Earth Day

1. Energy consumption: Suburban Sprawl vs. Green Urban


2. Green Manhattan (article), subtitled "Why New York is the greenest city in the U.S." from the New Yorker, October 2004.

3. Green infrastructure: Seattle Great City Initiative

4. DC's Green DC Agenda. The Agenda consists of seven themes and two spotlights:

- Homes
- Schools
- Neighborhoods and Community
- Parks and Natural Areas
- Transit and Mobility
- Business, Jobs and Economic Development
- City and Givernment Operations
- Spotlight: Anacostia River
- Spotlight: Climate Change

I will say that the Transit portion of this agenda is relatively pathetic. Mostly, the agenda is packaging things the city is already doing. That's okay, there is nothing wrong with repositioning what you're already doing. But how about doing more? (I still have to review all the documents.)

For example, how about making a commitment to a transit/walking/bicycling first city urban mobility policy for the City of Washington?

Or a goal of 50% mode split for DC commuting trips (walking, bicycling, transit) from the current 45% (which is still 50% higher than the next best jurisdiction in the region--Arlington)?

Hiring pedestrian and bicycling planners for each of the Wards? Etc.

5. Baltimore Sustainability Plan

6. Majora Carter's tale of urban renewal Video (Sustainable South Bronx)

7. Gasoline taxes





8. Sally Forth Comic strip regarding Earth Day (from 4/20/2009)



9. Today in Philadelphia, as part of the city's Earth Day festivities, at 2 pm they will be corraling the 10 different city "garbage" trucks that have been painted to promote recycling as part of a youth/public art project called "Big Picture" led by Desiree Bender in collaboration with the Mural Arts Program, the Design Center at Philadelphia University, and the City of Philadelphia Streets Department Recycling Office, and pull all the trucks together for one time only outside of City Hall. The mayor, Michael Nutter is scheduling a big event for Earth Day to promote Philadelphia's new single stream recycling program.

Artist Desiree Bender in front of a recycling truck that she painted. (April Saul / Staff Photographer) Philadelphia Inquirer.

10. Oh, and the EPA did a big green reconstruction plan for Greensburg, Kansas, post-tornado. It's great sure. But the town has fewer than 2,000 residents. I think we could better return on investment in other communities. See "Greenest City in America," from today's Washington Times, but the article should be entitled "greenest hamlet" or "greenest village," not greenest city. As a fourth grader in Michigan, I remember looking up the State of Michigan yearbook and legally, cities had to have a certain level of population--1,574 residents wouldn't qualify.

See the EPA webpage: Rebuilding Greensburg, Kansas