PLAYgreen

Hitchin' a ride!

 

Want to hit the slopes this season but don't have a car? Fret not! Online carpooling companies have made it easy to go just about anywhere and are connecting people everywhere.

 

Carpooling is a win-win-win.  It benefits you, your ride partner(s) and the environment.  Sharing rides cuts down on the cost of gas, parking, and tolls (more money in your pocket!), alleviates traffic congestion (less road rage!), allows you to ride in the High Occupancy Vehicle Lane (open road!) it also reduces the amount of carbon emissions in the air (a healthier environment!). And hey, you may even make a new friend.

 

Start sharing with one of these carpooling networks...

 

Pick Up Pal

Craigslist 

Zimride

GoLoco

iCarpool

eRideShare  

 

 

Check out even more reason to share your ride from iCarpool.

 

And don't forget to buckle up!

Get Your Bike Ready for the Winter

The weather outside is getting frightful, but riding your bike is so eco-delightful!

Don’t let the rainy days and longer nights prevent you from riding your bike around town. Here are a few tips for biking during the wintertime…. 

1. Layer up! 

Proper layering is key when it comes to outdoor activity in the winter. It’s very important to keep yourself warm, yet ventilated during unfavorable weather conditions. Start with thin layers next to your skin (for wicking away the sweat) and work your way up. On cold days, wearing a thick top, such as wool or fleece, is ideal. A windbreaker or light rain jacket will keep you dry!

2. Deck our your bike with fenders and mudflaps

Save yourself from a soggy bottom by adding fenders to your bike during rainy season. Fenders and mudflaps will protect your and your bike from the dirty puddles on the road.

By adding fenders to your bike, you’ll save yourself and your legs.

Find out more from Sheldon Brown on why fenders are good for you and your bike…

3. Light the night 

It’s important to make sure you’re visible at all times when riding your bike. Short days, and longer nights leave many biking home in the dark. It’s very, very important that make yourself extra visible during the night time. Make sure that you have a front AND rear light on your bike. You can even light up your wheels.  Putting reflective gear on your bike or your bag is always a good idea. San Francisco-based companies offer some great way to say seen:

Timbuk2 has a reflective bag         

Cordarounds make these night-friendly bike pants....

 

10 Most Walkable Cities

All of you fitness fanatics at the RSF know that walking matters! A walkable community promotes better health, a reduction in greenhouse gases, a variety of transportation options, and an opportunity to walk and visit with friends -- the foot traffic is also great for local businesses. And now Walk Score, devoted to helping you find more walkable places to live based on a patented algorithm that enables them to compute a walkability score based on the distance to a wide range of shops, necessities and attractions has come out with the top ten most walkable cities in which to live.

But is yours among them?

Top Ten Most Walkable U.S. Cities

Well, if you live in San Francisco, New York or Boston you’re lucky enough to live in one of the top three. With Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington D.C., Long Beach California, Los Angles and Portland Oregon rounding out the list.

Of course, they’ve got a full ranking of 2508 neighborhoods nationally that you can search to determine where your favorite locale stacks up, and with gas at over $4 a gallon there’s really no reason not to give Walk Score a shot.

Resource: Treehugger, viewed July 22, 2008

Idle Waste

In a perfect world our cars would run on renewable, non-polluting fuel. But that dream is still a ways off and most of us are still driving gas cars to work, school and the gym. The good news is that drivers have responded to high gas prices appropriately: according to the Transportation Department, Americans drove 400 million fewer miles in April than they did in March, and 1.4 billion fewer miles than they did in April of 2007.

But getting behind the wheel can't always be avoided. When the car is the only reasonable way to get from a to b, you can save fuel by cutting back on idling. If you idle for more than thirty seconds, you are better off turning off the car and restarting it. Plus, the more gas burned, the more carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere. So turn the ignition off at long stoplights and other lengthy hold-ups. And rather than using the drive-through, just park and take a short walk to go in.

See fueleconomy.gov for up-to-date gas prices by state, and How to Deal with Gasly Petroleum Prices for more tips on upping your vehicles fuel efficiency.

Commute to Campus by Bike

Tens of thousands of residents chose to ‘spare the air’ on May 15th as they pedaled to work on their bicycles for the Bay Area’s 14th annual Bike to Work Day. Biking to work is not only good for your health, but it also helps reduce toxic substances, produced by automobiles, that pollute the ground, air and water.

Even though Bike to Work Day has passed, you can still help the environment and your health by biking to work throughout the year! When you bike to work you fight pollution, stay fit, avoid traffic delays, save money and enjoy your commute.

