The Lorax can be purchased at the Springfield Museum store. Check out the Dr Seuss sculpture garden while you are there.

I frequently read The Lorax by Dr Seuss to my son. In the story, The Once-ler develops a new business; chopping down Truffala trees to make Thneads (which everyone needs). As more and more trees are used, the Bar-ba-loots, who depend on the Truffala trees’ fruit, no longer have enough to eat. The Lorax pleads with the Once-ler to stop chopping their trees, but the Once-ler responds “business is buisness! And business must grow regardless of crummies in tummies you know. I meant no harm. I most truly did not. But I had to grow bigger. So bigger I got.”

Last night, I watched our President’s State of the Union Address. As expected, much of the content focused on the economy and job creation. There was no mention of climate change. After noting that China now has the largest solar research facility (non-government) as well as the fastest computer (the Tianhe-1A), he stated: “And now it’s our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.”(Applause.) An admirable goal, and yet it sounded quite a bit like the Once-ler’s desire to keep ‘biggering’ and ‘biggering.’ Economic growth and job creation are critical in our time, but just as critical as avoiding the fate of the Bar-ba-loots.

I’m not a political commentator, but I do experience first hand how government policies impact green buildings. As state incentives and funding for on-site renewable energy has dwindled, clients are opting not to install these systems. When the state of Connecticut began requiring state-funded buildings over certain budget thresholds to meet LEED-Silver or equivalent, there was a trickle down effect. Clients who were not required to meet the standard were still inquiring about it. Last night,  I was relieved to hear these 4 goals and challenges related to green building, technology, and energy. Let’s hope that some of them come to fruition. We should’t keep ‘biggering’ just for ‘biggering’s’ sake.

High Speed Rail in Taiwan

1. “With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. (Applause.)… And to help pay for it, I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies.”

2. “I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources.”

3. “Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail.”

4. “We’re selling acres of federal office space that hasn’t been used in years, and we’ll cut through red tape to get rid of more.”

.

PUBLIC Bikes - mmm, juicy

I suspect that many people don’t bike to work because it doesn’t “look” cool. Enter PUBLIC Bikes. They are releasing a new line of European style urban-cool bikes. I haven’t been able to try one out yet, but they do look juicy… as in a sweet drippy tangerine or kiwi.

If you are in San Francisco, you can test ride one at their shop. Bikes can be pre-ordered, and the line will be available online this month and at Tretorn in Soho. By the way, if you will be in New York for Metropolis’s ICFF 2010 (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) May 15-18, join PUBLIC on their Design Ride Manhattan celebration on Sunday. The ride travels from the ICFF to the Tretorn Store.

Yakkay Bicycle Helmet & Cover

Keeping your pretty little heads protected is a must, and now there are a few options for doing so in style. Yakkay has been getting lots of press for their Danish designed helmet covers. Very cute, but they come at quite a price. If you are one of those people that can handle  riding in a suite, it makes for a perfect accessory. A DIY option that is actually quite easy is to personalize a Bern bike helmet (Bern helmets are shaped like french motorcycle helmets) with paint or decals. See an example here. Bern’s Watts helmet is pretty sleek on its own.

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.