Comments on Brooks pushes energy efficiency for DC - Greater Greater Washington

Comment by patb

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 23:08:54 EDT

Here are the things i'd work on for improving DC Govt Sustainability.

1) All Publically owned structures shall have PV and Solar thermal where practical.

2) I'd convert the city car fleet to Electric cars. (It's a small city, no reason to ever worry about range).

3) I'd convert the city police car fleet to Hybrids. Either plug ins like the Volt or the Hybrid Toyota Camry ). Convert the Paddy wagons to the Ford electric transit connect

4) convert the pickup and utility trucks to plug in hybrids like the VIA Motors.

5) broaden composting, recycling programs citywide.

6) Push Green roof initiatives city wide. Either white or roof gardens. Give tax credits to push absorbtive roofs.

7) push rain barrels and on site water retention.

8) refit all city buildings for grey water management.

Comment by Jasper

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 09:37:43 EDT

Two suggestions:

* Get rid of all city-provided car trips for trips within the reach of transit. Including for to brass.

This will make the city more aware of the problems that transit faces, as well as save energy and money on all those city cars.

* Kick parking enforcement out of their cars blocking the streets. Parking enforcement is a job that can be very well done walking. In fact, DC is the only place I am aware of where parking cops block the roads sitting in their cars.

The benefits are again plenty. Less cost on cars and gas, as well as health benefits for all the cops involved, which is good for them and the city which will pay less for their insurance.

Comment by goldfish

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:27:21 EDT

SJE: The crown vic has a 4.6L V8.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Crown_Victoria_Police_Interceptor

Comment by SJE

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:06:09 EDT

Or, to put it another way: explain to me what are those "demands" of the USA that require MPD officers to keep the engines running on V6 cars while they chat under K-street.

Comment by SJE

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:02:57 EDT

Selxic: The demands and needs in the USA are partly based on cultural expectations, not some greater level of risk. The UK did not respond to the IRA by putting all cops in V6 cars, but kept them on the streets, often without guns.

I am not taking for granted the work done by first responders. I am asking that we consider whether the costly level of service necessary.

You can always justify more service based on the possibility that it will be needed. That is the same logic that gives us small country towns with SWAT teams and tanks, and bigger communities doing SWAT raids for library tickets and non-violent drug possession.

Good leadership and budget management requires local governments to consider cost, especially when "first responders" are one of the biggest budget items on state and local governments.

Comment by Steph

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:05:43 EDT

My suggestion is to provide all homeowners with the large recycling bins promised under Mayor Fenty's administration but it never happened. When questioned, I was told the city did not have the money. Well, we have a surplus now.

The small bins are too small. If you recycle properly, garbage should be a small portion of what you throw out and recyclables the large portion.

Comment by selxic

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:45:42 EDT

That's all nice, SJE, but you're still ignoring the demands and needs in the US and taking much of the work responders do for granted.

Comment by SJE

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 21:04:46 EDT

Sydney has a fleet of VW beetles.
http://drivesteady.com/police-cars-from-around-the-world

In 2007, police in Perth started moving more towards 4 cylinder cars
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-police-cars-going-green/story-e6frg13u-1111113740335

Comment by SJE

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:55:47 EDT

Selxic: I was born and raised in Australia, so I am very familiar with how things are done down under, at least in Western Australia, which is sort of the Texas equivalent.
1. The Commodore and Falcon are slightly smaller and more fuel efficient than your usual US equivalent. The most powerful cars are reserved for high speed pursuits. Motorbikes are not huge gas-guzzling Harley's
2. Police cars that are waiting usually have their engines off.
3. It is rare to see more than one police car respond to a situation.
4. Speed cameras are run by private companies, so the police do not have to be involved.
5. Police helicopters are less frequently used than the USA, but planes more so (at least from anectodatal evidence).
6. Fire trucks are rarely seen, except for actual FIRES.
7. Ambulance is separate from Fire. If you are injured, you dont get the police and fire coming, with the ambulance to take you to hospital. An ambulance comes, and they do the diagnosis, treatment and transport.
8. Fire trucks and ambulances appear less "heavy" than the USA.

