On Tuesday I wrote about Green Metropolis. But while I gave you my overall impressions about the book, I didn’t go into much detail—and there’s lots of detail! I haven’t thought much about urban planning before, so David Owen’s ideas are kind of revolutionary to me. Maybe they are to you, too? We’ll Switch to [...]

Green Metropolis by David Owen gets the biggest compliment I can give a book: I wish I had written it myself. It’s a wonderfully clear explanation of why high-density, mixed-use cities like New York and Boston are more environmentally friendly than suburban or even rural communities. It seems counterintuitive at first—and you get the sense [...]

We know that regularly checking the pressure in our car’s tires improves fuel efficiency. Jason usually inflates our tires before each trip to Maine. We forgot this Friday and could really see the difference—our mpg dropped from 46 to 45.7. I can really see the difference when it’s been a while since I’ve inflated my [...]

I feel kind of bad that I’ve had my bike for over two months now and I haven’t lubed the chain yet. To be fair, I did take it back to Cambridge Bicycle for a free tune up just a month ago. But I’ve read that you should lube the chain at least once a [...]

As requested, here’s an update on my progress with the bike. Since I bought it a month ago… I added a front basket. It’s much easier (and less sweaty) than a bag over your shoulder. I even stopped at Whole Foods tonight and brought home groceries. Dave suggested that I get a cargo net for [...]