Today I witnessed a reality of biking in commuter city.
This morning as I was getting ready to go to class I decided to forgo riding my bike as it has had a perpetual flat tire problem; I decided to walk instead. As I walked down Comm. Ave past the BU Bridge and into BU Central area, I saw a horrifying sight– a bicyclist on the ground near the T-tracks, shoes in the middle of the street, broken glass strewn about and a crowd of people. I knew instantly this biker had been hit by car and I immediately felt sick to my stomach.. that could have been me, I thought.
I stupidly have been riding my bike without a helmet since the summer and I know it is a risky and dangerous game. Helmets are essential to bike safety. I know recently a recent Boston metro-area city instituted a helmet law for cyclists. I am unaware if this particular biker was in fact wearing a helmet.
Bicycle safety is a serious issue in Boston and other cities. This summer I blogged a bit more about this in reference to Mayor Menino’s biking accident. I know Boston is making strides to increase bike safety by installing new bike lanes on Comm. Ave but more needs to be done.
Drives must be aware that they are sharing the rode and at the same time, cyclists need to carry the same amount of attentiveness and alertness while on city streets, which include following traffic laws.
As a bike rider myself, I feel that this is a serious issue and my concern goes out to that person involved in that accident this morning
Maybe I am suffering from green fatigue or maybe just actual fatigue as my lack of posting exhibits this…
Lately I have been working non-stop, watching the Olympics, intern searching, job research (for when i graduate in january eek!), being sick (wah wah) and getting ready for the fall.
I find it hard to believe that it is the middle of August. My roommate is moving out which is sad so the search for a new roommate is underway…
Speaking of the apartment, we seem to have a mysterious mouse friend. I have not seen said mouse but we are taking precautions..
Anywho, I haven’t been able to bring myself to blog even though I have ideas in my head.. maybe once I go home for a few days and then get into the swing of scholl i will get back in blogger mode… I do have an actual post about green fatigue in th works.. I just have to write it..
The Princeton Review now offers green ratings for colleges. Topping the list for the greenest school.. Arizona State University. ASU has a School of Sustainability. Crazy, I had no idea that existed anywhere. The school also stared a lecture requirement for freshman that contains a sustainability component.
I think that’s awesome. I mean, I wish i even had the option to take a course like that. Wonder if any school offers Green Communications or Green PR?
I went ahead and read some of the guidelines for the rankings and they include expected eco-friendly measures of use of organic food and fossil fuels alternatives and also more abstract ideas as professors ability to integrate eco-friendly concepts into instruction.
This article really struck a chord with me being a PR student and having just taken a class in new media. While I feel that we might not be at the point to have New Media Departments, I do believe that this is valuable and useful information (especially in COM) but also in business development, marketing, etc…
The good thing is that this generation has grown up using computers and thus, we are aware of many of the new, social media tools but maybe not in terms of how to effectively utilize them within designed business goals.
One key challenge with this is just being able to keep up with change trends and the fast-paced nature that is the web, new ethical dilemmas, etc…
Any thoughts?
Nonetheless, two really interesting things to ponder….
Google maps has a new walking directions feature and it’s awesome! And for one of the country’s most walkable cities… I’m sure this will come in handy!
You can get walking directions and estimates.. even from Chicago to Boston.
Walking Chicago to Boston
I mean sure it would be over 1,000 mile and take about 13 days but hey at least you would know your route. I also like google’s like warning to “use caution when walking in unfamiliar areas.” And don’t walk at night and use the buddy system..
I thought this was a new endeavor for Beck’s but apparently they have been doing these artists bottles for the past 20 years! Click here to check out previous designs. This year Beck got some help from students at London’s Royal College of Art.
The bottles displayed above are from the following artists: Tom Price, Charlotte Bracegirdle, Riitta Ikonen, and Simon Cunningham.
These bottles will be available starting August 1st but only for a limited time!
With such contemporary designs, maybe these bottles will have people thinking twice before they just throw them away!
So I have a few must-watch tv shows like the office, how i met your mother, pushing daisies.. etc.. BUT summer hiatus is usually just a sad sad period of crappy, mindless television.
For example, the beginning of the summer had me sucked into Legally Blonde: The Search for the Next Elle Woods. That was some pretty crappy yet fantastic tv which I could talk about for this entire post but I will spare you. If anything just watch Seth Rudetsky’s video blogs about it.. HIlarious.
Anywho a few shows I am so happy are here for the summer: Weeds and Project Runway! And, not to deny my environmental motives, I have green comments about both!
