Cooper Green Design | The Blog

Christoph Geilen's photo: Deer Crest II California, 2008

Chris Jordan: Depicts 11,000 jet trails, equal to the number of commercial flights in the US every eight hours.

I’ve read a number of transportation reports in the last few months, and this has me thinking quite a bit about my own means of transportation. Last week I attempted a trip on the local bus route, and it was an utter failure. It seems that I’m out of practice.

The American Public Transportation Association issued  a summary of the financial savings realized by public transit riders in 20 major cities. The findings include an average individual savings of $9,242.00 annually. The savings is even greater in cities such as New York, Boston, and San Francisco.

Earlier this week I reviewed a Sustainable Sites LEED credit with a client. They are looking to obtain a credit for low-emitting and fuel efficient vehicles. In order to obtain the credit, they are providing preferred parking for vehicles that are classified as zero-emission-vehicles (ZEV) and have a green score of 40 or above on the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) Annual Vehicle Rating Guide. The review brought out an interesting point that I often take for granted: Hybrid cars are not required to meet the credit. Many large hybrid vehicles do not meet the LEED requirements while many non-hybrid compact or even midsize cars do. For example, the 2010 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid CI500 has a green score of 29, while the 2010 Hyundi Elantra and Nissan Versa each score  43. This actually makes enforcing preferred parking more of a challenge because most users assume that hybrid = greener.

As some of my readers know, before I moved to the Pioneer Valley, I did not own a car. Most of my transportation was human powered: I lived in Philadelphia and biked to work every day. I walked around the city all weekend, and rarely had the need to use a car. Sure, I had a few awkward moments (carrying a new mop home, getting caught in the rain in a  suit), but for the most part, my $165 used Schwinn brought me to business meetings, museums, shops, the orchestra, and even happy hour without trouble. I also used a local printer for architectural drawing sets, and rolls of prints were delivered by bike messenger. When I moved to Western Mass, I made a choice to accept a job some distance away, and that required me to have a car. After 2 weeks of commuting, I thought to myself “how do people live like this?” Three and half years later, I found myself driving 1.8 miles to CVS.

I am now recommitting to using my bike. I’m planning a few adjustments and accessory additions for my bike so that it will be more useful for running errands and getting me to meetings in the area. This is inspired by not by the insightful transportation reports, but by 2 artists’ work: Chrostoph Gielen and Chris Jordan. Both artists have an incredible ability to translate difficult-to-grasp complex ideas or quantities into readable and compelling images. When I view Gielen’s work in particular, I’m determined to escape from the suburban maze. I invite you to check them out.

Chris Jordan’s work is on exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science. Running the Numbers: Portraits of Mass Consumption runs through May 9, 2010. Christoph Gielen’s show “Arcadia” was shown at Daniel Cooney Fine Art in New York  in 2008-2009.