Worried about how you'll freshen up once you get to work on campus? Rec Sports is offering Locker Room Only memberships for $15 per month. Commuters arriving to campus by bike or foot can now use the RSF locker room to tidy up before going to work. Includes use of day lockers, showers and towels. Secure bicycle parking available at the RSF. Learn more, or sign up in person at the RSF membership desk.

To find out more about commuting to work by bike, click here or check out UC Berkeley Parking and Transporation's campus bicycle plan.

Source: League of American Bicyclists, viewed May 19, 2008

Stay Green While You Travel

These days, we try to do it all: excel at school or jobs, workout, spend time with friends and family, all while trying to stay healthy. A great way to de-stress and escape from our hectic lives is to take a vacation. So, pick a destination where you can take your recreation out doors and get some relaxation in too. While you're at it, why not find accommodations that match up with the green ideals that you live by at home? Happily, there are an increasing number of resources available to help you stay green wherever you travel.

What makes a green hotel? A good green hotel will mix many green methods. In the bathroom, for example, they can use amenities like low-flow showerheads, give you the option to not wash your towel every day, offer eco-friendly shampoos and soaps, and clean it with green cleaners every day. They can serve local and organic food in the restaurant downstairs, use furniture that doesn't contain PBDEs and other icky chemicals, and put motion sensors on the lights so the lights don't get left on all day when they don't have to be.

Want to find a green hotel? Check out the following resources:

Green Hotels Association
Green Hotel Reviews
Environmentally Friendly Hotels

Source: Planet Green, viewed May 11, 2008

California High Speed Rail

We are all very lucky to live in the beautiful Bay Area, but sometimes we all like to get away to recreate elsewhere in California. The question is which mode of transporation do we take to get away? Airplane? Car? Hopefully soon, the California High Speed Rail will be an eco-friendly travel option that will reduce air pollution and improve the quality of air you breathe when you take your workout outside.

For more than a decade, California officials have worked on a plan for a high speed rail line connecting California’s cities. The high speed rail line would cut the number of cars on the road by millions, dramatically reducing air pollution and allow Californians to travel from the Bay Area to Los Angeles in two and a half hours, without the hassle of the airport. High speed rail is predicted to take up to 92 million drivers off the road annually and attract 18 million travelers who would otherwise fly. In doing so, high speed rail would eliminate the need for construction of 2,970 additional highway miles and 91 airport gates.

Find out more and take action here.

Source: Calpirg, viewed March 12, 2008

Car Sharing: A Green Alternative

Here in Berkeley, it's pretty easy to get around without a car. And that's really the greenest form of transport. But maybe you're planning to test your RSF-honed fitness at a triathlon or road race unreachable by public transport. For that, you'll need a car. Try one of the many car-share businesses, such as CarShare or Zip.

You'll also be doing a good thing for the environment. Car-sharing helps reduce the total number of cars on the roads. And that means less traffic, less pollution, and less dependence on oil for all of us. It also means fewer parking lots and more potential green space for the Bay Area to enjoy.

http://www.citycarshare.org
http://www.zipcar.com

Ecotourism

Weeks of running on the RSF treadmill during rainy weather may cause you to dream about your next vacation spot. Why not make your next destination eco friendly? Here are a few things to think about and a little info on ecotourism.

Do they support the local economy in sustainable ways, providing jobs and livelihoods for the community and protection for the environment? A movement began in the late 80's to foster ecological tourism, or ecotourism, to educate travelers about the environmental impact they have and the green choices they can make.

Ecotourism embraces six principles: to minimize impact; to build environmental and cultural awareness and respect; to provide a positive experience for visitors and hosts alike; to provide direct financial benefits for conservation; to provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people, and to raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental and social climate.

Plan your own eco-friendly trip here.

Source: The Daily Green, viewed on January 24, 2008

Public Transportation

Public Transportation, while maybe not as enjoyable as commuting in your own personal vehicle, does ease congestion, reduce emissions, and give you plenty of quality time to people watch, as well as get to know your “neighbors.”

FACTS:

-40: percentage of US reliance on foreign oil would decrease if one in ten Americans used public transportation daily.

-79: the number of times safer that riding a bus is over riding in your own automobile.

-855: the millions of gallons saved (equal to 45 million barrels of oil) from people taking public transportation each year. (This is roughly the energy needed to power ¼ of all American homes annually.)

Source: Treehugger, viewed on January 24, 2008