The Millennial Trains Project– Pioneering Innovation and Sustainability

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The Millennial Trains Project, a traveling incubator designed by 26-year-old Georgetown University graduate, Patrick Dowd, is pioneering innovation through contemplation and collaboration via a symbolic train ride from San Francisco to Washington, DC, with 10 other stops along the journey.  Dowd’s inspiration for this endeavor came as a result of observing the Occupy Wall Street movement while working in New York for JP Morgan when he questioned whether the dissatisfaction of so many young people could be channeled into something positive.  Having participated in a similar train project involving young entrepreneurs while traveling as a Fulbright scholar in India (the Jagriti Yatra), Dowd decided to undertake a similar venture in the United States.

In the spirit and mindset of a true Millennial, Dowd did not allow his lack of experience deter him from planning this project.  As an innovator, he made the project about ” ‘vision and passion’ and daring to fail,” rather than being burdened by finances and “business plans.”  He set a goal to find backers, railroad cars and innovative passengers willing to take the trip.  Dowd first set out to find sponsors for his plan and was successful in getting the support of Betsy Broun, director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  She then assisted him in networking and bringing other sponsors aboard, including the Norfolk Southern rail line.  Dowd was able to locate two 1953 sleepers and a 1948 domed observation car.  Also, he was able to secure the services of some chefs to prepare delicious meals for the passengers.

With the functional details in place, Dowd then went about selling his idea of a train ride across the country for young innovative entrepreneurs, offering a unique opportunity to connect with the landscape, each other and other businesses and entrepreneurs along the way.  Using social media platforms, he garnered the attention of many interested people, and the individuals selected to go were the first ones who were able to pay for the trip, with many of them raising the funds through crowdsourcing on the Internet.

Of course the idea of a whistle-stop train crossing America carrying someone who wants to deliver a message or engage citizens is not novel.   Perhaps the most famous whistle-stop tours were those used for the presidential campaigns of Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman.  With limited access to face-to-face contact because of transportation limitations in terms of traveling time and with lack of televisions in American homes, whistle-stop train tours were effective in maintaining personal contact with citizens.  The unique idea in the Millennial Trains Project is that this whistle-stop train is “a campaign that is not trying to elect anyone,” but rather about “reimagining what we can do as a country over the next 10 years.”

As President Barack Obama stated in his speech celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, “change does not come from Washington, but to Washington.”  The Millennial Trains Project is symbolic of the movement underway in which the Millennial Generation is quietly making a difference and bringing their ideas to Washington.  This project also is founded on the recognition that this generation is not the group of slackers as they are often portrayed by former generations.  Rather, with their extensive education, technology skills, networking abilities, willingness to compromise and innovative spirit, they are the pioneers of a new era that is focused on justice, social and economic equality, environmental protection, sustainability, improved living conditions for all people, and acknowledgement that happiness in life is important.

We here at LGBG will be following the three upcoming trips scheduled by the Millennial Trains Project, and we will keep our readers informed of any developments or opportunities to participate in this worthy project.

Source:   Leiby, Richard (2013, September 10).  Thinking Things Forward.  Millennial Trains Project is an incubator powered by ideas.  The Washington Post, pp. C1, C2.

Celebrate Inauguration With Commitment To Green

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Washington DC - Capitol Hill: United States Ca...

Washington DC – Capitol Hill: United States Capitol (Photo credit: wallyg)

 

Today’s presidential inauguration presents a wonderful and unique opportunity to celebrate and recommit to living a healthy green lifestyle.  Inauguration is defined as “the beginning of a system or period”.  As such, this period of transition to a new administrative period in Washington, DC, represents a chance to start fresh to accomplish the work of the people.  As stewards of the earth and protectors of the environment, today is the day for us to celebrate our victories, thank our many foot soldiers and heroes, identify our challenges and band together as one voice to promote our causes and pursue our agenda.  The observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on this day, with its focus on service to our country, serves to bolster our spirit and commitment to the Earth.  I find it extremely poignant that President Obama will take his oath on Dr. King’s travel Bible facing the direction of the King Memorial,  creating a dramatic reminder of our duty to this land, as the scripture admonishes us to replenish the Earth.

