Sharing the road, or not.

Posted on September 18, 2008
Filed Under Commentary, Featured | Leave a Comment

On this site, I have often mentioned the “No Impact Man“, Colin Beavan. Unfortunately, Colin has recently experienced two close calls while riding his bike in NYC.

The most recent was an incident involving New York State Senator Jeff Klein. No matter how you feel about cyclists on the streets, I think you would agree that the Senator’s words are unworthy of an elected official of the people. Colin Beavan has sent the Senator a letter and has asked to meet with him to discuss policies relating to bikes and cars.

Here’s the letter to Senator Jeff Klein:

September 17, 2008

Senator Jeff Klein
Legislative Office Building
Room 313
Albany, New York 12247

Dear Senator Klein,

RE: My request, as a member of the board of Transportation Alternatives, to meet with you to discuss transportation policy as it relates to bicycle safety, carbon emissions, the cultivation of New York City quality of life, breathable air, and traffic congestion.

Though you may not know my name, you may recall that you and I met today under rather unpleasant circumstances on New York City’s Broadway, just north of City Hall. You were driving your black Mercedes. I was riding a small folding bicycle and wearing a purple helmet.

To refresh your memory:

Traffic was moving rather slowly and you were heading in the downtown direction, as was I. You were in the far left lane and I was riding on the curbside of that lane, near your rear passenger door. Suddenly, you began to veer your Mercedes to the left, potentially crushing me between your car and the cars parked on the side of the road.

With nowhere to go to get out of your way, and to avoid serious injury or death, in desperation, I chose to knock on your window to let you know that I was there and that you should avoid veering further in my direction.

At this point, you brought your vehicle to an abrupt halt, not to avoid hitting me, but because you apparently needed to communicate something to me. You rolled down your window and said, “Get your hands off my car, you fucking asshole.”

I said, “You were veering into me and going to crush me.”

You said, “You better not touch other people’s cars. You might find that touching other people’s cars is more dangerous than traffic.”

This gave me the impression that you were threatening me.

I said, “I think my life is more precious than your car.”

You said, “I didn’t see you.”

I said, “If you’re driving a car, it’s your responsibility to see what’s in road space before you veer into it. That’s what your driver side mirror is for.”

You said, “I looked in my mirror.”

I said, “You should also turn and look over your shoulder since you know there could be a bicyclist.”

You said, “Yeah. Well, maybe you should watch where you’re going.”

I said, “Where was I supposed to go? I was there. And you were veering into me.”

I was about to remind you that, in the past week, two cyclists have been killed by automobiles in New York City, but you made a gesture which implied you considered this conversation a waste of time and drove off. That is when I saw that your car had special license plates proclaiming your membership of the New York State Senate.

A red light stopped you at the next intersection. I rode alongside you and, more cautiously, tapped again on your window. You rolled it down. I could tell by your face that you weren’t happy to be talking again to this particular New York State citizen, on whose behalf you govern.

I asked you, “What is your name, Senator?”

You said, “Senator Jeff Klein.” This is how I know it was you.

Now, the thing is, Senator, I don’t particularly call you to task for calling me a fucking asshole. If the roles had been reversed, and I had a big black Mercedes and you came up in a purple helmet, knocking on my window, and I didn’t realize I was on the verge of crushing your legs, I might have called you a fucking asshole, too.

I’d like to point out, however, that, as mad as you were about my touching your car window with my hand, you could double or triple that strength of emotion when it comes to how frightening it is to be on the other side of the Mercedes driving wheel, especially when that particular Mercedes is coming toward you.

Weigh it up: “he might scratch my black Mercedes” against “he might cause my little girl to be left fatherless.”

Weigh it up again: One guy is riding a bike that weighs a grand total of 22 pounds and has a relatively small potential to harm others. The other guy is in charge of a powerful machine that weighs a couple of tons. Which person has the greater responsibility to watch out for the care and welfare of people who may get in their path, by their own fault or not?

As a State Senator, I’m sure you especially feel the weight of the obligation to look out for the welfare of others, no?

Again, this is not to say you did not act like many other humans in the same situation. But it is to say that transportation policy in New York City currently falls way too short of making sure that unintended confrontations like ours–and worse ones that end in fatalities–don’t occur.

Proper policy, which provided ubiquitous segregated bike lanes or which limited traffic congestion, could reduce such incidents without having to depend on drivers of black Mercedes, for example, remembering to look in their driver side mirror or over their shoulders.

It is for this reason that I hope you will honor my request to visit your office, along with Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White, to ask you to reconsider your current platforms on transportation and traffic congestion in New York City.

As you know, the United States’ dependence of foreign oil contributes significantly to our current economic crisis and is a matter of national security. Furthermore, the planet’s future ability to support human life is in peril because of global warming caused, in large measure, by the overuse of the same foreign oil.

At the same time, countless studies show that making the streets of New York and other cities safer and more convenient for bicyclists and pedestrians would reduce automobile use, dependence on foreign oil, carbon emissions, and traffic congestion while contributing to breathable air and livable streets, improved retail business, and the physical health of New Yorkers.