First, i have been catching up with this season of Weeds with the help of Surfthechannel– woo! loves it. In a recent episode, Captain till notes drug dealer Guillermo as “environmentally sensitive” as Celia has a picture of him in Nancy’s Prius. Toyota gets pretty good product placement with the Prius– I mean its no GM and Transformers deal but hey, it’s green and I appreciate it… and check out this clever video using Weeds as a Toyota Prius Commerical
It surprises me though, that as many celebs that drive hybrids and support the environmental cause that more eco-friendly product placements do not make the cut. I know back in November NBC did a whole green programming week but that is kind of nothing in the scope of things…
Needless to say I love weeds… and PR! (Project Runway, obvs)
The most recent episode of PR also feature a green element as models chose green, sustainable fabrics for their designers to engineer a cocktail dress from and let’s just say some were FIERCE and some were FLOPS.
Examples:
So, Loved Suade’s dress and not a fan of Wesley’s. most people used that stupid bronze fabric and it did not look good… I also like Daniel’s design in this episode! But it goes to show you can be eco-chic!
I absolutely loved this movie. Such a cute and well-executed concept with a meaningful storyline (all set to a great score by the fabulously talented Thomas Newman).
Coming out of the theater, I noticed that a lot of adults went to see this movie and many were sans children. just because this is a g-rated animated movie, does not mean that it is a “kiddy” flick by any means. The story resonates deeply with societal issues, especially in regards to our health and environment.
The first thing I found really clever was the name of the corporate giant, Buy N Large. Wow, talk about irony. I thought that was a great touch. But, It was the ecological implications presented in the movie I found most intriguing.
In the movie, earth has basically become a vast wasteland. Meanwhile the humans have been shipped off to outerspace to their cushy cruiser liner, where they have become large masses of consumption– much to the comparison of screen captivated masses of today. The visual, digital and advertising overload is questioned, even criticized here. Individuals care for one thing, themselves; human contact is no longer needed or desired– or so one thinks. The stark comparison to the infinitely beautiful gallery is quite a mouthfull.
All the while, attempts to save earth have basically failed until a little bit of green brings a little bit of hope….
I could really ramble on about how I loved the minimal dialogue and Wall-E’s collection of Americana, but really I just suggest you go see it yourself! The movie offers a great message about love and human (or not so human) affection in addition to asking people to take a look at the world we inhabit and the practices that are shaping our future.
AUSTIN, Tex. — Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, was asked a question here at a bloggers conference about energy. She glanced at her BlackBerry, noting that she had an e-mail message from a friend on that very subject.
With that, the voice of former Vice President Al Gore boomed over the public address system, leaving a sea of quizzical looks and then gasps, cheers and a standing ovation as he strode onto the stage.
It produced the first electric moment at the conference, the Netroots Nation, an ever-widening group of progressive bloggers whose major interests — the war in Iraq, the environment and technology — mesh well with Mr. Gore’s current pursuits. Indeed, many in the crowd — who are supporting Senator Barack Obama, the likely Democratic presidential nominee — were overheard saying they wished he were running for president.
As waves of cheers washed over the cavernous convention center, Mr. Gore said to Ms. Pelosi, “We ought to take that act on the road.”
I think grassroots is a place to go on this issue as so many people are passionate about environmental issues, specifically climate change. However, I am doubtful of the call to action and how th words will fit the action…
Heather Wells makes this awesome lanterns and light shades from cocktail umbrellas..SO adorable..and good use of them, too! I mean I love a tropical drink with a umbrella but so cute in lamp form too! I just love kitschy accessories!
This past weekend I found myself in New York and sweet mother is that place expensive. I tried to forget about the cash money and just have a good time, which I obviously did. I saw a whopping three shows for under $90 which is amazing and I saw PATTI ( and got her john hancock)!! Oh and then there was the Megan Mullally sighting were my firends and I ruined a perfectly good converstaion opportunity with her.
Here’s a sample:
(After sighting MM across the street and running over to get picture)
Us: Hi, Can we get a picture.
MM: Sure, so where are you all from?
Us: Boston.
MM: Oh that’s nice
Us: Yeah…
More awkwardness ensued but this is the story of my life…
Megan Mullally
WAH WAH.
Now back to the subject of my post… I began to wonder in this growing grren world if eco-friendly nightlife is emrging at all. After some googling, I found this post from back in January on gliving about the first eco-friendly nightclub in NYC!
AAAH, SO COOL! Wish i could find a website for this place… someone let me know if one exists!
The coolest you can get to that In Boston (or the Allston Area) is buying the $2.50 Brubaker at Our House. reason the price is so cheap is because they reuse the bottles. Clever and environmentally sound– I like that.
Not to jump around but speaking of things that are clever and environmentally sound, one thing that is not is the Fung Wah Bus from Boston to NYC. I took that this weekend and I’m not that big of a fan but hey at $15…. Not so sure how environmentally or mechanically sound this thing is…
Always look for new green things so let me know what you guys have stumbled upon!