Comment by selxic

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:55:07 EDT

*Those are not very far away from their cousins the Chevy Impala and the Ford Crown Vic or Taurus.

Comment by selxic

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:54:10 EDT

I'm glad you chose to use Australia as an example since they face many similar challenges that police forces in the US face, charlie. The same wikipedia article that you link to states "Most general patrol cars are Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons." Those are very far away from their cousins the Chevy Impala and the Ford Crown Vic or Taurus.

As I mentioned before, first responders don't know what kind of situation they are going to respond to, SJE. Gas leaks are very dangerous. A fire department responding to a situation involving a fire hazard doesn't seem unreasonable. Likewise, it's easy to drive by a scene and criticize officers without knowing what type of situation they are facing.

Comment by SJE

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:35:21 EDT

I once reported what smelled like a gas leak. I expected someone from the gas company to come over. Instead, a full hose truck, a ladder truck and a smaller pickup arrived. About 15-20 guys. They couldnt smell a(I have a pretty good nose), so they went home. Thats a lot of manpower, diesel, and wear and tear on the vehicles.

Funny thing: I have a friend who is an expert on gas lines. If it WAS a gas leak, the first reaction is to stop the leak, which might require someone to act on the central line. This does not require 15-20 guys.

So, that's fire trucks.
What about police? Do they all need Crown Vics (a big V6 or V8) and Harley's? Montgomery County does fine with smaller cars. Do they need overwhelming force for every interaction with potential criminals? I've seen 6-8 cars for a traffic stop with only two suspects, and the police are mostly hanging out. Why does it require two cars (a technician and a police officer), to check the speed cameras on 16th street?

All this costs a lot of money and energy. Reducing it would save money for the city, preserve our first responders for when they are actually needed, and be "green"

Comment by Kyle W

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:23:48 EDT

Completely agree with the idling. See it altogether too much. Seen it with Metroaccess where the guy is taking a nap in the back with the van idling... Seriously?

Comment by charlie

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:21:06 EDT

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Australian_Federal_Police_Prius_Car.jpg/320px-Australian_Federal_Police_Prius_Car.jpg

Comment by selxic

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:52:00 EDT

Police officers on bikes work in a very limited set of environments. Likewise, there are a lot of things that go into vehicle selection including ability to service the vehicle and size for passengers and equipment.

Comment by MLD

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:45:49 EDT

IOW, there are cheaper and more rational solutions available.

Yep and it's called universal health care! Then people could actually go get care instead of calling 911.

But I find dubious the argument that this costs lots of money because these guys are in a fire truck/ambulance instead of a pickup truck. The vast majority of the cost is the people doing the work, not the kind of vehicle they're riding around in.

Comment by charlie

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:44:46 EDT

cutting down on EMS repsonses to the said pickup truck would be an excellent idea.

I'd also like to see more cops on bikes.

That or a prius.

Finding a way to get delivery trucks to better coordinate deliveries and reduce their sizes would be amazing, altough probably too much for this office.

Comment by SJE

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:31:54 EDT

IOW, there are cheaper and more rational solutions available. The fact that a first responder lacks perfect information does not justify the huge expenditure of resources.

Comment by SJE

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:29:34 EDT

selxic: I agree that first responders never know the full extent of situations they may be attending. At the same time, I regularly see a lot of overkill, and the overkill costs a lot of money. see e.g. http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/firefighters-medical-calls-health-costs/story?id=10181852#.UABoKB3yw1e
I have lived in other countries, and NEVER seen the sort of massive response you see in the USA.

Comment by William

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:14:09 EDT

Nice to see a city agency taking sustainability seriously, and nice to see that actions and deeds are prevailing.

Thanks for sharing.

Comment by selxic

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:01:06 EDT

None of those are as simple as you may think, SJE. Police and first responders never know what situations they may be attending and must always be prepared.

Comment by SJE

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:08:24 EDT

Good move. Some simple things
1. MPD cars should not be allowed to sit with their engines running except in specific situations. I see the V6 cop cars parked for 30minutes with their engines running while two people chat.
2. Multiple police cars zooming off for a minor incident. 3. Fire departments send out huge trucks etc to deal with minor incidents that do not involve fires, when a few guys in a pickup, with appropriate tools, can investigate.