On the first Earth Day, I was 10 years old. I don’t think I knew it had been declared Earth Day because I wasn’t even reading the newspaper yet. I was nearing the end of fifth grade, a pivotal year in my life when I began to form an anti-authoritarian attitude because I had what […]
What good are climate goals if they’re not considered when real decisions are made in our cities? It’s a recurring question heard in posts on streets.mn that soon will be addressed at the Saint Paul City Council’s March 4 meeting when it considers the appeal of a proposed development at 2495 Kasota Ave. The Council […]
Are you ready to respond to our climate emergency? Are you interested in what this means for land use and transportation in particular? Join streets.mn’s newest committee this coming Sunday afternoon, January 26th, from 3:00-5:00 at CoCreatz on the Green Line. We’ll be talking about the ways streets.mn intersects with climate breakdown and how we […]
Just this past week, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) released a report entitled “Pathways to Decarbonizing Transportation” that models various ways for the state to achieve its climate goals. These goals were set in the Next Generation Energy Act (NGEA) that was passed in 2007 and signed by Governor Tim Pawlenty (!!!). Minnesota aimed […]
Summer’s recent resurgence has bummed me out since I’m not exactly a fan of hot weather, but the bright side is that it means this post (which I procrastinated on writing for about two months) can be published and still be somewhat timely even as the first signs of autumn appear. As global warming continues […]
Recently, I wrote about the usage emissions of gas (internal combustion engine), hybrid, and electric vehicles. When we only look at emissions out of the vehicle tailpipe or electric plant smokestack, electric vehicles are clearly the cleaner option for the marginal mile of travel. But as several commenters noted, we really need to look at […]
As you may be aware, trees mitigate carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. As such, tree planting has gained popularity as a form of carbon offset, with some cities and states providing incentives to plant trees as an offset activity. This 2015 study of the Twin Cities suggests that trees can help, but that they […]
Engineers have a lot of options in how they design our streets and roads, how safe they make them, who they serve well and who they serve poorly. This post will examine why road design is so important, its underlying philosophy and, finally, some specific design options and why various elements are important. A future […]
Here’s a map from Saint Paul’s draft Climate Action Plan, which is out right now for comment. It shows a composite of vulnerability to poor air quality, extreme heat, and flooding, as well as some other social factors that vary by neighborhood. Here’s the overall big picture for the city: The plan has the […]
Last weekend, a group of us from streets.mn gathered to clean up the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis. We lucked out with gorgeous weather (65 and sunny!), and a good turnout despite many other events going on in the Twin Cities that day. A huge thank you to everyone who came out! We met near the […]