Today, NPR had an interesting story about “Hypermilers”, a group of people who try and get every last bit of distance out of each gallon of gas they use in their cars. In an ideal world, record high gas prices and the threat of global warming would inspire large scale systemic change where automobile companies produce ultra high efficiency cars, cities curb sprawl while fostering high-density mixed-use development, and where investment in mass transit is a top priority.
However, we don’t live in an ideal world. So, in the absence of that kind of change people can take it upon themselves, like these Hypermilers, to protect their wallet and the environment by changing the way they drive. What the Hypermilers are doing is a part of “EcoDriving“, a way of driving that decreases the amount of fuel you use and the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions that you emit. It’s not a substitute for deeper, big picture solutions that get to the root of these problems, but in the meantime, it sure can help.

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This last week Delhi began a trial run for its first bus rapid transit corridor, a 5.8 kilometer stretch in the southern part of the city. To put it mildly, the start has been anything but stellar: a Google News search for “brt delhi” comes up with over 70 news articles from the last week, almost all of them sensationally pessimistic. Here are a few of the headlines: BRT nightmare for school kids on way home, Kids bear the brunt of BRT mess, Delhi bus corridor: Fiasco continues, BRT corridor chaos worse than ever.

From what I’ve heard from our experts in Mumbai, the project has had several hiccups like lack of signage, signal systems not working properly, bus breakdowns, and motorcycles and bicycles entering the bus lanes. But overall these are problems that can be fixed with time and bus operations can be improved.

What seems to be a bigger problem than the hitches and hiccups of the system itself is the destructive roll that the media has played, unfairly skewing the coverage of the trial run to make the problem seem worse than it actually is.

In the video below, for example, you can see footage of cars, rickshaws and motorbikes snared in traffic alongside the bus lane. What you can also see, however, is that in every shot with a passing bus, the bus is jammed packed with people. It’s a clear indication that the system is popular among people who are using it.

Headlines Today on Delhi BRT from EMBARQ Network on Vimeo.

When you watch the news footage though, you will notice that the journalist never interviews a single bus passenger to see what their satisfaction is with the system. All they show is disgruntled car owners who fume about what the bus rapid transit corridor has done to car traffic. Read the rest of this entry »

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Photo by Hossam all line.

The New York Times reports today that noise on Cairo’s streets averages 85 decibels, the equivalent of standing just 15 feet from a passing freight train. And that’s just the average. In the loudest parts of the city it can reach 95 decibels, only slightly softer than the noise produced by a jackhammer!

The loud noise on the city’s streets is not just a nuisance:

It can cause elevated blood pressure and other stress-related diseases. It can interfere with sleep, which almost always makes people more irritable. “People need a chance to sleep, to have a chance to think, in quiet,” said Dr. Nagat Amer, a physician and researcher with the national center.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Photo by padawan.

Dubai: Air quality declines as number of cars rises [Business 24-7]

China: Car owners to be compensated for driving ban during Olympics [Gaurdian]

China: Marathon record holder wont run in China because of pollution [Daily Mail]

United States: Americans learn bikes cut costs and improve fitness [Reuters]

General: Plug-in cars could increase pollution [Detroit Free Press]

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China’s Green Beat, is a neat bilingual blog I stumbled upon the other day, written by John Romankiewicz, an American Fulbright scholar currently living in Beijing, and Zhao Xiangyu, a Chinese citizen from Heilongjiang, a province in the northern part of the country. Check out the above video for a comical take on serious challenge: motorization in the Chinese capital.

Read more about Beijing’s metro, BRT system, Olympic bid, and weather problems.

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Photo by Murat Suyabatmaz.

Biking in cities doesn’t have to be hazardous to your health. But in Istanbul, you must be extra careful. Besides traffic and air pollution – the usually problems faced by urban cyclists – Istanbul riders have to deal with flooded cycle paths, barbecues, trees, bushes, and garbage bins in cycle areas, and lack of bicycle parking.

But even with these problems there’s still reason to be excited about biking in Istanbul. Recently, Gizem Altin, a Turkish cycling advocate, organized Istanbul’s first ever symposium on urban cycling. In attendance was a representative from the city government who announced that Istanbul could have 101 km of dedicated bike lanes right away without any major structural changes, if the mayor were to give his support. The city official also talked about the city’s master plan for building 670 km of bike lanes. But alas, there is no time frame for such a project, an indication that it might never be implemented.

In the meantime, cycling in Istanbul continues to be an extreme sport. After the leap, check out the photo essay on biking in Istanbul by Murat Suyabatmaz, a Turkish cycling advocate who also attended the bike symposium. Read the rest of this entry »

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Photo from Yotatech.

Well, maybe not. Last year Ikea announced a plan to cut energy use by 25% by 2012. So far it has been working on this goal by, among other things, introducing a fleet of hybrids to its Spanish and UK operations. Unfortunately, the move to hybrids will not include its delivery vehicles, but just its car fleet.

So for any Ikea driver who has lost the assembly instructions, we’ve included the helpful image and assembly instructions above.

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