 

As we listen to the oaths, speeches and commentaries at today’s inaugural events, let’s take our own oaths to continue to do the seemingly small, but effective things to reduce pollution and waste, such as recycling, reducing our gas and meat consumption, supporting businesses that are kind to the environment and calling out those who violate the earth.  Also, be that voice that speaks out to identify issues and brings elected officials to task when they fail to represent the constituents as they should.  Rally around organizations who lobby for green initiatives in Washington, DC, who often ask for no more than that you lend a signature to a petition to show support for that eco-friendly position on a particular issue. Additionally, let’s support our organizations who are working hard to effect change.  Please consider donations of time and/or money to their wonderful causes.  They truly are the foot soldiers of this movement.

 

We at LGBG feel honored to work for all things green.  We are grateful for the many friends and associations we have made, and we enter this inaugural period with a stronger sense of urgency and commitment to a green lifestyle.  We hope that this day will be a day of reflection, happiness, peace and celebration for our nation and for all things green.  This is the day that we reinforce our commitment to “be the change we want to see”.  Happy Inauguration Day!  Let’s live green, be green!

 

A Race To The Top For Our Infrastructure

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The typical picture of Washington currently is that democrats say yes, republicans say no, and vice versa. What then if I were to tell you of a government reform that inspired the exact opposite, an Obama administration proposed reform that had states painted both red and blue competing for federal funds, while taking the reform of an antiquated and failing system seriously? You would most likely point me to a calendar and tell me that the fifties are over, and I would merely show you the Race to the Top.

The Race to the Top program was a product of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), commonly known as the Stimulus Bill. It provided $4.35 billion dollars in federal funding for states’ education systems. However, this was not a simple funding provision, but a competitive grant program. States would compete against each other for these funds by engaging in education reform.[1]For many, the results were somewhat muddled, with different groups focusing on different aspects of education. Regardless the perceived inadequacies of the program, it did accomplish two things: it caused states to recognize and evaluate failures in their education systems, formulating ways to fix them, while also injecting much needed funds into school systems that were facing dire budget cuts and setbacks. As I previously said, the actual results of the program are still hard gauge and likely will not be quantifiable for years to come. That being said, admission of a problem is always the first step to recovery.

With that notion in mind, we can no longer ignore America’s crumbling infrastructure.  This is a subject that I have touched on in the past and which many of us notice on our commutes to and from work every day.  As I stated in my November 27th post, America needs roughly $2.2 trillion dollars in infrastructure investments.[2] The need for these investments could not come at a more opportune or inopportune time. As of December 2012, the unemployment rate stands at 7.8%.[3] Any infrastructure project would be beneficial to increasing employment, not only through the jobs required to complete the task, but also through the multiplier effect. While government infrastructure projects are typically, and sometimes rightfully so, decried as pork-barrel projects, their economic benefit greatly exceeds the majority of government spending.  A report from the fall of last year found that, “each dollar of infrastructure spending increases the GSP by at least two dollars”, and furthermore, “that the multiplier increases during a downturn. Leduc and Wilson found that the multiplier in the wake of the 2009 stimulus was ‘roughly four times’ more than average. That means infrastructure investments offer more value during busts than booms, which should encourage policymakers attempting to counteract high unemployment in the construction sector by increasing spending on highways, roads, and bridges”.[4] However, Washington is driving with its eyes not fixed on the road at the moment, but instead on the debt ceiling crashing through the skies.

