Speaking of sustainability

Toyota inks sponsorships with the Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, according to this article, "Sponsorship deal nets St. Paul, Minneapolis cash and cars," from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. From the article:

St. Paul and Minneapolis get $300,000 each, plus the use of 10 vehicles from Toyota, in exchange for marketing opportunities. Parks and rec budgets are a big beneficiary....

It's a great way to promote sustainability and environmentally friendly vehicles to the public," said Dawn Sommers, Minneapolis Park & Recreational Board spokeswoman...

The additional money comes at a time when St. Paul has been seeking nonprofit partners to take over eight of its 41 rec centers because of budget concerns. Meyer said those eight centers weren't used enough and didn't warrant the Toyota money.

Not intentionally, but sustainability seems to be this morning's theme.

I don't have an image, since I seem to have mislaid my copy of the bumper sticker, but Pittsburgh has a program called the Sprout Fund which provides small grants to support innovative projects and ideas by citizens and organizations.

One of the small grants funded a bumper sticker that reads "My other car is a Port Authority bus."

Buses, the new Hiawatha Light Rail Line, bicycles, car sharing options, and Smart Cars are even more environmentally friendly than Toyotas.

St. Paul and Minneapolis have a nonprofit carsharing alternative to Zipcar (also active there), called HOURCAR. (See "Car-sharing service comes to downtown Minneapolis" from 2007.) Then again, Toyota has more money...

Get this, a local community bank, Park Midway Bank" gives up a parking space to the Hourcar program. See "Communities Have Dreams Too." This community bank is even a member of a local co-operative.

There's more to sustainability than money from Toyota.