Category: Environment

May 27, 2021

Fuel savings calculator for driving 55 on highways

When my school returned to in-person teaching in May, I started a short daily commute with about 13 miles on a highway with no traffic slow-downs (teaching has its advantages: early start means before most commuters). I started recording the fuel efficiency (miles per gallon) during the highway drive each day. We have a Ford C-max Energi plugin hybrid, which...

Categories Environment Comments: 0

November 23, 2018

Thanksgiving 2018 at Año Nuevo State Park

People sharing their thankfulness at Año Nuevo State Park, Thanksgiving 2018.

Categories Environment/General Comments: 0

October 15, 2018

The pleasures of a relaxed morning commute

A commute can be what you make of it. Here is an example of one of my typical morning commute.

Categories Environment/General/Peace Comments: 0

February 20, 2018

Swords to Plowshares at the national weapons labs: Late 70’s/early 80’s

1979: “Shaping Alternatives at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory: A Preliminary Analysis.”

Categories Berkeley politics/Environment/Peace/Politics Comments: 0

October 21, 2017

Beach cleanup daily — without leaving your home

Collecting trash around your house helps keep your neighborhood clean, and keeps trash out of our waterways.

Categories Environment/General Comments: 0

July 12, 2011

The value of multi-modal trips

In transit lingo, “multi-modal” trips are those that use different modes to get to a destination. A common version is bike to bus/subway/rail, either taking the bike on the vehicle or locking it before one gets on. Today I had a wonderful trip that was multi-modal by accident. The “out” trip was planned as multi-modal: I live in Berkeley and...

Categories Bicycles/Environment Comment: 1

October 14, 2010

Drive 55 MPH on Spare the Air days

With the batch of Spare the Air days in the San Francisco Bay Area in the last few weeks, I came up with an idea that would probably save a lot more gas than trying to get people to carpool and take transit (not that I’m suggesting we stop this, but I’m not sure how many people really switch on...

Categories Environment Comment: 1

June 25, 2009

200 people can commute in:

Great poster from Seattle demonstrating the space it takes on a street to move 200 people in various modes.

Categories Bicycles/Environment/Summer 2008 Comments: 0

June 24, 2009

Uprisings: The Whole Grain Bakers’ Book

Update: December 2010: I have created a web site, uprisingsbakersbook.org, where I’m adding recipes and other pages from the book. I’m working on permissions from the publisher and bakeries, so I’m starting with bakeries that are closed. Look for weekly updates. In 1983, the Cooperative Whole Grain Educational Association published Uprisings; The Whole Grain Bakers’ Book. The Foreword of the...

Categories Berkeley politics/Dining and eating/Environment/General Comments: 22

May 17, 2009

Free shoppping?

It’s that time again. Time to wander the aisles of the college town “free stores.” These stores don’t pay rent, and the aisles move daily (if not hourly). The merchandise are the items the students don’t feel like taking with them. Walk around student neighborhoods as finals and graduation come to an end, and you’ll find all sorts of treasures....

Categories Environment/General Comments: 0