This Week's Items of Interest
September 23, 2015
People - Mode Share - Electrical Vehicles

Envision Solar International, Inc., the leading renewable energy, media and branding and EV charging product company, announced today that the first of a series of deliveries of its EV ARCâ„¢ product have been made to California's Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) as part of a larger Purchase Order against the recently announced California State Contract awarded to Envision Solar.
People - Planning Webinars

Transportation Planning Information Exchange 

Transportation Planning Information Exchange
The  FHWA/ FTA Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program (TPCB), has established a quarterly webinar series titled the Transportation Planning Information Exchange. These webinars are intended to improve transportation decision-making by providing a convenient program of training, technical assistance, and capacity building for State, local, regional and tribal governments, transit operators, stakeholders, and community leaders.

People - Mode Share - Driverless Pods

The WEpod will be the first self-driving electric shuttle to run in regular traffic.  The WEpod can be booked using an app which will allow passengers to reserve a seat and specify their starting points and their destinations. Vehicles are expected to select their itineraries independently.

People - Mode - Car Pool

Will New Apps Finally Get Americans to Carpool?

Americans have learned to conserve water, recycle and schlep groceries in cloth bags. But many balk at the one change that would most help the planet: sharing a ride to work.
Carpooling is the greatest green idea that hasn't really caught on. "Filling empty seats in cars is the best way to use them more efficiently," said Susan Shaheen, co-director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at UC Berkeley. "But not much has changed in carpooling and vanpooling. There hasn't been a shift in consumer behavior. It's a perplexing problem."
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People - Mode Share Traffic vs Transit
Study: Drivers Have More Stressful Commutes Than Transit Riders or Walkers Do

There's nothing quite like the unpredictability of traffic when it comes to commuter stress.
So says a  research trio that's analyzed commuter survey results of people who walked, rode transit, or drove to work or school in Montreal. The survey measured the various objective (e.g. travel time budgets) and subjective (e.g. trip pleasantness) stressors felt by some 3,800 students, faculty, and staff of McGill University during their commute on a typical winter day. Drivers had the highest average stress, largely owing to "unexpected delays":

Free
People - Mode Share - Walking Safe App

If the user goes off route, or doesn't make it to the destination on time, or if they fall, or are pushed, or are running, or even if their headphones are pulled out of their phone, all of their emergency contacts are notified, It's a good way to keep in touch with the people around you and stay safe. And give you peace of mind."
People, Planet, Prosperity - Academics

Sustainability science is a new academic discipline. But is it sustainable? 

In 2007, the American Association for the Advancement of Science counted 32 sustainability science programs at colleges and universities in the United States. Today, there are 118.

Planet - Resources - Water

A New Competitive Edge: Water Management

The current severe drought in California is stretching into its fourth year, with the first three years being the driest consecutive years in the state's history. This situation has triggered unprecedented state and local policies to curtail water use, and one of the most affected industries is real estate.
Planet - Climate - Emissions

Colorado's Climate Plan slammed

Environmental groups in Fort Collins and beyond are panning the recently unveiled  Colorado Climate Plan plan as overly vague and light on concrete policy directives.
The last four pages consist of key action items for water, public health, energy, ecosystems, transportation, agriculture and tourism and recreation.
The action items, though, lean toward the non-specific and the already-in-progress. Among the bullet points, the word "support" appears eight times, "promote" appears seven times,
 "encourage" appears 12 times and "continue" appears 12 times.

Planet - Quiz - Conservation

How Much Do You Really Know About Conservation?

Just about anything you do in your daily life affects the environment in some way. How you get around, what you eat, the clothes you wear - these are just some examples of activities with an environment impact. But how much do you really know about the environment around you? Here's your chance to find out..

Prosperity - Planning - Sustainability Tool

FHWA releases Invest Version 1.2

FHWA's INVEST (Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool) is a web-based self-evaluation tool comprised of voluntary sustainability best practices, called criteria, which cover the full lifecycle of transportation services, including system planning, project planning, design, and construction, and continuing through operations and maintenance. FHWA developed INVEST for voluntary use by transportation agencies to assess and enhance the sustainability of their projects and programs.

Prosperity - Sustainable Innovation

Most of the opportunities and threats driving sustainability will come in large, mature markets like energy, transportation, agriculture and construction, which present very different challenges from those in younger markets like information technology, Internet applications and social media.

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