Saturday, October 29, 2011

Ecox vélo électrique - Le magasin de vélos électriques à Paris et en ligne

I wonder if the Chapel Hill 2020 effort has data on the sale and use of bicycles, electric bicycles, "pliable" bikes of both kinds, etc. 40,000 bicycles with battery "assistance" are being sold each year in France. Story on this tonight on French national news - TF1 including this store. Still only 1% of sales. The 40,000 number may be total sales? A "pliable" electrically assisted bike runs around 2,200 USD!

Chapel Hill plan

What's most striking from a distance (France) about this project is how many people seem to have vast amounts of time to devote to this project. That means they get to feel that it is "theirs" and the more time the spend the more ownership they assert. It still strikes me as bureaucracy run wild.

Friday, October 28, 2011

"Americans’ Migration Patterns Shifting" - NYTimes.com

Has anyone studied this in Chapelboroham? Note reference to Nort Carolina.

"Free Trade, By Itself, Can Lift Labor Standards Abroad" - NYTimes.com

Always nice to see Chapelboroham people in The New York Times.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

"Beyond Green: A Net-Zero College Community" - NYTimes.com

Where are we on biogas and net-zero communities in Chapelboroham?

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

"Deer-Car Collisions Are Less Frequent, but More Costly" - NYTimes.com

Here too?

"How Active Is Your Daily Commute?" - NYTimes.com

Seems to me that we could all do a lot better at making the trip to work, whatever it is, a lot more active!

"Drunk Driving Rates Remain High" - NYTimes.com

How are we doing in Chapelboroham?

"New York Planting One Million Trees, Too Many for Some" - NYTimes.com

Are we still losing trees or has that stopped? What is the trend?

"Glad Cuts the Hyperbole for Its New Green Trash Bag" - NYTimes.com

Still, let's use fewer of them and concentrate on buying less that must be discarded and more that can be recycled in some way.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Monday, October 10, 2011

"Library bids come in too high" - Chapel Hill News

I still wonder a lot at the wisdom of proceeding on this project. There are many views of the initiative that just don't make sense today, and perhaps for all time.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Raleigh-Durham International Airport

First time I've seen a mention of a Customer Service Council for RDU. Seems like an excellent idea if it worls.

Friday, October 7, 2011

"Carrboro could get dollar store" - The Daily Tar Heel

I think we need a whole new set of criteria and approaches and thinking when it comes to something like this. The proposal needs to be viewed from every possible angle, working with the developer, to help everything succeed better. Instead, these things take on a food fight feel more often with people choosing sacred cows to defend or advance. What is needed is a way to work with the plan, the store, the people who live within walking distance to make it emerge not as something dropped into place from Mars but something that works organically well with the environment of place and people into which it is proposed to be placed.

"Chapel Hill 2020 meeting sees turnout of 200 to discuss drafting plan" - The Daily Tar Heel

I worry that only activists or people with a lot of extra time on their hands will make important decisions on this. How to get more people involved in ways that don't require as much touchy-feely time? The fact that some of us don't especially like that sort of approach, how does technology allow us to offer our views? It sounds like a lot of decisions are getting made by a few unelected people who just showed up.

Sunday, October 2, 2011