Carbon Storage Value – What does it mean?

 

In case anyone else is wondering what “Carbon Storage Value” is, in relation to the $50 billion worth of trees in American cities, here is the explanation by Nowak et al. (2013):

To estimate monetary value associated with urban tree carbon storage and sequestration, carbon values are multiplied by $78.5 per tonne of carbon (range = $17.2-128.7 tC-1) based on the estimated social costs of carbon for 2010 with a 3% discount rate (Interagency Working Group, 2010).
 
I’ll have to dig a little more into the “estimated social costs of carbon,” but the detail of what that $50 billion number actually means seems to have been lost on many media outlets.
 

Photo by PhotoA.nl, CC.

GFK Traffic Death Memorials Formalized

Although roadside memorials have not reached epic proportions in Grand Forks (as far as I’ve seen), the city council today has approved a plan to formalize the memorial process:

For the [$30] fee, families would see a sign featuring a public service message such as “Please drive safely” or “don’t drink and drive” accompanied by their deceased family member’s name.
At least one person objected to the city continuing to allow roadside memorials in the city.
“I don’t think people of the city need to be reminded of an accident,” said an email from a resident read by council member Bret Weber.

As a complete streets advocate, I think these types of signs are the best way to remember someone who has died in traffic.  Each sign may help one more person to actually think before texting or drinking and driving, or be more vigilant.  It’s a far cry from enacting real complete streets legislation to improve safety for all road users, but anything to remind people of the “acceptable losses” we as a nation deal with every day is a good plan in my book.

Columbia Road Overpass Pedestrian and Cyclist Update

More straightforward news on pedestrian/cyclist access to the Columbia Road overpass during construction this summer:

Impact to Pedestrian & Bicycles from the Construction on Columbia Road 

 Have you been wondering how the road construction on South Columbia Road and DeMers Avenue will affect your non-motorized travel on the Columbia Road overpass? Here’s the good news: the overpass will be open for pedestrian, biking, and roller blading traffic during the beginning phases of the construction.

Here’s the bad news: access will not be available from South Columbia Road. If you are coming from the south, you will not have access to the overpass in the construction area. You will need use the DeMers Avenue trail and enter the ramp on the west side of Columbia Road. If you are coming from the north, you will not be able to access the trail south of the overpass. You must exit at the off-ramp on the south end of the overpass.

We’ll do our best to keep you posted on any changes to the pedestrian access to the overpass.

(via the latest Greenway update)

In fairness to anyone who will hop curbs and cross grass on a bicycle to continue traveling south, I think it will still be possible to get onto the hospital campus and continue south, but it is still unclear exactly what areas will become impassible during the construction.  We’ll do our best to let you know the best way to get through this mess as it changes this summer.

Nowhere to Go but Up

The 2013 League of American Bicyclists state rankings for “bicycle friendliness” are out.  To start out National Bike Month (May) on a good note, here’s the ranking for North Dakota:

50.  Out of 50 states.

Our report card is pretty generic, because there’s a lot that can be done.  There are no bicycle-friendly businesses, no bicycle-friendly cities, and not a lot of concerted action (although we reportedly have an active state advocacy group?).

If you’re interested, here are some ideas for taking advantage of National Bike  Month from the Cascade Bicycle Club.  Nowhere to go but up, right?

Think Bikeshare is “New” and “Weird?” Think Again

Just a quick update from the As you’ll no doubt remember, a version of the bike rental or bikeshare idea was floated in Grand Forks just about a year ago, to varying degrees of support.  With the rollout of bikeshare in more and more American cities, will we see more support or less, locally?  What should come first: more commuter cyclists in general, or some type of bikeshare system?

UND Has a Columbia Road Update

I think I see why people always say that traffic is “so much better” after new road construction: these are the sorts of detours we’ll deal with this summer.  I feel bad for anyone along 17th Ave S or S 20th Street, they’ll be screaming for Columbia Road “improvements” by the time this is done.

Via email:

Reconstruction on the South Columbia Road Project from 11th Avenue South to DeMers Avenue has been rescheduled to begin Monday, May 6.  It was originally scheduled for May 1.  Minor work will continue next week, but it will not generally impact traffic on South Columbia Road.  For a map of the area, please see http://und.edu/road.cfm.

South Columbia Road will be closed to traffic beginning on Sunday, May 5, in the late afternoon to early evening and will remain closed until early August.  The project completion date(s) are unaffected by the rescheduled closure date.

EDIT 04 May 2013:
Received this in an email as well: “The walking bridge on the overpass is expected to remain open for the first phase of construction.” Details please!  This overpass is the single connection you can make across the rail yard without going all the way to either 42nd Street or South Washington Street.  If the city cuts off pedestrian access, it is creating a huge issue.

Map below is from http://und.edu/road.cfm

What’s your Big Hairy Goal?

Racers feeding their inner demons at CP3 of END-SURE.

With summer spring not-winter on the horizon, it’s time again to put your money where your mouth is and pick a “big hairy goal.”  I think I first heard this term either from Andy or one of the good folks at Operacion Muerto, but I can’t find any evidence of that.  All it means is a goal that’s going to send you over the moon if you accomplish it.  Sometimes the planning and execution of these things can take years (summiting Everest, cycling around the world, etc.), but that’s for the people I like to call (affectionately) “the real crazies.”  If you’re new to the game, pick something doable but hard.  Like the hardest thing you’ve ever done.  Or the most planning you’ve ever needed.  Or something you’ve failed at before.

One such BHG that requires no entry fee is the Operacion Muerto Summer Challenge 2013: a ride or run across Manitoba without using any paved roads.  Another in my local area is the Winnipeg-Grand Forks-Fargo ride (2013 details TBA; not sure if this will be gravel-only as well).  For touring cyclists, though, this stuff is easy.  For multi-sport athletes, perhaps the Minnesota Lowest to Highest Duathlon Challenge is your cup of tea: race from Lake Superior in Grand Marais to the top of Eagle Mountain (the highest point in MN) and back.

Personally, I’ll be tackling the Lutsen 99er as proof that I can ride farther off-road than ever before, on this on a Surly Pugsley, as well as finishing a complete 24-hour adventure race at END-AR.  Are these big goals compared to other people?  Not necessarily.  Do they matter to me?  Undoubtedly.

You’re primed and ready now: what’s your Big Hairy Goal?

If something can be improved, why not improve it?

Had someone else read something I wrote recently.  I criticized a system of closed data, and then suggested a crowdsourced solution to get around the data guardians (not illegally, just through data mining from published works).  This person’s response?  To say that closed data should be closed because someone paid for it, and to ignore my solution.  In another section, I lamented various issues with data digitization projects, because I wanted to add another (citable) voice that could be used for digitization project funding.  Response: these issues aren’t new, and you don’t need to waste your time with them.

Who is it going to hurt to try to improve things?  It’s no skin off anyone else’s nose.