(82 pictures of bicycles taken during 73 minutes on 9/12/06 in Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Background & Explanation: I stopped in Amsterdam, Netherlands on my way back from a 2006 europe motorcycle trip. During a 73 minute period on 9/12/06 at one corner of Nieuw Markt (a nice open square in Amsterdam), I took the following 82 pictures of bicycles.  Why?  Because sitting there I noticed how remarkably different the whole Amsterdam bicycle scene was from my home, and at the same time certain very clear "Amsterdam Bicycle Trends" appeared I thought might be interesting to point out.   I am from the San Francisco area, California, USA.

Leaders of all sorts are keen for green right now. It's trendy for a start, so a guaranteed popularity boost. And also, to drop the cynicism shield for a second, it's possible that these people really care about the environment. In the UK, as we approach election time, we have seen Tony Blair and David Cameron attempting to install various alternative energy devices on their homes, with equally disastrous results. Celebrities are falling over each other to get into either a Prius or a Tesla, and even the Pope is doing his part.

check this out...

We have PUCO helping 1st Energy charge us more if we want to support green e

Ted Kennedy, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, Robert Kennedy Jr., Senator John Warner, Mitt Romney, Christy Mihos, and Walter Cronkite all have direct personal and family connections to Cape Cod.  They or their family or relatives have vacation houses on the Cape, they have money, and they don’t want Global Warming to be fought in their own back yard.   And you can’t see carbon dioxide. 

Kansas City rain gardens aid in stormwater management

As part of the company's Earth Day activities on April 21, 2007, Black & Veatch professionals, along with their families and friends, celebrated the first anniversary of Kansas City's original corporate rain garden, which is affiliated with the city's "10,000 Rain Gardens" initiative.

The celebration ceremony at the rain garden, outside the office of Black & Veatch's water business in Kansas City, drew many local dignitaries and civic leaders, who joined the company volunteers in planting an additional 75 native plants.

Rain gardens—shallow basins or depressions planted with native plants—are catching on in Kansas City and the surrounding areas. The native plants have deep roots that allow water to infiltrate into the soil. According to recent research, properly designed rain gardens can effectively trap and retain a high percentage of common pollutants in urban storm runoff, potentially improving water quality and promoting the conversion of some pollutants into less harmful compounds.

The idea for the 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative was generated as part of the city of Kansas City's stormwater management efforts, with participation of its Stormwater Steering Committee. With Mayor Kay Barnes' adoption of the initiative, the program has been funded by Kansas City's comprehensive citywide stormwater management plan, called KC-One. Black & Veatch is the prime contractor for KC-One and has been active in the initiative by making various presentations, participating in training sessions, and assisting with a mayoral-appointed advisory panel of civic leaders.

The 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative links citizens, corporate sponsors, educators, and members of nonprofit organizations with government officials to take action on important environmental issues like water quality and stormwater flow. Planting 10,000 actual rain gardens in the Kansas City area during the next few years should reduce potential problems with water pollution and stream degradation.

"Black & Veatch has taken a corporate leadership role in the 10,000 Rain Gardens Initiative and has encouraged active participation by other local groups," said Dan McCarthy, president and CEO of Black & Veatch's water business.

For more information about the 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative, please visit www.rainkc.com or www.bvraingardens.com.

It is unimaginable to me that a technologically advanced civilization would readily commit environmental and economic suicide when we have most of the necessary clean tech tools already developed. Not effectively leveling this cost comparison playing field now is one step closer to that potential unimaginable outcome.

Can't contain the excitement on this emerging evolution.  Why not celebrate a bit as we finally gain real traction after years of socially-conscious and sometimes stigmatizing suffering we starving artist-technologists know well. I feel we are ready for a RealNEO Rennaissance!

Last Wednesday, we opened up The Inner Circle Restaurant and historic Hough Bakeries complex for a public tour, planning discussion, and great Hot Sauce Williams BBQ buffet, and that was a great success - there's a write-up here. Your next chance to join The Inner Circle, explore The Hough, participate in planning this neighborhood and enjoy some great BBQ is this Friday, June 1, 2007. More on the Open House and pictures are found at http://realneo.org/Next-Chance-to-Join-The-Inner-Circle. More on the Hough Bakeries complex at http://realneo.org/hough-bakery-becoming-the-star.

Location

Located in the heart of the historic Hough Bakeries Complex is the Inner Circle, a weekend club and reception facility operated for the past 7 years by the Hot Sauce Williams family. Starting shortly, operation of the Inner Circle will expand to extended hours every day, featuring a cybercafe, meeting space, computer terminals, free wifi, independent film, the Linux Cafe, art, culture, and great food, coffee, and even wine tastings, via a broader partnership of friends. This pan is from the deck and patio area, and features Guyanese chef and reggae performer and DJ Edwin, who will help operate the Inner Circle, shown with Hot Sauce Williams founder LeMaud Williams, as well.

