

Can we at least afford a small pilot program? If the service is successfully established here on campus, it could be expanded into the city and eventually across the island!

In the 90’s, car-sharing started off as a rather far-fetched idea, but quickly grew into a world-wide success over the past decade. Zipcar is the leader of the industry and currently has 6,500 vehicles in operation worldwide.

Basically, Zipcar is a membership, car-rental service which charges users either per hour ($8) or per day ($66) for use of a vehicle–gas and maintenance included. It is a rather high-tech and convenient system that could really help alleviate parking problems, create a more sustainable environment, and promote student freedom here at UHM. With over 30,000 University members to date, Zipcar estimates they have taken about 12,000 personally owned vehicles off of University campuses.

Faculty and surrounding community members could utilize the service in addition to our 20,000+ students. As a replacement of our current fleet of state automobiles, Zipcar could help alleviate the current budget crisis our campus is facing. Members may also enjoy their membership while visiting any of the other 26 states or 120+ college campus with Zipcar.

More information can be found at:
http://www.zipcar.com

After Chancellor Hinshaw let me know that car sharing was something that she has thought about supporting for our University, I decided to look into it and contacted Zipcar.

Last month, I received a call from the national account executive or Zipcar, Robert Lynch. After speaking for a half hour or so to lay out the groundwork of the scale and purpose of the type of program that would be appropriate for our campus, he drafted a proposal which the ASUH has been reviewing over the summer.

Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles.

Personally, I feel as though this is something that may work out during our current financial situation since Zipcar, as a private company is liable for most risks of the program. But I would also like to see a pickup truck included in the proposal and not JUST the uber-gas-efficient small cars; they are awesome to be included, but not definitely not sufficient for North Shore weekend ventures!

Once our University is established as a successful pilot, Zipcar could also be expanded into the community of Honolulu and help de-congest our streets. We could start a movement here, just let me know how you feel about this initiative. With student support and unity, we’ll make this happen!

In data 6 febbraio 2009 i consiglieri della Alternativa Ecosociale/Grüne Bürgerliste Klauspeter Dissinger ed Elda Letrari hanno fatto un’interrogazione relativa al car sharing. A tale interrogazione il vicesindaco ed assessore competente Gianlorenzo Pedron ha risposto in data 17 marzo 2009, indicando che ci sono delle verifiche in corso da parte del suo assessorato.

Dopo 4 mesi in attesa di novità a riguardo, Letrari e Dissinger si sono nuovamente rivolti al sindaco per informarsi sull’esito delle verifiche.

Nella sua risposta del 29/07/09, l’assessore Pedron dichiara che il car sharing non rientra nelle priorità dell’attuale amministrazione, nonostante il parere positivo della Giunta Comunale e rende noto che ci sarà un’ulteriore incontro il 20 agosto.

Risposta del 29/07/09: interrogazione car sharing

Interrogazione: car sharing del 06/07/09

Anfrage car sharing vom 06/07/09

Carsharing [ˈkaː(r)ˌʃeərɪŋ] (engl. car „Auto“, to share „teilen“; auf deutsch etwa: „Autoteilen“, „Gemeinschaftsauto“ oder „Teilauto“; andere Schreibweisen: Car Sharing, Car-Sharing, CarSharing) ist die organisierte gemeinschaftliche Nutzung eines oder mehrerer Autos. Das Autoteilen unter Nachbarn und Bekannten fällt im engeren Sinn heute nicht mehr unter den Begriff des Carsharings.

L’auto condivisa o condivisione dell’automobile, o passavettura (car-sharing in inglese) è un servizio che permette di utilizzare un’automobile su prenotazione, prelevandola e riportandola in un parcheggio vicino al proprio domicilio, e pagando in ragione dell’utilizzo fatto.

I-GO just added four brand-new Honda Insights to the fleet. Pictured here: the Insight at 2350 N. Racine (at Fullerton). Took it out for a bit today. Really nice ride. Sooo clean. (Let’s keep it that way!) Liked the “Eco Assist” button function, which lets you tweak the electric-to-gas ratio even more. This car sits next to a Prius and guess what? I couldn’t tell the diff until I got within five feet.

I-GO provided the only two pace/SAG (support and gear) cars in the Chicago Criterium bike race this past Sunday, July 26. What a spectacle this race is! For those who missed it, it’s an annual event in Grant Park, so you’ll get another chance next year.