Yet, until now, your platform has presented obstacles to the adaptations that might bring these benefits to New York City. Not only did you oppose congestion pricing, a measure intended to decrease vehicular traffic, but you proposed eliminating the tolls on bridges and tunnels into Manhattan on holidays, which would bring more traffic into the City and further encourage automobile use, just when it should be decreased.

I hope you’ll consider that these policies are out of step with the current times. I hope, too, seeing, in the case of our confrontation, the result of your policies when it comes to impact on personal lives, in general, and the safety of bikers, in particular, might also give you cause to reconsider your position.

Policies that make New York City safe for bicyclists and pedestrians–the people who live on the streets as opposed to the people who just drive through them–is best, both for our citizens and the planet.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding my request to meet in person to discuss these issues.

Yours sincerely,

Colin Beavan
aka No Impact Man,
Board Member, Transportation Alternatives

Consumer Protection and Toxic Chemicals

Posted on August 25, 2008
Filed Under Commentary, Featured, Health & Fitness Headlines | Leave a Comment

us-senate.jpgAs someone who has switched over to glass water bottles and Kleen Kanteen products, I have made a personal decision to limit the amount of plastic I use. I choose to do this based on both environmental and health reasons, including an instinct that the somewhat “chemical” smell found in some plastic water bottles can’t be good for you.

As someone who is expecting a baby this fall, I am now looking at all the plastic baby “stuff” with a much more critical eye. Spending nine months avoiding alcohol, caffeine, chemical cleaners, hair dye and anything else I deem risky for the baby and then sticking him with a pacifier made from controversial chemicals seems counter-productive.

Fortunately, as I glance down the never-ending aisles of baby accessories I notice that more and more companies are responding to “plastic” concerns. I am also pleased to find that our U.S. government has recently taken a step to address these concerns as well.

Below is the article which appeared in the Washington Post on August 1st. (As a side note, I also learned that Exxon is the primary manufacturer of the main phthalates found in children’s toys and lead a huge resistance and lobbying effort against the bill.)

Historic legislation that would remove toxic chemicals from toys and put a more powerful and better-funded cop on the beat to police the safety of consumer goods is on the verge of becoming law.

The measure, approved by the Senate in an 89 to 3 vote last night and now awaiting President Bush’s signature, represents the most significant expansion of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) since it was created in 1973. It also marks a fundamental shift in the federal government’s approach to protecting consumers from dangerous products: transforming a reactive stance to a preventive one by dealing with hazards before goods reach the marketplace, including products manufactured overseas.

Although passed too late to affect toys that will be sold this holiday season, the measure’s impact will be felt for years to come, supporters said.

The legislation’s impact on consumers “is vast and can’t be underestimated,” said Rachel Weintraub of the Consumer Federation of America.

Lead, the toxic metal that last year turned up in cherished playthings such as Elmo and Dora the Explorer, effectively would be banned from toys and children’s products. So will some phthalates, a class of chemicals in soft plastic used in teethers, pacifiers and other items that infants and toddlers put in their mouths. The phthalate most commonly used in children’s products, diisononyl phthalate (DINP) will be banned for two years, pending a study.

Toymakers would be required to have independent labs test products before they are sold — a practice many consumers assumed was already happening until last year’s wave of toy recalls. And voluntary safety standards would become mandatory, including a requirement that powerful rare earth magnets in toys not fall out or come loose. From 2003 to 2006, one child died and 19 others required surgery after swallowing magnets.

Consumers could eventually see labels certifying toys have been tested before being sold. When they buy a toy online or through a catalog, they would be able to see the same warning label that appears on packaging to warn parents of small parts or other potential hazards.

Consumers would also be able to look up complaints or accident reports involving not only toys but lighters, electric saws, cribs and other goods in an online database.

To ensure that manufacturers comply with all these new requirements, the CPSC will receive a large boost in resources and authority. The agency budget will nearly double to $136 million, from $80 million for this fiscal year. It has already begun hiring more inspectors for the nation’s largest ports.

The CPSC will have the assistance of state attorneys general who will have the authority to help enforce federal product safety laws. They will be able to take manufacturers to court to keep dangerous products off the market.

“What you’ll see is better systems put in place to check for dangerous products,” said Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), the measure’s chief backer in the Senate and a former state attorney general.

Companies that fail to report hazards or violate product safety laws could face as much as $15 million in penalties. Previously, that amount was capped at $1.8 million.

A dozen foods to buy organic

Posted on June 9, 2008
Filed Under Nutrition Tips | Leave a Comment

veggies1.jpgLike most people, I prefer that my fruits and vegetables do not come with a pesticide coating. I attempt to buy organic produce as much as possible, but often the price differences make it prohibitive.

The Environmental Working Group has come out with a list of a dozen foods that justify paying the increased price for buying organic. They believe that by choosing the organic versions of these twelve, you can lower your pesticide exposure by almost 90 percent.

Here they are:

keep looking »