The economics of stop signs; the toll of riding drunk; “blue gold;” job sprawl; free bikes for all; friendly robots
Time for the news.
– New U.S. research findings quantify the impact of air pollution on life expectancy. Another recent study found that low birth weight is linked to exposure to pollution.
– Mayor Adams and Governor Kulongoski take a test drive in one of Nissan’s new electric cars. This uncritically enthusiastic promotional movie shows both men tooling around in the car and giving big thumbs up to its speed, silence, efficiency, and prospects for bringing jobs to the region.
– “Bicyclists should stay on the sidewalk,” writes Zach Coleman, in an editorial for the Michigan State University newspaper. And if you’re riding a bike in the road, he adds, “I hope you’re wearing a helmet, because I might run you over.” This editorial has gained modest fame in the last week as a textbook example of publicly broadcast road rage.
– The Star-Ledger in New Jersey pokes fun at a proposed three foot buffer law, calling it “silly” and “unenforceable.”
– “Job sprawl” has an undeniable and disproportionate impact on the urban poor, says a new study.
– A New York City health department study has found that between 1996 and 2005, 21% of people who died in a bicycle crash had alcohol in their bloodstream.
– Platinum-winning bike-friendly city Davis, California, is slated to become home to a new Bicycle Hall of Fame museum.
– The South African department of transportation is considering a project in which it would work with a bicycle manufacturer to provide a bike for every person in the country.
– Salon.com makes the case for walking — “it’s what we were designed to do.”
– A fascinating post on the Oregon Economics Blog applies game theory to stop signs.
– Google Earth now has a map of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in the United States.
– In somewhat related and completely sobering news, Texas oil mogul T. Boone Pickens is betting that water, or “blue gold” will be the next oil.
– Finally, for your enjoyment, the cute public space project of the week has got to be these little pedestrian robots in New York.