Photos: White House Spring Garden Tour

The White House recently opened their grounds to the public for the annual Spring Garden Tour. Visitors were treated to the oldest continually maintained landscape in the United States. But with all that history there were also some new additions, notably the 1,100 square foot Kitchen Vegetable Garden, which was launched by First Lady Michelle Obama to promote healthy, homegrown and organic eating.

Personally I enjoyed seeing the first ever White House Beehive, where homemade honey is made for the kitchen.  The beehive also brings attention to the importance of pollination in the food process and how climate change is causing honeybees to disappear and thus leading to less pollination. This could have disastrous consequences for the human food supply chain because bees pollinate our flowering crops.

Here are photos of the Kitchen Garden and Beehive:

Electric Cars Take Over D.C. Streets

OK. That is a bit of an exaggeration. But for one day at least, the majority of vehicles circling the soon-to-be CityCenterDC site downtown were not pollution-spewing SUVs but clean, green electric vehicles. That's because the Electric Drive Transportation Association invited the public to test drive different EVs and check out the latest charging station technology.

The biggest lines were for the Chevy Volts, so I instead took a spin in the Ford Transit Connect Electric Cargo Van. This was the first EV I've ever driven and let me just say "wow!" To all the naysayers, just drive one and you will be converted. EVs are so quiet you can hear a pin drop. But they also have a hell of a lot of kick to them when you put the pedal to the metal (you can't call it a "gas" pedal anymore. Electric pedal?).

When the EVs take over the internal combustion engine vehicles to rule the road they will of course need as many charging stations as there are currently gas stations. Well, bring in companies such as Blink, General Electric and AeroVironment -- all whom were displaying their charging stations.

Here are pictures from the event. Feast your eyes on our electric-powered future!

D.C. Mayor Gray Defends Biking Record

Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray got testy at a press conference held at Freedom Plaza on Wednesday as part of Green D.C. Day. He was there to hand out the Mayor's Environmental Awards before walking across the street to the John A. Wilson Building to dedicate the newest Capital Bikeshare station.

Gray was asked by a reporter whether he would continue the policies of former Department of Transportation head Gabe Klein, who revolutionized DDOT under former Mayor Adrian Fenty and was recently chosen as Chicago's transportation chief by Mayor-elect Rahm Emanual.

Gray responded by saying that Klein isn't the only one who is for bicycling, reminding everyone that when he visited the Paris Auto Show he also toured the Vélib’ bike sharing program -- the largest system of its kind in the world.

Will Gray ditch his SUV for a bicycle? If his words and actions on Wednesday are any indication, maybe there is hope after all for bicyclists in the Nation's Capital.

Some of the vendors and exhibitors at the event included DC Water, Weatherize DC, Segway, Clean Currents, Alliance to Save Energy, District Department of the Environment, Green Earth Cleaning and the Anacostia Watershed Society. 

Google to Promote Electric Vehicles

Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that Google is joining the agency's effort to promote electric vehicles by providing consumers with accurate and up-to-date information on the locations of charging stations. The charging station locator will be similar to the popular Google Maps program.

Here is an excerpt from the press release:

"DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is joining with Google Inc. and various industry leaders to provide consumers with consistent, up-to-date information about the EV charging stations in communities nationwide. Drawing on Google Maps, this new collaboration will coordinate an online network of all U.S. charging stations and will serve as the primary data source for GPS and mapping services tracking electric vehicle charging locations."

Fighting for the Climate

With polluters and politicians attacking our precious climate on a daily basis, it's about time people started fighting back. Bring in Bill McKibben, environmental activist and head of climate organization 350.org (the upper limit of parts per million CO2 the atmosphere can take).

He spoke recently at the annual Power Shift conference in Washington about the urgent need to fight back against the climate change deniers in Congress and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The 10,000 participants were fired up by McKibben's impassioned plea to take action even though there is no certainty of winning the war for the future of the planet. After all, the fossil fuel industry and its dirty money is all over Washington -- from Capitol Hill to K Street to the White House.

But there are billions of people crying out for change. And that is where there is hope. Here is McKibben's speech.

Climate Crisis Heavyweights Merging

Two climate crisis powerhouses -- 350.org and 1Sky -- are merging in a strategic decision to unite in their fight against the fossil fuel industry. The new organization will be rebranded the NEW 350.org. Here is an excerpt from today's big announcement:

"For too long, the fossil fuel industry has had its way on the climate issue--its money has overwhelmed the scientific facts, delaying action on the largest challenge humanity now faces.

Right now, the the Clean Air Act is being threatened, the EPA is under attack, and big polluters are mounting an all-out onslaught that threatens to destroy our lands and scorch our planet. In short, we are losing ground.

