Advocacy Project: Barriers to Bicycling

Purpose
Through this activity, I hope to show why biking should be encouraged as a form of transportation and to prove the need for adequate bicycle accommodation on our state roads.

Instructions
This is a two-part activity.

Part 1: Please read the following web pages:

• Learn about the benefits of bicycling and see for yourself what a great mode of transportation it really is.

• Check out these state- and nation-wide crash facts. The point is not to blame either motorists or bicyclists (because both are at fault), but to learn what causes accidents and think about how they can be avoided with proper bicyclist accommodation.

• Read the following Rules of the Road to learn how to keep yourself and others safe. It is important for bicyclists and motorists alike to know these rules.

Part 2: For your assignment, please choose ONE of the following options:

• Write a short description of a time when you were somehow involved in (or witnessed) a bicycle-motorist accident. Describe what happened and state how the problem could have been avoided.

OR

• Go out into the community and photograph a situation that is unsafe for bicyclists. (Ideas include lack of room on the road, huge potholes, etc.)
  

Even if you are not an avid bicyclist, hopefully this activity helps you bring the issue down to a personal level. As I mentioned before, both motorists and bicyclists need to take responsibility in this issue in order to keep all commuters safe: motorists can help by being respectful of bicyclists on the road, bicyclists can do their part by following traffic laws, and both can advocate for safer and more convenient bikeways. After all, many people will find themselves in both these roles through out their lives - it's important that everyone is working together!

Share and Voice: Living Green Expo

Hey everyone!
Lately I've been having some serious cabin fever and needed to get out of Duluth for a bit... so I went to the Living Green Expo on Saturday at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. I had never heard of this event until Abbey posted a Share and Voice about it earlier this semester. I drove down for the whole day on Saturday, and I'm definitely glad I went! I was really impressed by all the exhibitors, workshops, etc. that they had.

Here's a few pictures from the expo:


Bins were available EVERYWHERE for trash, recyclables, and compostable materials. There was no excuse not to properly dispose of waste!


This was really cool - it's the Brac Grey Water Recycling System. This system recycles greywater from the shower, bath, and laundry and reuses it to flush the toilet! Their website says it can save approximately one-third of our water consumption!


An example of a green roof! Yes, those are real plants! For more information about, visit the Minnesota Green Roofs Council website and check out their RoofBloom program.


Did you know that Organic Valley has trucks that run on vegetable oil? I sure didn't!

A great example of Metro Transit's efforts to go greener! They've added new hybrid buses in recent years, among other things.






Alternative energy options such as wind and solar were displayed. There were even mini wind turbines for powering a small building such as a workshop!


As I mentioned earlier, I thought this expo was awesome! It was especially cool to see the huge variety of individuals that were there. It was very apparent that the "living green" concept is not something only select groups of people are concerned about. This is great, because it needs to be a cooperative effort among everyone! Also, there were lots of small children at the expo (there was even a whole section just for kids with fun hands-on activities), one scene that particularly struck me was these two little boys who were looking at the hybrid and electric cars with their dad and they were just so incredibly excited about them! It was adorable, to say the least.

I'll admit I spent most of my time at workshops and vendors that were related to food... it was definitely my main focus. I think the main reason I'm so interested in food is because, well, I eat every day! Making the effort to eat local, organic, and sustainably grown food is one thing I can do and feel like I'm really making a difference. All the exhibits were interesting, of course, but I didn't feel the same connection with them. For example, I don't drive every day and I'm in no financial situation to purchase a new vehicle, so although the alternative vehicles were neat, they're not a change I would make right now. Also, the products/ideas related to alternative home energy, housing/building options, and landscaping were really cool and now I'm aware of many options for the future, but again, these are things that I feel aren't feasible for me right now.

I could probably ramble on and on about this expo, but I'll try to keep it relatively short. :)

Here's a few highlights:

The one thing that most surprised me was seeing Walmart represented among the exhibitors! Apparently they are making some "green" efforts - the one they were specifically promoting was their sustainable packaging of plastics made from corn instead of oil. (I tried to find this on their website, but I was unsuccessful.)

A few fun things:
- We can help the bee population in our state by growing plants in home gardens that support
bee health!
- Some Chipotle employees were there selling tacos and chips at a pretty low price, and 100% of
the weekend's proceeds are going to Renewing the Countryside.
- Tree seedlings make great wedding guest favors!

In case you're interested, here are some other cool links!

- Tree Trust: Transforming Lives and Landscapes
- Eat Local America
- Homegrown Minneapolis
- By the Yard, Inc.
- Solar Oven Society
- EarthVitality
- Mississippi Market: Recipes for 3 Days, 3 Ways
- Mr. Ellie Pooh
- Play it Forward


Okay, that's probably enough links! Sorry I just bombarded you guys with a lot of info, but I hope you found some of it to be interesting!


(All photos taken by me on May 2, 2009. Permission was gained from vendors.)