Four the Future - September 1

To kick off your Sustainable September: Measuring energy efficiency, city awards, auto accident costs, and living without automobiles.

• Mayor introduces ecofriendly bill
  Source: San Francisco Chronicle; August 11, 2010
  Summary: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wants commercial buildings in the city to conduct an energy audit for their buildings every 5 years and updated annually. The reports would include the cost of energy-saving upgrades, and their expected annual savings. The reports would be made available to the public, and distributed to tenants. The local Building Owners and Managers Association is in favor.
  Opinion: Excellent move, if executed properly. People fix what they measure, and when they see the large return on investment on energy efficiency measures, they will begin to embrace them. Additionally, it will serve as a great way for foundations to direct energy efficiency grants, giving San Francisco an advantage over other communities.
• City of Spokane Receives Award
  Source: Councilman Jon Snyder; August 20, 2010
  Summary: The City of Spokane received an award from the American Planning Association and Planning Association of Washington "for its greenhouse gas inventory reports and Sustainability Action Plan." The blog entry lists a number of different activities that the City has performed to become more resilient.
  Opinion: The efforts the city is putting forward to make itself and the community more sustainable are commendable. Only crazed conspiracy theorists (John Ahern, Nancy McLaughlin, Mike Fagan, etc.) and their credulous followers can get in the way.
• Safety: Assessing the National Bill for Crashes
  Source: New York Times; August 30, 2010
  Summary: Automobile accidents account for nearly $100 billion annually, but only about 17% is direct medical costs. The vast majority is due to lost wages, productivity and costs associated with disability. Men account for about three-quarters of the cost. Teenagers, 14% of the population, account for a third of the cost. And motorcycle drivers and bicyclists cost twice as much when injured, due to the extent of injury. Seatbelts, increased speed enforcement, child safety seats and alcohol ignition lock-outs reduce the costs. Restrictions on teenage driving also helps.
  Opinion: What isn’t mentioned in the article is that one of the best ways to reduce those costs is greater transit ridership. People on rail and buses are almost immune, as the aggregate fatality risk for autos is 1,300 times greater than for buses.
• In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars
  Source: New York Times; May 11, 2009
  Summary:
  
  
  Seventy percent of families in Vauban, a subdivision in suburban Freiburg, Germany, do not have cars. What roads they have do not permit cars to park. Driveways and home garages are generally forbidden. There are parking garages on the edge of the neighborhood which cost $40,000. Bikes are common, as is use of the tram which goes through the one square mile community. Originally a military base, it was not designed with auto traffic in mind. When cars are needed, people can rent from the auto club. Americans are often suspicious of anything that reduces car usage, but there is a similar concept being developed in California named Quarry Village.
  Opinion: If the concept interests you (as it does me, if merely as a living laboratory so we can optimize such places), feel free to dig deeper. The Wikipedia page links to some other newspapers. There’s a series of photos (including the one above) available here. Some of the architecture is, shall we say, uninspired. But, that’s something we fix in the next version, right?