We mentioned to Adams that the 71-year-old Bates was going even further: The Berkley mayor has traded in his 2001 Volvo for a transit pass and walking shoes. "Seriously?" Adams said. "He's really doing that? No driving at all?" None.
Adams paused, obviously feeling out-maneuvered in the race to become America's greenest mayor. "How big is Berkeley?" he asked. "Because Portland is 143 square miles?"With a chuckle, he relented. "OK," he said, "I'll take his challenge for one month."
Wha?! Who in their right mind would take that challenge? Oh perhaps someone who is not a member of the Emerald Aristocracy. Many people here in San Francisco talk a green game, but can they back it up? Plug in hybrids aren't going to cut it in this race. You gotta do more.
I've seen Sam on the MAX a _lot_, but I think he dialed it back once he got a nice city car and had to zoom back and forth between all these meetings throughout the county.
ReplyDeleteHe can call me, I can give him tips on getting from one side of Portland to the other quickly without setting foot in a car.
Bloomberg took the subway for a while - or, rather, he was driven to the express stop in an SUV. I think he no longer takes the subway at all.
ReplyDeletei wonder if this has anything to do with the minor car crash he just got in.
ReplyDeletejust saw him at the SE portland bike & streetcar open house a few days ago. i'm not sure how he arrived.
Yeah the article says this is a rather direct result of the car crash.
ReplyDeleteSensibly, Sam's agreeing to do this in May-June, when Portland's wet but not frigid. Latitude should count for something in comparing these dares.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually ambivalent about these kinds of stunts. When I have to go somewhere, I always look at the transit option, but I only use it if it makes sense. To submit myself to inferior service isn't as green a gesture as it might seem, because in doing so I'm enabling the folks who want to keep it inferior.