While riding San Francisco’s commuter train (BART) the other day, I was struck by the seeming incongruousness of the signs on adjacent walls. Closest to the door was the brightly painted “Bike Space,” BART’s designated bike priority area where even strollers and luggage take a backseat to cyclists. Just a few seats over was a huge poster advertising a nearby mall, which to its credit made clear it was accessible by BART, but also attempted to lure shoppers with a free $15 gas card as a reward for spending “$150 or more within seven days!”

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By Matt Courtland I recently spent eight days working in Amersfoort, Holland, a wonderful town full of historic sites and friendly people. During my visit I enjoyed discovering alleyways that lead to secluded courtyards, sleeping under a heavy duvet without a top bed sheet and strolling down cobblestoned streets lined with historic buildings. I also became very aware of bicycles. They are ubiquitous in [...]

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Managing our planet’s limited resources is vital for realizing a sustainable future.  Many large scale human systems that interact with our planet need major improvements and measurement is the first step towards improvement.  This interview with Sharon Nunes of IBM, profiles IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative.  Nunes is the VP of IBM’s Smart City Strategy and [...]

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Earlier this month, Leon Kaye wrote about how Zimride merges social networking with carpooling.  I had a chance to sit down with co-founder and COO John Zimmer to explore how Zimride leverages existing communities to break through the trust barrier.  It was a rough ride for Zimride at first, when even Zimmer’s alma mater Cornell [...]

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Rick Rommel, Senior VP of Emerging Business at Best Buy, was a guest speaker at the State of Green Business Conference.  Best Buy recently started selling alternative transportation solutions such as electric bikes and electric motorcycles made by Brammo. The question is why.  As a company that started by selling stereos, Best Buy is shifting [...]

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The sustainable economy is perhaps the fastest growing, fastest changing segment of the overall economy.  It’s hard to keep up with all the new books, movies, and websites that cover sustainable food, clean tech, renewable energy, alternative transportation, Socially Responsible Investing, ecotourism, green building, holistic education, and all the other facets of the sustainable economy–even [...]

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Looks like “alternative fuel” may soon become more mainstream, if a recent grant by the Department of Energy has the intended effect. The DOE granted $1.6 million to the Alternative Fuel Trade Alliance, which the Alliance will use to increase public awareness and understanding of alternative fuels (including ethanol, biodiesel, propane, and natural gas) and [...]

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What can Brown do for you? It’s not just what United Parcel Service can do for you, but it’s also what they can do to trim operating costs and help the environment – all at the same time. UPS announced this week that the Petaluma branch in Northern California will lease 42 Xebra electric vehicles [...]

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