Nation's Capital Gets Greener

Bicycling past the Lincoln Memorial on a sunny day in the nation's capital.

I've been writing for the past few years about how my hometown of Washington, D.C. is leading the way in America's transition to a sustainable economy. The wildly successful Capital Bikeshare program that recently celebrated its two millionth ride, will soon be the second largest bike sharing system in North America when later this summer New York launches Citi Bike.

But bikes aren't the only mode of transportation being shared in The District these days. Car sharing service Zipcar now has some competition in D.C. with the recent launch of Car2Go. The subsidiary of Daimler AG features Smart Fortwo microcars that easily fit into the smallest parking spaces and are great for zipping around the city. Plus, unlike Zipcar you can pick up and drop off the Car2Go vehicle at any metered parking space in most places throughout The District city limits. While in D.C. and other cities the Car2Go vehicles are gas-powered, in San Diego and Amsterdam the company launched electric vehicle service with a fleet of Smart Fortwo ED (electric drive) vehicles.

Washington, D.C. is America's Construction Capital

CityCenterDC construction cranes with Capitol dome in background.

In the nation's capital, construction cranes are as familiar to the city's skyline as the Washington monument and Capitol dome. Recession? What recession? It is boom times in Washington, D.C. If anti-government, anti-growth Republicans in Congress ever decided to work with President Obama to get the economic recovery moving faster (or if moderates and progressives take over this November), it would be amazing to see the rest of the country build housing, retail, office and infrastructure at the rate D.C. is doing right now.

In these troubling times, construction cranes carry much symbolism. A construction crane represents jobs, progress, innovation, hope for the future. Construction cranes are the antidote to awful austerity and a stalled economy. Construction cranes are brilliant reminders that when the public sector and private sector team up for the benefit of the country, then the future of the United States of America is bright indeed.

Up in the Air: Tel Aviv to Istanbul to Washington, D.C.

A Turkish Airlines plane at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport.

August 28-29, 2011 -- After traveling around Europe by train and Israel by bus for one-and-a-half months this past summer, including working on a kibbutz for two-and-a-half weeks, it was time to fly back home to the United States. I took Turkish Airlines from Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport to Istanbul Atatürk International Airport and then an 11 hour flight from Istanbul to Washington Dulles International Airport.

An airport shuttle picked me up at my hostel in Jerusalem very late at night and made the rounds to pick up more people—all Orthodox Jews—in different neighborhoods in West Jerusalem. We then drove to Ben Gurion, the best-secured airport in the world. Being the only non-Orthodox passenger in the van, I was singled out with questions upon arriving to the security checkpoint just to drive into the airport. The security guy asked me to take off my hat and then asked me where I was going. I was tired and irritated, and answered loudly "Washington, D.C.!" Once you finally enter Ben Gurion, you must wait in a long security line where you will be asked pointed and personal questions to make sure you don't have any bad intentions once you board that plane. Your luggage will also be thoroughly examined and, as in my case, will sometimes be double checked by airport security. Sometimes passengers will be taken for another line of questioning and inspection if the authorities are not satisfied with the first round of questioning. While it can be a maddeningly frustrating and humiliating experience, Ben Gurion will not take any chances when it comes to security, which is why it is the safest airport in the world to fly into and out of. It is not a pleasant experience to be looked at with suspicion, especially at 4 a.m. before a long flight. But it is the reality of Israel and there is some comfort in knowing all the intense security precautions that took place once you finally board that flight. It was around a two hour flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul.

Although half of Istanbul is on European soil (it is the only metropolis in the world situated on two continents, the other being Asia) and it is the third largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and Moscow, my initial impression upon arriving at Atatürk airport was more Eastern and Muslim than Western and secular. It was somewhat of a culture shock after having traveled around Europe and Israel to see passengers arriving on a flight from Barcelona who were almost entirely young bearded Muslim men in full Islamic garb. The international terminal was an interesting mix of religious Muslims and secular Turks and visitors from across the world. I was wearing a Jerusalem t-shirt from the Old City and I was definitely getting some not-so-nice stares from the Muslims making their way around the terminal.

