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Monthly archive for August, 2009
Monday Housekeeping
Monday, August 31st, 2009
The Daily Dig is on vacation this week–last we heard passed out on a beach in Antigua–but is expected to be sobered up and and back on duty next week. We’ll be posting daily in the meantime, but also gearing Read more ›
‘Mad Men’ Tackles The Sad Saga Of Old Penn Station
Friday, August 28th, 2009
Now two episodes into its third season, Mad Men continues to be superb, but this week’s show featured a particularly sharp new subplot involving the demolition of Penn Station. In TV time this is 1963 and the developers behind Madison Read more ›
The Best Of TreeHugger: Bicycle Superhighways And Cash For Clunky Fridges
Friday, August 28th, 2009
China’s own all-electric car, the E6 by battery maker-turned-auto giant wannabe BYD, is on the express road to the US — with Warren Buffet in the driver’s seat. Meanwhile, the electric Smart car is on its way to market too, Read more ›
The Daily Dig – High Speed Rail Edition
Friday, August 28th, 2009
. A judge found that the environmental report for California’s 800-mile $40 billion HSR project was “inadequate” for a section of proposed route near San Jose. The ruling is relates to Union Pacific’s reluctance to allow fast passenger trains to Read more ›
Ha! Amusingly Defaced Fire Hydrants
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Oh my goodness, a Super Mario fire hydrant! Hi-lar-ious! Yeah, well, it’s summer, and we feel draggy and not capable of much today except looking at lots of silly pictures on the internet. But fire hydrants do seem thematically appropriate Read more ›
Why Glaeser Got It Wrong: Re-Running The Numbers On High Speed Rail
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
Over the past month, economist Ed Glaeser has explored the benefits of high-speed rail in an occasional series over at the New York Times website. To put it mildly, his reception in the blogosphere has been wretched. Ryan Avent at Read more ›
The Daily Dig – ‘California’s New Grid’ Edition
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
. States officially submitted applications yesterday for an $8 billion pot of loot for high speed rail. California wants $1b. Virginia is seeking a modest $75m. A state’s willingness to contribute its own money may prove a key factor in Read more ›
Grusome Short Film Targets Teens Who Text And Drive
Monday, August 24th, 2009
According to research in Britain, 50 percent of drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 send text messages while they’re behind the wheel. For anyone who’s seen the studies showing that texting drivers are about as safe as those Read more ›
The Daily Dig – ‘The Chicken Underground’ Edition
Monday, August 24th, 2009
. Robert Samuelson, who writes about economics for the WaPo (and should never be confused with real life economist Paul Samuelson) picks up on last weeks’ NY Times series on high speed rail, and declares it’s “antisocial” to support passenger Read more ›
Calgary Getting A Fancy New Cigar-Shaped Bridge For Walkers And Cyclists
Friday, August 21st, 2009
Calgary is building a $20 million bridge for walkers and bikers. It spans the Bow River, was designed by Spanish starchitect Santiago Calatrava, and somwhat resembles a cigarette cookie. [SButtonZ button="digg"] The tubular structure (both literally and in ’80s surf-speak), Read more ›
The Daily Dig – High Speed Rail Edition
Friday, August 21st, 2009
. A fancy Harvard economist “crunches the numbers” for high speed rail. His advice to America? “Don’t bother.” But, on closer examination, the whole exercise seems a tad hackish. Did you know, for instance, new airports and highways build themselves Read more ›
The Best Of TreeHugger: Soviet Subways, ‘Bike-Thru’ Lanes, And Urban Whales
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Each week, TreeHugger pops up on Infrastructurist to offer up a dose of its finest coverage of the built environment. Transit: We admired the the strange, beautiful subways of the Soviet Union, and were excited to hear that Seattle is Read more ›
Mayor Mike: It’s Time To Crack Down On Subway Nudity
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
This evening in New York there’s an opening of this exhibition by an “artist” whose “art” consists of taking pictures of naked ladies on packed subway cars. He says that seeing pictures of cute girls’ naughty bits as they abide Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Visualizing The Grid Edition
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
. Ryan Avent unloads once more on economist Edward Glaeser who has set out to crunch the numbers on high speed rail. Glaeser’s latest dispatch looks at the question of whether HSR meaninfully addresses sprawl. Glaeser: Not meaningfully. Avent: Edward, Read more ›
What’s A ‘Bridge In A Backpack’?
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Before we discuss the specifics of this bit of engineering ingenuity, can we all just appreciate for a moment the marketing savvy of “bridge in a backpack”? Based on name alone, we want lots of them built in our town. Read more ›
The Recession: A Particularly Stupid Time To Cut Public Transportation
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
In case your attention has been elsewhere in recent months, Americans now rely more on public transportation than they have since the days when the Interstate system was being built–even as there’s a minor financial crisis afoot at many local Read more ›
The Daily Dig – ‘Private Sky Garages’ Edition
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
. “Ever since the U.S. began to shift commercial shipping from rail to truck (in the 1920s) we’ve faced gridlock and pollution.” But, wait, an electric delivery truck is now available. It can carry 16,000 lbs with a range of Read more ›
Housekeeping: Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming Tomorrow
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
Your humble editor somehow ended up on the wrong side of a summer bug, so yesterday and today have turned into recuperation days. We should be back tomorrow and the rest of this week. In general though, between now and Read more ›
The Daily Dig – ‘Let’s Go Ride A Bike’ Edition
Monday, August 17th, 2009
. Commuter rail workers in the SF Bay Area called off a strike shortly before their declared midnight deadline. “A strike could have put another 60,000 vehicles on the road.” But probably quite few bikes as well… (AP) Washington DC Read more ›
Portland Considers Buying A McMansion-style Highway Bridge
Monday, August 31st, 2009We’re all smarting from the economic recession that’s hurt our incomes and job prospects, from the decline in housing values that’s dented our wealth, and the collapse in financial markets that’s dealt a big setback to our retirement plans. We’re Read more ›