The debt ceiling is typically raised by Congress every few years, but over the course of the Obama administration, it has become a partisan sticking point. A majority of America agrees that not raising the debt ceiling is liable to cause economic damage to the United States, but many people are more divided on which outcome is the best, with, “39 percent of [AP-Gfk] poll respondents support[ing] the insistence by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that deep spending cuts be attached to any measure increasing the debt ceiling. That is more than the 30 percent who back Obama’s demand that borrowing authority be raised quickly and not entwined with a bitter fight over trimming the budget. An additional 21 percent oppose boosting the debt ceiling at all”.[5] Not surprising, the survey goes  on to find that the two top issues for Americans are the economy and the federal deficit. The point to take away from this is that the great recession is still firmly locked into the minds of many Americans and that we are not likely to see any significant spending comparable to what our infrastructure actually needs. As such, if we are not going to be able to spend more to dig out of this hole, then we have to spend wiser, and there is no better way to get the best ideas then through competition.

We have in this possibility an intersection of resounding truths: America’s infrastructure is in desperate need of repair, the health of the economy is seen as still in balance, and the concern for the federal deficit will likely curtail spending increases. We’ve already shown that infrastructure investments are one of the most efficient ways that the government can spend. With our constrained ability to spend, but a desire for a healthier economy, we must choose the investment with the greatest track record for success. By making it into a competition in the spirit of the Race to The Top, we are increasing the economic benefit of the spending even more. By cutting out the pork, we are targeting the projects and the plans that would be the most beneficial, the best of the best, one could say. Furthermore, it has been noted that in downturns that the multiplier effect is even more resounding. While the recession may be officially over, unemployment remains high. When we break unemployment down by state, we see states like Mississippi (8.5%), New Jersey (9.6%), and California (9.8%) with unemployment levels well above the national average.[6] What you will also find in these states are infrastructures with extremely low ratings that are in need of drastic improvements. [7] The recession may have ended but for many of these states the wounds have yet to heal. An increase in infrastructure spending would provide a much needed injection of cash into their economies and likely a multiplier effect above the average.

Inspirations for new investments are appearing in the news every day, most recently out of the Netherlands.  While we are attempting to get our infrastructure to meet the standards of the modern day, this nation already is planning and getting set to build the needed infrastructure of the future. Construction is set to begin soon on glow in the dark highways, “treated with a special ‘foto-luminising powder’ that is charged up during the day and illuminates the contours of the road and lane markers at night for up to 10 hours… [And] dynamic paint [that] responds to changes in temperature. A pattern of snowflakes, for example, appears when it is cold and slippery… [While] other innovations to debut in the coming years include an induction priority lane that will charge electric cars as they drive, presumably via induction coils that are powered by wind”.[8] State and national leaders would also be wise to take note of the success of the Dutch bike system, with, “ 27 percent of all daily trips [being] made by bicycle”.[9] In all likelihood America faces a tough road ahead, torn by somewhat contradictory desires and opinions.  Nonetheless, we still possess the capability to determine the difficulty of that road ahead. We can determine this by being smart, spending smart, and letting the spirit of competition drive us down the best road.  Creating a competitive program to improve the nation’s infrastructure indeed is a way to live green and be green.

By Sean P. Maguire

 

[1] http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdf

[2] http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/

[3]http://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm

[4] http://www.businessinsider.com/infrastructure-economic-multiplier-2012-11

[5] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/17/debt-limit-poll_n_2498441.html

[6] http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

[7] http://www.asce.org/Infrastructure/Report-Card/State-and-Local-Report-Cards/

[8] http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/futuristic-highway-glows-dark-reports-weather-1C6670949

[9]http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/how-to-make-biking-mainstream-lessons-from-the-dutch

Oyster Shell Recycling Heals Ailing Bay

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The key to green living and sustainability most often lies with grass roots efforts by dedicated individuals with personal vested interests at stake. A situation such as this gave birth to the Shell Recycling Alliance. This group consists of members of the local oyster shucking community with family legacies of care and commitment to the Chesapeake Bay. They recognized that the tons of oyster shells discarded at events where they shucked could serve a useful purpose, and they got together to do something about it.