Look familiar anyone? This building is on College Street just east of Spadina Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It looks like another building I have seen...can't think of which one though...

As a contrast to yesterday's Header of the Day, of Beechwood Place Mall, here's a new pan from a shoot at new Cleveland Big Box Mall Steelyard Commons, still in development, on April 20, 2007.

I had the annoyance of going to Beechwod Place Mall today for a meeting. What an astounding celebration of sweatshop labor and wasted resources. This pan is the first floor corner by some silly place called Nordstom, where not only does the coffee shop not provide wifi but the barista doesn't know what wifi means.

Give solar energy chance

Give solar energy chance

By Andrew Korfhage

In the early 1980s, the future looked bright for solar energy. The Carter administration had published the report "A New Prosperity," detailing how emerging technologies and smart policy could together help the United States meet 28 percent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by the year 2000. Before he left office, President Jimmy Carter installed a solar thermal water heater on the roof of the White House, and the government extended federal solar energy tax credits to homeowners so they could do the same.

Whiskey Island – RiverDay Event – Saturday, May 19 from 2 - 4pm:

Sponsored by the Friends of Whiskey Island and the Northeast Ohio Sierra Club

2:00 - 3:00 PM: Take a self-guided walking tour of Wendy Park to the River Boardwalk. Come and celebrate the beginning of Cleveland's waterfront renaissance! This year the county commissioners and the mayor confirmed that Whiskey Island will remain open to the public for recreational, cultural and boating purposes. There is no longer a threat of port authority development on the county's public property. Explore and experience where our American Heritage River greets our Great Lake. Bring picnics, kayaks, volleyballs, cameras, binoculars and feel free to stay for the sunset.

3:00 – 4:00 PM:Gather at the River Boardwalk to hear Paul Alsenas, Director of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, and other speakers. Discussion topics include the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie, the restoration of the Whiskey Island parkland and beach, the future of the historic Coast Guard Station and Hulett Ore Unloaders, and extending the 110-mile Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail to Whiskey Island…

Meet at Wendy Park- West Shoreway (Rt. 2) to the Edgewater Park/Whiskey Island exit, take a right turn at the first road and follow signs.

Contact Ed Hauser at ejhauser [at] ameritech [dot] net or (216) 651-3476. Visitwww.citizensvision.organd www.ohio.sierraclub.org/northeast

Location

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Location

When I was traveling a number of years ago in Santorini, Greece with a young woman I still know,  I had an experience that doesn’t happen much in this country.   We were eating dinner in a small bistro when volla! The waiter came to our table with a bottle of wine and two glasses, filled the glasses and left the bottle  – announcing that the wine was “compliments to the lady” from two men at another table.  That was great!

I have a theory that images influence our mood.  In particular, I believe that color and shape  in images impact our daily behavior.  Images certainly may even control more than our mood, but let’s start simply with mood.   There are images we turn our heads away from because we don’t want to view them, and there are images which we return again and again to view.  What does that tell you? 

 

As a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of electric vehicles, we thrive on providing drivers with choices they can feel good about. Working with our internationally respected partners, we’re bringing the world’s finest zero-emission vehicles to you—setting a new standard for what electric vehicles can be. The culmination of this passion for quality, the ZENN™, the only luxury NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) on the market.

 

The month of May is always the Month of Lilacs for me.  They have always been one of my favorite flowers because of their great aroma.  As a child, my bedroom window looked out at a hedge of lilacs.  Not only were there the common light purple lilacs, but there was also one bush of deep magenta.

Join the nonprofit organization ClevelandBikes on its annual “Bike to Work” rides, now bigger than ever! ClevelandBikes hosts commuting rides downtown, led by experienced ride leaders, every day during National Bike to Work Week, May 14-18, with rides continuing on the final Friday of every month, May through September. ClevelandBikes also supports a major health initiative, with a “Bike to Work”ride for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (www.livestrong.org) and “LIVESTRONG” day on Wednesday May 16. National “Bike to Work” Week is sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists (www.bikeleague.org), which offers bicycle advocacy and support programs for more than 125 years. Here's the summer “Bike to Work” ride schedule:

One of the writers at CoolCleveland contacted me about using some of my photos of the Breuer for an article they just posted here - another interesting proposal for the property, broadening awareness of the issues with the current plan and alternatives... read more

 

US National Archives & Records Administration Facility,
Waltham, MA. Photo courtesy of Sika Sarnafil Roofing Systems, Inc.

CLEVELAND “BIKE TO WORK WEEK, MAY 14-18 -- PART OF NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK WEEK; LANCE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION “LIVESTRONG” DAY, WEDNESDAY MAY 16; AND SPECIAL EVENTS FOR THE SUMMER!

Two sisters who recently returned from Portland, Oregon and Brooklyn, New York, have begun an asphalt garden in a lot on Stanard, one block south of St. Clair Avenue behind the Goodrich Gannet Center. Map Here’s their plan: