Congress couldn't get it together to vote even on the smallest of possible energy bills-the renewable energy standard-before the October recess. That doesn't change the reality that our energy dependent society needs to find alternatives quickly. Changing up our approach to transportation, one of the biggest sources of energy consumption, is a good place to start.
If more Americans used bicycles as a primary mode of transportation, the country would be closer to getting its energy use under control. So how can we make biking safer, easier, more mainstream? Infrastructure, safety, and education are key. It also helps to replicate model behaviors.
"Last spring, public officials from Madison, Wisconsin, returned home from a tour of the Netherlands, and within three weeks were implementing what they learned there about promoting bicycling on the streets of their own city," reports Jay Walljasper for Yes! Magazine.
Cities like Portland, Madison, and San Francisco are trying to make cycling a way of life. But for the best answers, American leaders must look abroad, to cities like Copenhagen in Denmark, Utrecht and The Hague in the Netherlands, and Malmo in Sweden.
Safe riding
Improving safety is the first order of business to encouraging cycling, and that means investing in infrastructure specifically for bike use. As Change.org's Jess Leber writes, "Every time there is a senseless death, there are going to be a group of residents who decide biking is too risky for their tastes."
Many regular bikers admit that it's frightening to ride down a street with a gigantic, roaring beast of car quickly approaching. "When I lived in New York City, I myself was too frightened to use my bike in many parts of the city," Leber admits.
What kind of infrastructure do we need? Designated bike lanes indicate what sort of space bikes need on the road. But bike lanes should also be physically separated from cars. In Copenhagen, for instance, "the busy roadways are lined with cycle tracks (elevated bike paths painted bright blue for distinction)," writes Campus Progress' Jessica Newman.
In the Hague, bike paths are separate from cars and trucks, Some streets are designated as "bike boulevards," where bikes take precedence over cars, reports Walljasper in Yes! Magazine.
Ease of use
But safe infrastructure is a waste of money if no one uses it. While cities are out building better bike lanes, they should consider adding other features that will make it as convenient to bike as it is to drive or walk. In Malmo, bike riders stopped at red lights can grab onto railings to keep their balance-"a surprisingly popular feature," reports Grist's Sarah Goodyear.
Another Dutch project is to improve the process of parking. "Access to safe, convenient bike storage has a big impact on whether people bike," as Walljasper reports in Yes! Magazine.
"The car is parked right out in front of the house on the street, while the bike is stuffed away out back in a shed or has to be carried up and down the stairs in their buildings. So people choose the car because it is easier," one Dutch policy officer told Walljasper.
More mainstream
In both Utrecht and Copenhagen, one strategy for integrating cycling into its citizens' behavior is to teach the young. In Copenhagen, "Instead of driver's education classes, children attend biker's ed in the third and ninths grades, where they learn traffic laws, proper bike etiquette and general agility," according to Campus Progress' Newman.
A municipal program sends special teachers into schools to conduct bike classes, and students go to Trafficgarden, a miniature city complete with roads, sidewalks, and busy intersections where students hone their pedestrian, biking, and driving skills (in non-motorized pedal cars). At age 11, most kids in town are tested on their cycling skills on a course through the city, winning a certificate of accomplishment that ends up framed on many bedroom walls.
"To make safer roads, we focus on the children," [city planner Ronald] Tamse explained. "It not only helps them bike and walk more safely, but it helps them to become safer drivers who will look out for pedestrians and bicyclists in the future."
Envisioning the future
What does a city with these sorts of programs in place look like? In Copenhagen, you see "streets crowded with bikes, with riders ranging from wealthy, middle-aged businessmen to mothers in tow of three or more kids to poor college students," Newman reports. Thirty-three percent of Copenhagen's citizens commute by bike; in Portland, by contrast, it's just 5.81%.
Yes! Magazine points to another way to understand the difference between biking in an American city, unfriendly to bikers, and in a European city that embraces them. In Riding Bikes with the Dutch, Michal W. Bauch compares transportation culture in Los Angeles and Amsterdam:
Increasing reliance on cycling is not impossible. The tools are already there. American cities just need to use them, and quickly.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the environment by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Mulch for a complete list of articles on environmental issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Pulse, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.
This is the seventeenth article in a continuing series by the NRDC Action Fund on the environmental stances of candidates in key races around the country.
Maryland's eastern shore remained virtually unchanged from Revolutionary War times until the 1950s when the region began to grow vigorously, with second home buyers, retirees and commuters crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Maryland's first Congressional District comprises the eastern shore, plus part of Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Hartford counties, and has been represented by Democrat Frank Kratovil since 2009. Kratovil was the first Democrat elected to represent this Republican-leaning district (McCain won the district 59-40% in the 2008 election) in 18 years. This fall, Kratovil will face Republican State Senator Andy Harris, whom he narrowly defeated in 2008.
During his first term in Congress, Kratovil has voted as a moderate, joining the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats. On clean energy and environmental issues, he has earned a strong voting record. The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) gave Kratovil a 79% rating, which means he voted the right way 4 out of 5 times on environmental issues during his first year in Congress. Most importantly, he supported the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), which is the first global warming bill to ever pass a chamber of Congress. In a release following the vote, Kratovil said, "When I ran for Congress, I promised that I would work hard to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, increase investments in renewable energy, and take real action to protect the Chesapeake Bay. [ACES] makes progress towards those goals, and the many amendments made to the agricultural provisions of this bill ensure that Maryland farmers will also be able to enjoy new revenue streams and economic opportunities."
Andy Harris, on the other hand, thinks the path toward energy independence is more drilling and dirty fuels. On his campaign website, Harris says the "answer is drilling at home... [from ANWR [the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] to shale discoveries in the continental U.S., we should be developing our own sources of oil." And while he also claims to support solar, wind and other new energy technologies, his voting record in the Maryland State Senate tells another story. In just the past two years, he's voted against reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a renewable energy standard, solar energy, green buildings and advanced biofuels. That's just cherry-picking some of Harris' most egregious anti-environmental votes.
The NRDC Action Fund believes that it is important for the public in general, and the voters of specific Congressional districts, be aware of this information as they weigh their choices for November.
Schedule conflicts, work commitments, and transportation issues are just a few reasons why some voters don't show up on Election Day. To help remedy this issue, 32 states have enacted Early In-Person (EIP) voting laws, which have been overwhelmingly favored by voters. While this trend is mainly absent in the northeastern United States, Maryland is currently test-driving its new law this week, perhaps creating a precedent for surrounding states.
"It's a little bit of variety for the voters," said Anthony Gutierrez, director of Maryland's Wicomico County Board of Elections in The Daily Times. The "variety" of voting options didn't come easy to the state, which introduced early voting laws not once, but twice over the last few years.
Last week, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill to allow 16-year olds to preregister to vote. If signed by the governor, Maryland will join Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina, and Rhode Island in enacting this important reform.
Yesterday, the West Virginia House of Delegates voted to kill a effort to put a statewide constitutional amendment on the ballot by a vote of 68-30. The Republicans attempted to discharge the bill from committee, but it was blocked from consideration. The House also blocked the move last year. Folks at Fairness West Virginia say they are confident the Senate will do the same in the coming days, but the right-wingers are planning a rally at the statehouse tomorrow, so everyone's staying alert. This follows the Iowa legislature defeating discharge petitions on the same issue two weeks ago and the New Hampshire House voting down efforts last week to put an amendment on the ballot and to repeal the state's duly-passed law. Sometimes these legislative victories don't get enough attention, but they're important.
This morning in Maryland, the Attorney General, Doug Gansler (D) has posted his long-awaited opinion on whether same-sex marriages performed out of state should be recognized in Maryland. Maryland currently limits marriages performed in the state to opposite-sex couples. The Maryland Court of Appeals is hearing a case on this issue. In it, he said:
...the Court of Appeals, when it ultimately rules on this question in a particular case, will likely apply the principle that a marriage that is valid in the place of celebration is valid in Maryland. The opinion reaches this conclusion in light of the evolving state policy, reflected in anti-discrimination laws, domestic partner laws and other legislation, that respects and supports committed intimate same-sex relationships...
The Court of Appeals would start from the general principle that a marriage that is valid in the place of celebration remains valid in Maryland. There is an exception to that rule if the particular marriage is contrary to a strong State public policy. A statute that limits marriage in Maryland to opposite-sex couples could be said to embody a policy against same-sex marriage. However, there are many restrictions in the State's marriage statutes and and the Court of Appeals has not construed the public policy exception to encompass all those restrictions. For example, it has recognized common law marriages from other states, although there is no common law marriage in Maryland, and has recognized a Rhode Island marriage between an uncle and a niece, although a statute prohibits marriage between an uncle and a niece in Maryland. Indeed, the public policy exception is a very limited one that the Court has seldom invoked.
While the matter is not free from all doubt, in our view, the Court is likely to respect the law of other states and recognize a same-sex marriage contracted validly in another jurisdiction. In light of Maryland's developing public policy concerning intimate same-sex relationships, the Court would not readily invoke the public policy exception to the usual rule of recognition.
He also wrote that the General Assembly, Court of Appeals, or state agencies (when acting within their jurisdiction) could take steps to recognize such marriages. In DC, the City Council and Mayor enacted legislation recognizing same-sex marriages from out-of-state, while in New York, Gov. Paterson instructed state agencies to do the same, although Gansler wrote that that situation is not analogous because Paterson was complying with a state court decision, while there is no such decision in Maryland. We'll have to wait and see what happens in Maryland.
The entire opinion is posted here. The Attorney General's opinion is not legally binding, but advisory. I'll post more legal interpretation if it comes.
After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld one of the country's strictest voter ID laws in April, several states rushed to pass similar bills before the year's end. By December, more than 25 states introduced legislation to require voter ID at the polls. Though none of these bills were successful this year, lawmakers in several states are hoping to revive such restrictive requirements in 2009.
Since July of this year, at least seven states have pre-filed or carried over voter ID legislation for the 2009-2010 sessions, including Nevada, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Maryland's Sixth District is not simply the reddest Congressional district in the state; it's one of the reddest in the country. The district is large and rather oddly shaped -- it looks like a horizontal map of Chile. It covers the Western Maryland counties of Garrett, Allegany, Washington, and Frederick, as well as a tiny slice of Montgomery, all of Carroll, and good chunks northern of Baltimore (county) and Harford. And it's historically about as friendly to Democrats as Sean Hannity.
"...Too many people do not understand or exercise their voting rights, and as a result, entire segments of our population - and especially formerly incarcerated individuals - are being underrepresented at the polls on Election Day." - New Jersey Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Newark)
Donna Edwards will be seated in Congress, and her special election in on June 17. She does have a Republican opponent, Peter James, and he has been endorsed by Ron Paul:
Peter James is our Republican candidate in Maryland's 4th Congressional District. Peter faces a special election on June 17, which provides a unique opportunity for us to pick up this seat. There will likely be low voter turn out, so it is absolutely essential that Republicans, and liberty-loving independents and Democrats, go out to vote for Peter. Time is short and this election is rapidly approaching, please do what you can to help Peter today.
James is a crazy man who passes out monopoly money and talks about an international banking cartel, hint hint. Still, Paul's rationale makes sense, low turnout elections are opportunities for a small dedicated group to make an impact. I guess we'll see what kind of impact Ron Paul's movement will have. I'm not expecting much, but if you're in Maryland's fourth district, make sure to vote for Donna on June 17.
Over the next week and a half, we're going to be holding a fundraiser and asking for contributions to help us expand with the general election. We're looking specifically for 400 donors, whcih is aggressive, but we think we can get there. If you see value in what we do, you can give here. Otherwise, read on.
Our costs are going up, but our product quality will go up as well. We will be traveling this summer to several conventions, including a Media Reform Convention in Minneapolis, Netroots Nation, and the Democratic National Convention. To make the site run smoother, we are hiring an administrator. And to make our commentary more effective, we are hiring a researcher (hopefully soon, several) to look more deeply into some of the themes Chris has come up with and hold influentials - Democrats, pundits, conservatives, surrogates - accountable for what they say. The total of these costs is around $14,000.
Here's why it's worth it to chip in your $35. Very few groups self-identify as 'left', and there are many reasons for that, including a residual fear of ideology and partisanship. What we on this blog believe, though, is that in reorganizing the country around progressive principles we can't pretend we don't have left-wing values. We can't pretend we aren't liberal. At the same time, this is not a game for 'lefty purists'. It isn't solely about winning every election, but winning elections is important. And we are working, smartly and without litmus tests, to promote liberal values in the political system.
