This is a bit of a newsreel about things I have come across in my part of the universe just this past week in relationship to climate change. There is so much information out there—both scary and encourging. I am actually beginning to wonder what our view and sense of the world would be, if those good, inspiring bits of news were put together in the same way and given the same weight as the frightening ones are. What IS the real picture???

There is an incredible amount of innovation and research going on, and much of it right here, in my own (Massachusetts) backyard:

... From a young friend studying Chemical Engineering at U Amherst, I heard about her team’s efforts to turn forestry and agricultural waste into biofuel.

... Also here in Massachusetts there are wind turbines being tested by a company called Flodesign. They resemble jet-engines in their design and are three to four times as efficient, especially in lower wind, and significantly cheaper to build than the traditional wind turbines. The company just won two prizes (from MIT and from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative) for their development.

... Jim Hansen, the NASA scientist and one of the most outspoken voices for urgent climate action, came to give a talk up the road in Lexington. The material he presented wasn’t new, but what an opportunity to ask questions of one of the most knowledgeable people on this subject in the world—there were many more than he could get around to answering. (Strangely, there were very few young people in the audience of about 700 people.)

... Have you heard about the Automotive X-Prize? In a 2009 competition, the X Foundation will award 10 million dollars to the builders of a fully marketable car, built to all relevant standards, that gets 100 mpg. Lots of information about this online: Progressive is keeping a blog about the contest, and Popular Mechanics has done a thorough analysis of the early contenders. 

... This is fake news, but still good for inspiration: Google News the way we want it to be! Via Worldchanging.

... And finally, the other day, while chatting with a woman who runs a community garden here in Pittsfield (manosunidas), we discovered that both of us had spent time in Bogota, Columbia—I worked there in 1983. “It’s changed so much since then,” she said. I was bracing myself for some bad news, but she didn’t have any. In fact, Bogota, the city of thugs and drugs has started to become, over the past decade, a model green city that many look to as an example. They actually have the longest single purpose bicycle lane system in….the world! 

Yes, biking! My car is getting more and more breaks and so is my wallet and my stomach since I am not following every whimsical thought and desire to drive to the store, 3 miles down the road! Thanks for the article, Megan, about the relationship between individual action and systemic change! And maybe here is something for the city dwellers among you!

(image by Roberto Garcia-S via flickr)