Oyster shell is a limited natural resource that provides a habitat for new oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Hatchery uses it for its oyster setting process. This program spawns oysters taken from the wild, creating larvae or spat, which is released into large tanks with cages of oyster shells to set. The newly spawned oysters are fed algae and upon reaching maturity, are returned to the Bay. The Shell Recycling Alliance (SRA) has teamed up with area seafood restaurants throughout Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Delaware to save oyster shells, which are collected and delivered to the hatchery to be used for setting to replenish the bay oyster population. To date, the SRA has provided around 75,000 bushels of reclaimed oyster shells to the program.

In addition to being a food attraction, oysters play a major role in the health and survival of the Chesapeake Bay, as the filtering capacity of the entire oyster reef community is vital to the Bay’s water quality. By virtue of its algae consumption, an oyster filters water at a rate of up to approximately two gallons an hour. This filtration clarifies the water, allowing bay grasses to receive more sunlight and become more plentiful. As a result, oxygen levels in the water increase, which in turn, leads to reduced wave energy and shoreline loss. The end product is a healthy habitat for aquatic life.

Thanks to the actions of concerned people committed to the protection of our waters, oyster replenishment programs now operate not only in the Mid-Atlantic States, but also up and down the east coast. A small green movement has led to a large green revolution. A great way to get involved is to support the restaurants that participate in this program. A list of participating businesses can be found at http://www.oysterrecovery.org/Content/ContentDisplay.aspx?ContentID=88. Let’s live green, be green.

Courtesy of aquaviews.net

Environmentally Faster

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This entry is intended to be more observational and less of a commentary on current events.

I recently moved back to the Washington DC area after graduating from Fordham University. After experiencing the Bronx and all of NYC as a whole, I can honestly say that the traffic is nothing compared to what people in DC deal with every single day. After driving to my new job several times, I became fed up and started taking public transportation despite it taking the same amount of time. The only difference is that you avoid sitting in standstill traffic.

The reality is that that unlike NYC’s commuter train, there is no real advantage to using DC Metro public transportation as a commuter. Most people who work in DC live in the suburbs, however the public transportation system for the demographic is terribly inefficient. One example is the MARC train that is equivalent to NYC’s Metro North. The MARC train does not make getting to Union Station (downtown DC) a transportation priority for DC commuters like Metro North makes Grand Central Station a priority for NY commuters. DC commuters would be better off taking an appropriately scheduled Amtrak train despite it not necessarily being cost effective. The MARC train does exist as more of a Maryland, DC transportation initiative that shuttles residents between the two cities.

From an Eco-friendly perspective, this creates a problem. An efficient and effective public transportation system helps reduce vehicle emissions and overall energy consumption by removing the amount of cars on the road. People in the DC metro area still do not have enough reason to turn to public transportation as it is just as timely and cost effective as driving.

Here is an excerpt from Forbes Magazine from 2008 when DC ranked 7th among the worst cities for commuters:

No. 7: Washington, D.C.
Because most of the workers in Washington D.C. are commuting from the Virginia or Maryland suburbs, it can take an exceedingly long time to make it downtown. Here, 15% of commuters take over an hour to get to work, the second highest rate in the country. Drivers spend 60 hours a year stuck in traffic, and only 26% of commuters get to work in under 20 minutes– the worst rate in the country. The only thing saving D.C. from a worse ranking is its efficiency ranking for carpooling, public transportation and walking, the country’s second best. (stats since then have remained relatively the same)

I want to point point out that the public transportation within the city is great! As the observation above mentions, it is one of the best. Commuters who live outside the city limits however, are nit experiencing the same situation. For everyone’s sanity and for the environment, there needs to be a more effective solution for commuters surrounding our Nations’s Capital. City planners need to look at models such as NYC and Chicago and develop a better a better public transportation for everyone outside the city limits.

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