Transportation Alternatives: Designing a "post-automobile" street
While we often hear a lot of talk about public transportation, replacing cars with bikes, getting rid of surface traffic, and so on, how many of us have ever actually imagined what it would be like to live in a world where cars, trucks, and bicycles co-existed safely and peacefully? More to the point, how could we design streets, intersections, pathways and neighborhoods that would make this sort of coexistence possible?Last week, Transportation Alternatives, a New York-based advocacy group for non-automotive transportation, opened that very question up to public debate. They announced that they are holding a competition for the best post-automotive street design. The contest, "Designing the 21st Century Street," asks competitors to redesign the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street in Brooklyn. This intersection is a dangerous, neighborhood-disrupting mess, and represents exactly the sort of challenge that Transportation Alternatives hopes can be overcome through intelligent planning and a more effective use of resources.
The competition is open to any and all interested parties, and the top prize is $6,000. Participants must enter by July 18, and all submissions must by received by August 18. If you have a plan for the future, this might be the perfect way to get it out there!
Nitrous oxide, AKA "hippie crack," has the distinction of being one of the few legally-available drugs that almost everyone has consumed. If your dentist has ever strapped a mask on your face, chances are that you've sucked down a little bit of laughing gas. For most people, nitrous causes giggling, a strong anaesthetic effect and, if consumed in sufficient quantities, a repetitive "wah-wah" sound in the ears that is strangely reminiscent of a 1950's flying saucer movie. 
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There are lots of reasons to explore New York from the seat of a bike. First off, there's the cheapness factor, which is pretty huge now that gasoline is rivaling saffron in terms of price. And, of course, there's the fact that waiting at a traffic light with an idling engine seems like an ideal way to help destroy the planet.
When I first heard a green activist talking about "Blackwater," I had to wonder why George Bush's Gulf War subcontractors were getting involved in sustainability issues. I soon realized, however, that "blackwater" is one of those words that conveys a pretty solid mental picture of what it is. Blackwater, also known as "brown water," "foul water," or "sewage" is water that contains human excreta. This definition sets it apart from "gray water" or "sullage," which is the product of washing. In day-to-day life, however, this differentiation is somewhat unnecessary, as many areas combine their black and gray waters.

When I look back on my childhood memories, many of them are suffused in a hazy glow. Lights are surrounded by halos, everything seems softer, and the soundtrack is muted. These recollections look much like a close-up in a Barbra Streisand movie or any other flick in which the director feels inclined to smear half a pound of Vaseline on the camera lens.