In the face of these challenges, one thing is clear: if we want to win, we will have to come together like we never have before.

That’s why we at 350.org and 1Sky have important news to share: starting today, our organizations are officially merging. We’ll be called 350.org, and together we’ll be smarter, bolder, faster, and more creative than we were before."

Report: High Speed Rail Could Spur 1.3 Million Jobs

A new report released by the American Public Transportation Association says that federal investment in high speed rail could generate more than 1.3 million jobs. This is great news for HSR proponents and bad news for states that have rejected HSR funding. The latest state to jump on the anti-HSR bandwagon is North Carolina. Republican Ric Killian, a State Representative, has submitted a bill to reject $520 million in federal funds for high-speed rail in North Carolina. Perhaps he will reconsider this shortsighted move after reading this report. But if not, there are plenty of forward-thinking states that will gladly accept North Carolina's HSR money.

Here is the full press release:

Washington, DC – April 6, 2011 –The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released a report detailing the enormous impact high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects will have in driving job development, while also rebuilding America’s manufacturing sector and generating billions of dollars in business sales. This report focuses on key issues critical to private investors as they consider investments or future expansion into businesses serving the growing passenger rail markets.

The report, “The Case for Business Investment in High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail” reinforces the point that investments in high-speed and intercity rail will have many direct and indirect benefits. Nationally, due to proposed federal investment of high-speed rail over a six-year period, investment can result in supporting and creating more than 1.3 million jobs. This federal investment will be the catalyst for attracting state, local and private capital which will result in the support and creation of even more jobs.

According to this new report, investments in building a 21st century rail system will not only lead to a large increase in construction jobs, but to the sustainable, long-term growth of new manufacturing and service jobs across the country.

“It is evident that investing in high-speed and intercity rail projects presents one of the clearest and fastest ways to create green, American jobs and spur long-term economic growth,” said APTA President William Millar. “Investing in high-speed rail is essential for America as we work to build a sustainable, modern transportation system that meets the environmental and energy challenges of the future.”

APTA noted for each $1 billion invested in high-speed rail projects, the analysis predicts the support and creation of 24,000 jobs.

In addition to the thousands of new construction jobs, investments in high-speed rail will jumpstart the U.S. economy. The Economic Development Research Group for the U.S. Conference of Mayors studied the business impact of high-speed rail investment in different urban regions. For example, in Los Angeles, CA, high-speed rail investment generates $7.6 billion in business sales and $6.1 billion in Chicago, IL.

“Federal high-speed rail investment is a strong driver in getting private companies to invest,” said Kevin McFall, Senior Vice President at Stacy and Witbeck Inc., a leading public transit construction firm. “This program can be a shot in the arm for the manufacturing industry. These high-speed rail projects will give us the opportunity to put people to work building the rail infrastructure this country desperately needs.”

“U.S. businesses have been known for their cutting edge technologies and innovations, said Jeffrey Wharton, President of IMPulse NC. “We need to put this expertise to work, providing business and employment opportunities while catching up with the rest of the world in high-speed rail and its associated benefits.”

“We are excited about the prospect of putting Americans to work building the rail tracks and equipment that will keep America’s economic recovery moving forward,” said Charles Wochele, Vice President for Industry and Government Relations at Alstom Transport. “We look forward to partnering with the federal and state governments to ensure these projects get off the ground.”



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The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of 1,500 public and private member organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed passenger rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products. More than 90 percent of the people using public transportation in the United States and Canada ride APTA member systems.

D.C. Environmental Film Fest Goes Out With Big Bang

Former Colorado Senator and current United Nations Foundation President Tim Werth joined hundreds of other filmgoers at the Carnegie Institute for Science in Washington last Sunday evening for a special D.C. Environmental Film Festival closing night screening of "Journey of the Universe" followed by a Q&A with the pic's writers Mary Evelyn Tucker and Brian Swimme.

Swimme narrates the epic story of the universe from the Big Bang to the present moment. He tells this fascinating story from the Greek Island of Samos, using its magnificent history and natural wonders to help explain the greatest story ever told -- the birth of the cosmos 14 billion years ago.

"Journey of the Universe" explains that all living beings, including humans, are made up of the same star dust that created the universe all those eons ago. It is a profound revelation -- we are not separate from the universe and the Earth. In fact, quite the opposite. We are as much a part of the universe as the grass and the Sun. That means we have a special responsibility to protect the unique balance that allows our planet to sustain life. It is a clarion call to end our destructive practices of the industrial age and live in harmony with the Earth. The message couldn't be timelier and the film should be required viewing in every classroom in the world.