The Bush Dog campaign, the No Residual Troop campaign, and the Responsible Plan concepts have all borne real fruit. Earlier this year, I embedded myself in the campaign of Donna Edwards in Maryland's fourth, the first movement candidate who beat an incumbent in a primary and who will be seated in Congress. So far, 60 Democratic candidates have signed on to the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, whose signature messaging of 'no residual troops' came from Chris's series of posts comparing the different Presidential Iraq plans. What Chris did, and it sounds so simple, but no one else had done it, was to read each plan and compare them. And now there are 60 candidates running on that principle, several of whom are going to be in Congress next year (or even this year). That's a real shift in conversation around foreign policy.
Many progressive ideas come from the conversations started in the blogs or in activist circles. And all of us on this site - commenters and bloggers alike - have worked to start our fair share. Ultimately, if we want progressive media to work we have to pay for it. Traditional corporate media works by selling you - the audience - to the soap makers and defense contractors who pay to propagandize. We don't follow this model, either within the Democratic Party or within the culture at large. We have a different model, in which we work both with political institutions and for you. We make no bones about our affiliations and our agenda, and we work on campaigns that are directly in line with them.
We think we've done good work, work that is worth expanding, work that will get this country out of Iraq a bit faster and set us onto a more sustainable course as a country. Throw a few bucks if you can, even if it's not much. Obviously, please don't give if it's a choice between this and gas money or rent money, but do recognize that there are lots of places to get media for free. But ultimately, as we've seen, if you are the product being sold to Honeywell and Monsanto so they can lie about our country, free is actually quite expensive.
So it looks like Maryland will hold a special election to seat the next Congresswoman for the fourth district. There was a lot of confusion around Wynn's retirement, but the Governor is making a change to the law to allow the 4th to skip a special primary and move straight to seating the next Congressperson. Donna might even be in office in time to be a superdelegate for Obama, though I'm not sure right now.
Governor Martin O'Malley says he's exploring the possibility of holding an election to replace Congressman Albert Wynn, who's stepping down in June.
To make that possible, O'Malley says he's considering trying to change state law before the General Assembly adjourns next week.
He says current law requires him to order that a special primary take place before a special general election. By the time that process unfolded, O'Malley says whoever won would only have about three months in office.
The governor says that's why he's looking at the possibility of holding a special general election -- without an additional primary.
If a law like this gets passed and signed, it will save a lot of money for the state and it could put Donna in office in around 36-46 days or so from the date the law takes effect. If Wynn can be encouraged to step down earlier, Donna could be an Obama superdelegate at the convention.
Well that didn't take long. Here's Donna Edwards on Hardball (via Crooks and Liars) going after the embargo and making a coherent case that a different approach is important. Cuba policy happens to be one of Donna's passions, so she knows a good deal about it.
One constant argument I hear about elections is that a voting record is enough to justify not challenging someone. I feel this misses one of the essential characteristics of how politics works. Voting records are important, but there is a huge difference between a good voting record and taking leadership with energy and vigor to get something done. Al Wynn actually had a great record on the embargo, but he was not a leader on the issue. You can already see that Donna Edwards is pushing the ball down the field.
In other words, it's good to have progressives in Congress, but it's much better to have progressive leaders in Congress.
Donna Edwards is over at FDL right now, and she'll be here answering questions at 3:30 or so. There are some questions in this thread, but if you have anything else to ask, leave it here.
And here are some good questions from the last thread.
1) On what committees would Donna Edwards like to sit in the House?
2) Congress MUST pass 13 appropriations bills each year. Rarely do they pass all of them as individual bills. Instead Congress passes massive bundled omnibus bills with little transparency and less debate on the component items of these bills. What can an individual Congressperson do to change this and pass the 13 required appropriations as separate, coherent, transparent bills?
3) Donna Edwards. Great victory or greatest victory ever?
1) What would you say is the smartest strategic move you made in this election? What is one thing you know now that you could tell people starting out in a primary campaign?
Dear Donna, You are a rock star right now. You have the opportunity to use the huge interlude between now and November to travel extensively and help progressive candidates and people movements throughout the US. Have you considered such a strategy?
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