Thursday, December 29, 2016

What surprises lurk within the climate system?

IOPscience: "For generations, our civilization has been building a climate debt, borrowing from the stability of the future to power the economic growth of the present. Through the combustion of fossil fuels, as well as agriculture, deforestation, land use change, and waste, human activities have disrupted the natural carbon cycle, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) by almost 50% and methane (CH4) by 250% relative to pre-industrial levels [2]. Even as this climate debt continues to grow, it is now coming due: the heat trapped by these and other greenhouse gases is raising global temperature, affecting heat and cold extremes, heavy precipitation and drought, sea ice and ice sheet melt, sea level rise and coastal flooding, and many other aspects of the climate system [3] that can harm human health, the economy, food supply, water availability, and even national security [4–6]."

Monday, December 26, 2016

Commuters Save More than $1,000/Month by Choosing MBTA Over Cars

masstransitmag : "December Transit Savings Report. Individuals who ride public transportation instead of driving can save, on average, more than $809 per month.

These savings are based on the cost of commuting by public transportation compared to the cost of owning and driving a vehicle. These costs include the Dec. 21, 2016, national average gas price ($2.25 per gallon, as reported by AAA) and the national unreserved monthly parking rate.



APTA releases this monthly Transit Savings Report to examine how an individual in a two-person household can save money by taking public transportation and living with one less car.
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Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Cars busy killing people and wrecking environment in Maine

Central Maine: "I-295 traffic volume rose 12 percent from 2009 to 2015 — to an average of 1.18 million vehicles a day — and it’s expected to keep going up. “Volume is really pressing capacity at times, in particular at the commute times,” Joyce Taylor, chief engineer for the Maine Department of Transportation, told the Press Herald last week."