Imagine the world without anger, without greed. We have the power, the tools, the skills and the resources right now to build a peaceful world, where people live in harmony with the Earth and each other. This blog explores ways we are doing just that, one post, one change, one day at a time. Join me. Tell your stories. Ask for help. Spread your ideas for making the vision real and, well, ordinary.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Scooting through No Impact Week – Day 3: Transportation

Bikes and buses: Way to go.
Image by ACTransit.org via Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 generic

It’s Day 3 of the .The steps today are all about changing our mode of transportation. Luckily, this one is a no-brainer for us. (I'm still waiting for the day we’re asked to go the rest of the week without our  'puters, or to wash our clothes in the tub with Dr. Bonner's and our feet!}

As my regular readers know, we haven’t owned a car in several years—seven to be exact. That doesn’t mean we don’t ride in them occasionally. Most of the time, we walk or ride public trains and buses.

What we’re up to with today’s challenge

From the , we are to have a blast with the following. 

    1. Take stock of your habits: make a list of everywhere you’re going today and how you usually get there. What alternative modes of transportation could you use instead? Log onto your local transit authority’s website for an online trip planner.
      I’ll walk in the early morning for exercise, fresh air and as part of my morning meditation. Later, I’ll walk a few blocks to my local organic grocer for a few supplies, and still later, I’ll run an errand further away that, if I had more time available, I could walk. It’s only a couple of miles, but I’ll take a bus. I have a choice between a vehicle powered by electricity or one powered by diesel fuel. Either way, fossil fuels come into play.
    2. Organize a carpool, pick up a bus schedule or tune up your bicycle.
      No can do. Don’t own a car or bicycle, and I don’t need a printed bus schedule because I have easy access to electronic applications. Interesting question: What has more aggregate carbon impact—Printing thousands of copies of new bus schedules every time routes change and distributing them throughout the region, or patrons using cell phones and computers to plan our routes?
    3. Throughout the day, keep a list of everything you eat, where you eat and where you purchase your food. This will help you get ready for Wednesday's challenge.
      I’m tracking this separately. More tomorrow.
    4. GO! Bike. Walk. Scoot. Glide. Hop on the bus. Carpool.
      Is it just me, or does one this seem a bit redundant?
    5. Take a moment to reflect on your day. Was it a nice change of pace or a difficult one? What benefits did you discover along your route? What could you improve in your experience? Comment about it here. I'll return to update this at the end of the day. Update: Since I routinely walk or ride the bus, there was no change of pace. I did take advantage of the beautiful weather to walk to all my errands, rather than riding the bus part way as I sometimes do. I thoroughly enjoyed the long walk in the coastal sunshine. Delighted!
    6. Write down five things for which you are grateful.
      Only five? I am deeply grateful for:
      1. Good health.
      2. Strong limbs to carry me.
      3. Plenty of organic, fresh and local food options within walking/busing distance.
      4. Every person who has the option and chooses to walk, ride a bicycle or use public transportation rather than polluting our air and poisoning our bodies with a fossil-fueled vehicle.
      5. A loving, thriving, healthy family.

Are you taking the challenge? Do you plan to take the Huffington Post version in October? Or how about this? Quick, name five things for which you are grateful right now.

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.
All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.

4 comments:

Wanda said...

Friends--on and off line.

Gifts that have been coming toward me lately from unexpected places and people.

Coffee.

Hope.

Having enough in this moment.

Hayden said...

A time-management buddy. (grin)
Pup with a great big smile.
The guidance I've received/continue to receive for shamanic training.
Countless healings that have left me calm, hopeful, happy.
The chance to start a huge new project at my age!

Nope, not doing the challenge. These tend to irritate me. Not fair, but they do. More now that I live in the country and so much of what they focus on is utterly irrelevant to me. I mean, come on! 3 of the top 4 are about transportation! And since urban USA has decided to no longer fund transportation (AMTRAC) for rural USA, it's NEVER a choice. Everyone I know here already plans trips carefully to minimize - because it takes so long to go to the city and gas is expensive.

3 is also irrelevant to me since I'm not looking for hints on how to eat better - they'll say something like "cut down on processed food" and it's already gone. (Except for my bag of pretzels, and I'm not giving them up!)

I'm frustrated, can ya' tell?

Deb Shucka said...

This blog.

Our beautiful late summer weather.

The owl who has been my companion this summer.

Time and stillness.

The great Golden boy sleeping on the floor behind me.

graceonline said...

Wanda, I second all of those! Thank you for sharing your gratitudes.

Hayden, not having a pup, I second the rest of yours and thank you as well for sharing them. I share your frustration with this challenge in particular, because I was expecting so much more from it. I hope to put up a blog post soon on what happened the rest of the week. Actually, it got better, but definitely not what I was expecting for a "No impact" challenge. About rural transpo, that is something we all need to push our state and national representatives to change. We will not make headway until enough of us make enough noise. The proposed bullet train between San Francisco and LA will be watched very carefully by all interested parties to see how it works environmentally as well as solving some of the issues you raise.

Deb, thank you for sharing your gratitudes, and thank you for including this blog among them! So glad you have had a spate of beautiful weather at last. I relish the couple of stories I've caught of your owl sightings this summer. Delightful!

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