Free Bus Travel for Teens Reduces Traffic Injuries & Benefits Environment

First London's HyFLEET:CUTE hydrogen fuel cell bus showing the six roof mounted hydrogen fuel tanks (Photo: Wikipedia-Creative Commons-Spsmiler)
First London’s HyFLEET:CUTE hydrogen fuel cell bus showing the six roof mounted hydrogen fuel tanks (Photo: Wikipedia-Creative Commons-Spsmiler)

In what seems to me to be a no-brainer, the British Medical Journal confirms that the availability of free bus travel in London helps reduce auto-related accidents involving teenagers. In a press-release to EurekAlert, they write:

The researchers wanted to assess the public health impact of giving teens in London free bus travel. The scheme was introduced for 12 to 16 year olds in 2005, and for 17 year olds in 2006.

They therefore used data from the London Area Transport Survey and London Travel Demand Surveys to calculate the number of journeys made in London—as well as distance and principal mode of travel—before (2001-4) and after (2005-9) the scheme was introduced.

And they looked at official data on traffic injuries and hospital admissions to see if the scheme had any noticeable effects on personal safety.

What the researchers found was that “rates of road traffic casualties had started falling before the introduction of the scheme, and continued to fall afterwards, but at a greater rate in young people, largely among passengers and cyclists.”

I am not sure that the study revealed anything about teenage drivers however, since researchers also noted “there was clear evidence of a fall in the number of short journeys cycled and in distances cycled by young people.”

It sounds like the real take-away from the study is that teenagers are safer riding buses in London rather than riding their bicycles (something Miami bicyclists can certainly agree with).

The press release also notes: “The number of daily car journeys taken by young people and adults fell, and the average distance travelled by car also shrank, suggesting that free bus travel prompts a shift away from car use and may therefore be a greener option.”

Europe Installed Two-Thirds of the World’s New Solar Power in 2011

In 2011, the United States ranked 31st for “Total New Solar Power per Million People”, while Florida ranked 17th in the country. However, according to SEIA’s “U.S. Solar Market Insight Report 2011 Year-in-Review”:

“2011 was a historic year. On the positive side, the market for solar installations continued to boom, as the U.S. installed 1,855 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) solar systems, representing 109% growth over 2010.”

Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and Spain topping the list of “Total Installed Solar Power per Capita.” Add France and the United Kingdom to the same list for countries with the most new installations in 2011.

Here is a great article by Nathan over at Clean Technica discussing Europe’s solar power edge:



Europe Installed Two-Thirds of the World’s New Solar Power in 2011 (via Clean Technica)

  Two-thirds of newly installed solar power capacity in 2011 was in Europe, or 18.5 GW. Europe’s total solar power capacity now totals 52 GW. That’s enough electricity to power a country with the energy demands of Austria, which is 2% of the European Union’s total electricity needs. The European…

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Would You Live Here? 5 Remarkable Recycled Homes

Years ago, a friend and I were talking about our “dream homes”. Mine was a decommissioned small church or chapel because I’ve always loved the architectual elements found in them. It looks like someone else had the same idea as seen in #4 on Glenn Myers’ list of “5 Remarkable Recycled Homes”.

Which one is your favorite?



5 Remarkable Recycled Homes (via Green Building Elements)

A number of innovative structures have been created using materials that might otherwise have been destined for the landfill. Here are five examples of what we’ve found, thanks to the The Daily Green, Flavorwire, and Design Buzz. 1. New Life for a Grain Silo House  2. House of Bottled Dreams 3.…

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