The international terminal at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport.

The security precautions to board my flight to Dulles were like nothing I have ever experienced. There were at least three rounds of thorough baggage checks and questioning. Some passengers were taken aside and questioned even more. And there was a security check just to enter the boarding area. The authorities at Atatürk do a great job in making sure everyone has a safe flight to their destination.

Turkish Airlines is a world-class airline with fantastic service. We even had our own chef! It was a wonderful flight up until we hit some bad turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean, just east of Boston. The pilots had to change to a more southerly route at the last minute but couldn't avoid the incredibly choppy weather front. We were violently tossed and turned and everyone was praying in whatever their faith was (I became an Orthodox Jew for about 15 minutes). It was a harrowing experience. Moments like these, when you feel out of control at 35,000 feet, are the times when you really feel blessed to be alive.

There is no way around it, turbulence is no fun. But it is part of flying and I've started to learn to embrace the bumps as part of the total experience of flying. I now enjoy flying a lot more knowing to expect turbulence. So when it is a smooth flight it's even better, but when we hit a few bumps it's no big deal because I can just look back at that awful turbulence I experienced on the Turkish Airlines flight and be reassured it likely won't get that bad again, and if it does I'll know that I got through it before and I'll get through it again. It is also good to remember that the perception of turbulence in the passenger seat is almost always worse than the reality from the cockpit seat, where the experienced pilots are in control and know what they are doing. Educating myself about the mechanics of air travel and and the science behind turbulence has really relieved much of my anxiety and fears. I suggest Googling "airplane turbulence" to find websites that will help you understand turbulence and way to overcome fears and anxiety when it occurs. Education and awareness are really the keys to enjoying your flight and even learning to welcome turbulence as a normal, everyday in-flight experience.

The airplane finally reached smoother air after about 10 to 15 minutes of turbulence and the prayers changed to thanking God, the heart beats slowed down and the adrenaline stopped flowing. The descent into Dulles was relaxing and enjoyable. Turkish Airlines has cameras on the nose and underneath the plane and as we approached Dulles, passengers were treated to the view of the runway from the cockpit and the landscape passing by below the plane.

Having gone through major security checks at Tel Aviv and Istanbul, it would have been nice to know I was home and could leave Dulles right away. Not the case. A border patrol agent marked me down for a further inspection, so I had to wait in line at a Department of Homeland Security area for international arrivals for another 45 minutes to be questioned again about my travels through Europe and Israel and my flight from Istanbul. I finally was approved to enter back into the United States.

From when I left the hostel in Jerusalem to the moment I collapsed in my own bed in Arlington, Virginia, it was a total of around 18 hours of travel time. When you didn't get any sleep the night before, have to go through three rigorous security checkpoints, sit on an airplane for 11 hours and have to suffer through some bad turbulence, you will sleep like a baby. And that's exactly what I did.

Here are more pictures of the trip from Istanbul to Washington, D.C. Click here for the Flickr set.

Capital Bikeshare Celebrates One Year Anniversary

Capital Bikeshare celebrated a successful first year of operation as the largest bike sharing system in North America with 1,100 shiny red bicycles and over 110 stations spread across Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Virginia. The birthday bash was held Thursday evening under gray skies at The Yards Park next to the Nationals baseball stadium, but the mood was ebullient. 

The crowd rocked out to '80s cover band The Reflex, drank eco-friendly beer from New Belgium Brewing and chomped down tasty eats from food truck vendors like Red Hook Lobster Pound. The attendees, many whom biked to the event, heard nothing but praise about Capital Bikeshare from Arlington County Board Member Jay Fisette, D.C. Councilmember Tommy Wells and District Department of Transportation Director Terry Bellamy, who announced the planned installation of an additional 54 stations in D.C. next year.

