UNC Greensboro commuter-friendly with bike-share, car-share, and free transit

The National Center for Transit Research has named UNC-Greensboro as one of the "Best Workplaces for Commuters," according to an announcement.

UNCG is the first employer in the Triad to win the national recognition, the announcement from the school said. The National Center for Transit Research is based at the University of South Florida.

UNCG has been expanding its on-campus transportation options to reduce the need for private cars, in part due to a lack of space for individual parking. The school offers free public transit options, helps coordinate car pools, and recently added the car-sharing service Zipcar for use by students, staff and faculty. A bike-sharing program called Spartan Cycles will also launch this fall.

UNCG’s focus on alternative transportation expands the university’s sustainability efforts and allows students and employees to save more of their hard earned money, said Scott Milman, UNCG's director of auxiliary services.

“Sending a car to school adds to the cost of attendance. We want students and parents to know they can save money by coming to UNCG without a car,” Milman said.

Read more: UNCG wins commuting award - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area

UN foresees food riots -- meanwhile thousands of cars per day added to world highways

UN calls special meeting to address food shortages amid predictions of riots | Environment | The Observer: "Last week, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) called an emergency meeting for 24 September to discuss the food crisis. In Mozambique, riots broke out following the government's decision to raise bread prices by 30%, leaving seven people dead and hundreds injured. At the same time the Russian government extended its export ban on wheat by another 12 months as it battles drought, shortages and inflation at home, which threatens to push up prices further. European wheat prices hit more than €231 (�192) a tonne last week, just below last month's two-year high of €236 but still 60% higher than a year ago in sterling terms. Corn prices are at their highest level since June 2009 while sugar has been on a rollercoaster ride after hitting a 29-year peak in February."

US race to profits and disaster not slowing down

Unless there are changes in the pattern of development that now favors low density housing, strip malls, and exurban road construction, the USFS estimates that from 2020 to 2040, suburban growth will lead to another 19 million acres of forest loss. In total, this loss is approximately 31 million acres, an area about the size of North Carolina. The USFS also recently released a report that details the impact increasing housing density is having on ecosystem services from forests across the U.S. and identifies the South as a region particularly at risk. WorldResourcesInstitute

Polluted Politicians: Dirty energy money flowing to U.S. Senate incumbents | TckTckTck

Polluted Politicians: Dirty energy money flowing to U.S. Senate incumbents | TckTckTck: "Washington is steeped in dirty energy money, with polluting industries contributing vast sums to political campaigns in order to keep American leadership beholden to the status quo fossil fuel addiction."

Humanity goes overbudget for 2010 this week

Global Footprint Network calculates nature's supply in the form of biocapacity, the amount of resources the planet regenerates each year, and compares that to human demand: the amount it takes to produce all the living resources we consume and absorb our carbon dioxide emissions. Its data reveal that, as of August 21, humanity will have demanded all the ecological services – from filtering CO2 to producing the raw materials for food – that nature can provide this year. footprintnetwork

What is the true purpose of right wing extremism? [hint: it is oil]

GOP Politician Confirms What Was Long Suspected: Republicans Intentionally Feed the Racism, Anger, and Paranoia of the Far Right | Tea Party and the Right | AlterNet:

"As an example of both the GOP pandering to right-wing voters and conservative talk show hosts undercutting sensible policymaking, Inglis points to climate change. Fossil fuels, he notes, get a free ride because they're 'negative externalities' -- that is, pollution and the effects of climate change -- 'are not recognized' in the market. Sitting in front of a wall-sized poster touting clean technology centers in South Carolina, Inglis says that conservatives 'should be the ones screaming. This is a conservative concept: accountability. This is biblical law: you cannot do on your property what harms your neighbor's property.' Which is why he supports placing a price on carbon -- and forcing polluters to cover it."

"Asked why conservatives and Republicans have demonized the issue of climate change and clean energy, Inglis replies, 'I wish I knew; then maybe I wouldn't have lost my election.' He points out that some conservatives believe that any issue affecting the Earth is 'the province of God and will not be affected by human activity. If you talk about the challenge of sustainability of the Earth's systems, it's an affront to that theological view.'"

Fares exist mainly to discourage transit use, not raise revenue.

Dr. Gridlock - Second fare hike stresses Metro: "The problem, as the transit staff saw it back in the spring, is that the mechanics of a fare increase -- with all the fare gate, fare box and vending adjustments, the changes in the signs on station kiosks and buses, and the revisions to the online and printed guides -- are always really complicated.

Problem papered over: Metro posted yellow explanation signs and fare update decals on station kiosks. (WMATA photo)

This time, it was more so, because the board and staff were envisioning several relatively exotic adjustments to the rail fares. These would require a new level of sophistication in the programming at the fare gates. The transit staff was moving into uncharted territory."