by Worldchanging Austin local blogger, Luke Iseman: There’s a saying: “everything’s bigger in Texas.” Usually applied to SUVs, exurb-dwelling women’s hair, and tex-mex dishes, it’s starting to look like a lot of the biggest initiatives to green a metropolis are being born in Austin, Texas. Will Wynn is not just Austin’s mayor with a politically auspicious name: he’s also Al Gore with a Texas twang. A Worldchanger much more literate than I has already provided an excellent summary of Wynn’s speaking points , to which I have nothing substantive to add. The truly curious can also read the full current version of the Austin Climate Protection Plan . A short list of not-so-little ways in which Austin, the capital of the most polluting state in the most polluting country in the world, is giving most other locales a run for their money at the slowly starting race to think big about being green: 1. Transportation Is Becoming Less InsaneYes, our highways are still as clogged as last time you visited. However, the vehicle in front of you seems increasingly likely to be practical in size, maybe even a scooter, perhaps even an electric one . If you’re really lucky… (more)
(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Urban Design and Planning at 1:37 PM)