very disappointing to hear about the City of College Park. This is not to be confused with the University of Maryland, who is planning to develop their parking lots with uses for people like buildings and athletic fields.

by Cavan on Aug 7, 2009 3:37 pm • link • report

the "cash for clunkers" program as "bad for its environmental effects" doesn't intuitively sound right to me. We're getting older inefficient and gas guzzling cars off the road and replacing them with more fuel efficient cars. The rules state that the trade-in vehicle has to get less then 18mpg and the replacement vehicle has to get better than 22mpg. Even if all of the cars and trucks that were turned in and replaced were at the upper and lower limits (18mpg for the trade-in and 22mpg for the replacements) - that is still a 22.2% carbon-based fuel usage improvement for everybody concerned.

So what am I missing? What are the "bad environmental effects"?

by andy on Aug 7, 2009 3:55 pm • link • report

I'm not sure being called a "Child's Version of the Tube Map" is really high praise.

by ah on Aug 7, 2009 3:58 pm • link • report

To me the zoning board in Baltimore is right on.

Not that Im against green solutions- but what really infuriates me about so many of these "green" energy machines is that they are so darned friggin ugly to look at. Kind of like the butt- ugly gas or electric meters they install in front of beautifil homes- making them look cluttered and trashy.

The truth of the matter is- that until the "greenies" wake up to the fact that VISUAL POLLUTION is a serious concern, there will be opposition to their stupid looking & supposedly "efficient" windmills and crummy looking solar arrays.

If the engineers behind this crap would only pony up and pay some real
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS [ in other words- ARTISTS ]
to make these things look less like some science fiction nightmare- then these solutions would be met with acceptance.

by w on Aug 7, 2009 4:12 pm • link • report

@other andy: the cars are required to be destroyed and recycled, which is a waste of parts that could be reused. it also discourages buying a used car which can prevent the production of a new car, which requires massive amounts of energy.

by Andy on Aug 7, 2009 4:17 pm • link • report

Why be disappointed in College Park? Some of us who live in the area (College park, Hyattsville, Riverdale, Greenbelt), still need to drive and park if we need to get to College Park. Will it be the ultimate reason for turning the area into a more vibrant place...no. But it's a stepping stone. They're accommodating those who need to drive like me to those place, and they're still planning with the Purple line, better access to the College Park metro, and partnering with UMD to allow residents to use the UMD shuttle buses. Perhaps with all of these pieces, one day it will become a great college town. At least the parking garage has a retail component in it and not just a place where people can park.

by Donald on Aug 7, 2009 4:19 pm • link • report

In the four years that I spent there, I never knew that College Park had a lack of space for cars. I'm not exactly sure where Donald (above) is going that didn't have ample parking before the new garage went in. Maybe parking would be more of a concern if UMD's plans to redevelop the land east of Route 1 actually get underway (though I think it'll take a few more years for those projects to actually be in place).

In all honesty, what keeps College Park from being a great college town is, in part, all of the cars. The fact that a major U.S. highway bisects the campus combined with all the strip malls (and their large asphalt lawns of parking) makes the area seem like a road-side rest stop than a real college town.

by Adam L on Aug 7, 2009 4:58 pm • link • report

Based on the first 110,000 cars and trucks traded in, the average clunker transaction has resulted in a 61% increase in fuel economy. That reduction in greenhouse gases is very real and substantial and would seem to override all other environmental concerns.

Those who would argue - as does Andy - that producing new cars is bad for the environment are saying - at the same time - that the death of industrial cities like Detroit is somehow good for the environment. Easy for you to say, Andy. Guess you don't know anybody whose world has been turned upside down by the collapse of the manufacturing sector.

by Mike on Aug 7, 2009 5:01 pm • link • report

I think the photo of the wind turbine is a little misleading. We did some research on these for a project I worked on in Milwaukee. Though we didn't have it for the final project, we later found out a residential unit can be as small as 6 feet in diameter. This is not too much bigger than the satellite dishes one finds on a house, and would make each house just a little more self-sufficient.

by Boots on Aug 7, 2009 7:42 pm • link • report

Okay, but is it really necessary to destroy the used parts of the clunkers (other than their engines)? There must be thousands of perfectly good headlights, etc. which will be incinerated in the name of the auto industry's profits -- so when you need a replacement part, there are fewer used parts available.

Not to mention the opportunity cost of not spending $3b instead on, say, putting people to work manufacturing trains or bicycles or wind turbines or what have you...

by Gavin Baker on Aug 7, 2009 7:52 pm • link • report

@andy, The Cash for Clunkers website says the rule about destroying the car has been "ammended". The dealer can merely "disable the engine".

by Turnip on Aug 7, 2009 8:49 pm • link • report

Boots--yeah, only a little misleading. Here's the original article with a picture of the proposed turbine.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/green/2009/08/baltimore_woman_seeks_to_be_fi.html

I can understand the view point, but safety? Are they sending their pet parakeets out and worried they'll be blended up?

by ah on Aug 7, 2009 8:50 pm • link • report

My HOA didn't like the idea of putting a water barrel on my front porch. The idea was laughed away.

by Jasper on Aug 7, 2009 9:31 pm • link • report

There's a saying from the libertarian side of the political spectrum that the average businessman can't mess with your life, but the average bureaucrat can ruin it. It's an exaggeration on the first part, but the second part is pretty frickin' apt. There are an amazing number of bullies and cocky ignoramuses in local government and HOAs that really get in the way of healthy community - or in this case, sustainability.

I don't think Darrieus wind turbines are that efficient, but they're cheap and pretty attractive.

by цarьchitect on Aug 7, 2009 10:36 pm • link • report

There are different tiers in the "Cash for Clunkers" (CARS) program. For light trucks the miles-per-gallon increase over your "CARS" trade-in (to qualify for a $3500 rebate) can be as low as 1 mpg. Pathetic.

http://www.cars.gov/faq

"If both the new vehicle and the traded-in vehicle are category 2 trucks and the combined fuel economy value of the new vehicle is at least 1, but less than 2, miles per gallon higher than the combined fuel economy value of the traded in vehicle, the credit is $3,500. If both the new vehicle and the traded-in vehicle are category 2 trucks and the combined fuel economy of the new vehicle is at least 2 miles per gallon higher than that of the traded-in vehicle, the credit is $4,500."

by Paul on Aug 8, 2009 10:04 am • link • report

I go to College Park for lunch about 2 or 3 times a week, and I can testify that it's a breeze to park in -- even after the city removed a couple spots to build the garage. I usually just pay a quarter and that's plenty, but if I feel so inclined: there are plenty of free spots near enough. Even the parking garages on campus are completely empty once you go up a couple levels. I've *never* had a problem finding a parking space. A Metro station only blocks away -- far more convenient for accessing the City than the University -- further reduces the need for parking. Ahh, well...

by Bossi on Aug 10, 2009 8:48 am • link • report

You can have the clunker stripped for parts by a number of compainies before trading it in... my cousin got $1,000 for the parts and then brought it in on donut wheels.

Of course an independent investigation showed that the numbers were skewed compared to what was reported - the majority of clunkers where cars, the majority of replacments were hybrid SUVs, which of course only get good milage when you drive them like a granny.

Aren't we just paying people to buy cars sooner, rather than letting them buy cars later when average efficiencies would be higher than today? or if gas prices go up agian, they might not have bought another car at all, and just take public transit, or used a bicycle....

by lee on Aug 10, 2009 8:56 am • link • report