Fisette reminded the audience that CaBi is the only bike sharing system in North America that serves two jurisdictions -- Arlington and Washington, D.C. He said that biking isn't about spandex or carbon frames, but, like in Europe, it is about a leisurely city ride to the grocery store with a basket on the front. Capital Bikeshare is making that dream a reality in the Nation's Capital.

Here are more photos from the event.

Thomas Friedman Fights for Future of America in New Book

'That Used To Be Us' authors Thomas Friedman, left, and Michael Mandelbaum speak about their new book at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 8, 2011.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and foreign policy scholar Michael Mandelbaum discussed their new book, "That Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World it Invented and How We Can Come Back," on a cool, rainy night in the Nation's Capital while President Barack Obama was delivering his major address to Congress on jobs and the economy only a few Metro stops away.

The event at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue was co-presented by Politics and Prose bookstore and featured Friedman and Mandelbaum summarizing each chapter followed by a brief Q&A session with the audience, who braved a fifth consecutive day of rain and street flooding to pack into the lower and upper levels of the 105-year-old house of worship to hear the renowned authors speak.

They described their motivation for writing the book as two "frustrated optimists" who are concerned that "the American dream is in play." Friedman recounted a story of a visit to China where he was given a tour of a new state-of-the-art convention center that was built in 8 1/2 months and his dismay when he returned to his home in Bethesda, Maryland to find out that the local Washington Metro subway escalator was broken and that it would take six months to fix 21 steps.

But his bigger concern is that he feels the American people have gotten used to things like broken escalators and that in countries such as China a broken escalator would have been fixed yesterday and would not be accepted. It is part of the slow decline the authors talk about.

The big challenges laid out by Mandelbaum are globalization, the information technology revolution, deficits and energy consumption. He said that economic growth is an "American tradition," but that in the twenty years since the Cold War ended we have not been meeting these challenges, and in some cases have been running from them.

Their solution is to look back at American history and what has worked for us in the past. They are:

• Education -- We must educate Americans to compete in the global economy by raising the average and bringing up those who have fallen behind.
• Infrastructure -- We must invest more in rebuilding our roads, bridges, rails, aviation and mass transit systems so we have the best infrastructure in the world again.
• Research and Development -- The government must maintain the deep tradition of investing in scientific and technological R&D because this is the engine of the economy.
• Immigration -- We must continue to attract the best and the brightest from countries across the world and make it easy for them to set up shop here in America. An example used was that around half of the companies in Silicon Valley are run by Chinese and Indian immigrants to the United States.
• Regulations -- We must take a balanced approach to regulating business. 

Mandelbaum said the two biggest issues we must confront head on are deficits and climate change. For dealing with deficits, he said we need to cut spending, which includes reforming Social Security and Medicare, raise revenue by cutting tax loopholes and raising energy taxes, and finally spending more on infrastructure and research and development.

He said on the topic of climate change, we aren't even having a real debate about dealing with global warming. Instead we are bickering about whether climate change is real, which, as Mandelbaum pointed out, it is. He said we need a new energy policy that relies less on fossil fuels, and we need a price signal that will raise the price of fossil fuels.

But what about America's broken political system that is the most polarized it's been since the 1850s, just before the Civil War broke out, as the two gentlemen pointed out? How do you break through a political system that has been corrupted by money and the new media?

Friedman said there is an Internet movement that will administer "shock therapy" to Democrats and Republicans in the form of an independent, third party candidate. He said the Internet has toppled dictators but has yet to shake up the two party system in America, but that will change. Friedman also has tremendous faith in the enduring spirit of the American people, who "didn't get the word" that they are supposed to be down and out.

The title of Friedman and Mandelbaum's book is taken from an Obama speech following the 2010 midterm elections, although the president is not mentioned a single time in the book. The authors made it clear they will support any leader, regardless of party affiliation, who follows their prescription for renewing the American dream.

Here is the excerpt from Obama's speech that the title was taken from:

"It makes no sense for China to have better rail systems than us, and Singapore having better airports than us. And we just learned that China now has the fastest supercomputer on Earth — that used to be us."