Johan  Rockstrom
This Week's Items of Interest
October 28, 2015
Planet - Resources - Innovation

Smart irrigation saves Caltrans water and money (10.28.2015)

When the drought pushed Gov. Jerry Brown to mandate that state agencies reduce the amount of water they use by 20 percent by 2020, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) knew it had a tough task ahead. Caltrans owns and manages more than 30,000 acres of irrigated landscape in the state, and 75 percent of the water it uses goes to irrigating highway plants that help filter pollutants and heavy metals from rain runoff.

Within the first four months of implementation, Caltrans saved 53 million gallons of water, a decrease of 81 percent from the same period a year earlier.

People - Data - Technology

The concept of "civic hacking" - using government data to improve communities or solve problems - has taken off across the country over the past five or so years, experts say. Civic hackers have been spurred on by nonprofit groups pushing for more "open data" and computer tools, such as mapping software, that have become cheaper (or free) and easier to use.
People - Travel Routes

Real-Time Video Observation-Based Road Visibility Analytics Launched (10.25.2015)

 

New enterprise class service will help safeguard drivers and support fleet management decisions by providing real-time, automated notifications when visibility changes along travel routes.
People - Mode - Pedestrian
 
Small Business Innovation Research program makes crossing the street safer.   (10.03.2015)

What if your smartphone could alert you when it's unsafe to cross the street? And what if it could alert approaching drivers that you were in the crosswalk? That technology would transform your smartphone from a safety detriment into a pedestrian safety asset.
People - Transportation Planning   

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) today allocated $3.5 Million to the region in the form of Active Transportation Program (ATP) Grants. This statewide grant program is meant to encourage increased use of active modes of transportation such as bicycling and walking. 
People - Walking - Smart App
Walking Bicycle Bell

Tired of being blocked by people with SAD (Situational Awareness Deficiency)? Use this bell at airports, shopping malls, boardwalks, and just about any place people get in your way.
People planted mid-sidewalk chatting about the weather? They're completely oblivious to surrounding foot-traffic attempting to use the path constructed for such. Not anymore. Ring your bell and pave the way. People snap to consciousness and realize their inconsiderate ways, jumping out of the way for you and your game-changing bell.
People - Resiliency - Recorded Webinar 

How could better land use and transportation strategies help your state recover and remain resilient in the face of disaster?
On October 22, Smart Growth America released  Building Resilient States: A Framework for Agencies, a resource designed to help state agency staff integrate land use and transportation issues into their conversations about resilience. Disaster preparedness professionals can also use it to make strategic decisions and build communities that are more resilient from the ground up.
Planet - Sustainability Tools
Sustainability tools sprout from Green Gov Challenge   (10.27.2015)

California has been working to improve its environmental profile for years, and the latest effort asks citizen hackers to harnesses open data to improve the state's sustainability operations in the face of the drought.

According to a state announcement, the Government Operations Agency and the Department of General Services created the Green Gov Challenge, which focuses on creating apps, visualizations and other tools in an effort to improve government sustainability practices.
Planet - Electrical Vehicles Quiz

Electric vehicles have seemed like the wave of the future for decades now...so why aren't we all driving them? Test your knowledge of plug-in cars with this quiz. 
Planet - Public - Private - Partnerships
How Can Public-Private Partnerships Achieve Sustainable Change?  (10.26.2015)

We've just witnessed the member countries of the U.N. agree to 17 Global Goals that will, all going well, transform our world by 2030. How do we translate these goals into practical action? The idea of public-private partnerships (PPPs) is not a new one, but they could not be more relevant now. No one individual, organization or government is able to tackle the SDGs. But effective partnerships can. 
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Prosperity- Freight - Sustainability


In a recent review of corporate responsibility reports from major consumer-facing brands, Environmental Defense Fund found that barely half of the companies mentioned the environmental impact of their freight supply chain and the steps they were taking to reduce this impact. This is unfortunate for two reasons: Freight transportation is a major source of corporate-caused climate pollution, and it's ripe for rapidly achieving significant cost-savings and emissions reductions.

Each year, more than 600 million tons of climate pollution in the United States is generated by moving freight. That's more than the pollution generated by 160 coal-fueled power plants. It's also greater than the combined footprint created nationwide by powering office equipment and heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilating commercial office space.
Prosperity - State Fleet Analysis Tool  

California State Agency Fleet Tool  
 
(10.28.2015)

The motivation to build this tool was in response to the DGS sponsored Code-a-thon held from October 24 to 25, 2015. This fleet analysis tool was developed for fleet managers of California State agencies to compare and contrast the performance and status of their vehicles with other agencies as well as the entire state
Prosperity - Infrastructure

Chiang Believes Disclosure Helps California Tackle Infrastructure    (10.14.2015)

SAN FRANCISCO - Improved disclosure and transparency will help California's leaders make the argument for improved infrastructure, State Treasurer John Chiang said Wednesday
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