Walking
MPG of a Human
Do the Math / Tom Murphy / 29 November 2011
Our walking or biking economies look pretty decent stacked up against cars—especially if we considered consuming foodstuff as potent as gasoline. This is all well and good until one appreciates that because of the way Americans grow, harvest, distribute, and prepare their food, every one kilocalorie of food eaten has consumed about 10 kcal of fossil fuel energy (dominated by oil). Our 7000 kcal gallon of food therefore took 70,000 kcal of fossil-fuel energy to produce, or a little over two gallons of gasoline. So you would divide the “food economy” values we calculated by 2.2 to get the fuel economy that supported your bike trip or hike. Now walking consumes 18–34 MPG of oil equivalent, and biking comes in at 70–130 MPG.
Walking is as critical to your health as sleep
Toronto Star / You Docs / 26 November 2011
Turns out that the older you are, the more important it is to walk. Because the more you walk, the happier you are. And the happier you are, the more you walk, which means the healthier you are.
What specifically does walking do for older family members? The same things it does for you: Within three months of hitting your stride, all of you will have boosted blood flow to your brains by 15 per cent (hello, smarty pants) plus lowered your blood pressure and heart rates about 5 per cent (goodbye, heart disease). If you step lively and cover about six miles a week — easy to do if you walk 30 minutes a day — you’ll also help keep your brain from shrinking and even increase your memory processing area. That ups the chances that you’ll hold onto your memories.
Why Poughkeepsie is a great place to wait for the end of the world
Grist / Michelle Nijhuis / 01 July 2011
[Author and social critic James] Kunstler -- clearly an incurable contrarian -- likes Poughkeepsie. He lives in the Hudson Valley himself, in a far cuter but similarly sized town, and he predicts that such neither-village-nor-city places will one day be just right. "We'll see people moving to places that are scaled appropriately to our energy diet," he said -- towns small enough to walk across, but big enough to pool their resources for, say, a hydropower plant. And with good farmland on one side and a great big river on the other, Poughkeepsie is ideally placed for local food production and carbon-free transportation. "Towns like Poughkeepsie are at their nadir now," he conceded, "but they have a lot of virtues that are going to become apparent in the years ahead."
Active Communities Pledge
The Active Communities Pledge is an initiative of Share the Road Cycling Coalition to encourage voters and candidates to be champions for cycling and active transportation in the upcoming October 6 provincial election.
When people bike more, they get healthier and that means that obesity, diabetes and overall healthcare costs go down. Cycling and active transportation – such as walking, running and in-line skating also fights traffic congestion and carbon emissions. And we all benefit by having more active, healthier and safer communities.
Waterloo, Mississauga and Ottawa – along with many other towns and cities across Ontario – are already taking action to promote cycling and active transportation. These municipalities are making it easier for cyclists and motorists to share the road by paving highway shoulders, putting up signs, and building dedicated bike lanes. They're also encouraging tourism with new cycling trails through the countryside, building Ontario's economy and creating good local jobs.
We invite you to be a champion for active transportation by taking the Active Communities Pledge!
Ontario: Land use planning policies under review
Ontario’s Provincial Policy Statement, that directs land use planning policies, is under review. Ecojustice, SHIFT, and the Pembina Institute encourage those who are concerned about promoting walking and cycling to make their voices heard. Comments accepted until October 29. See sample letter. [Hat tip to Green Communities Canada]
Let's Walk to School
Courier-Islander / Nickie Polson / 25 June 2010
Imagine a school where parents could not drive in and drop off their children, a school where everyone had to walk, run, bike, or rollerblade to get there.
There are many such schools in the under-developed part of the world. There is one in Canada.
Walking, Bicycling and Public Spaces: Lessons from Bogota and Beyond
