Chasing Clean Air

Going Carless: Embarking on My Carless Lifestyle

Chasing clean air. Being clean air trumps chasing. Let me introduce you to my new carless lifestyle.

I solely ride the bus, mostly Big Blue, in Los Angeles.

No extra carbon emissions from me! I upgraded my 13-Ride Big Blue bus pass to a 30-Day Big Blue bus pass, in order to go beyond my car-light lifestyle to a car-less life. Full disclosure, last month I was rear-ended stopped at a red light when OUCH! I received whiplash from a distracted driver. I wasn't driving much prior, preferring the Big Blue bus and Metro buses, too, but that fateful day I drove for groceries--a mistake!  Or spun like the PR-pro I once was--an opportunity to go carless, and contribute to a more sensible 21st century life.

Carless means less stress for me and junk in the air for us. If more of us went carless car-light, or carpooled maybe, MAYBE, climate change would be successfully addressed!

How long will I live without a car? This is an experiment. I'm considering 6 months, and if I go 6 months, 12 months, and if I go 12 months, sell my car. Current thoughts.

I tune out the stuck-in-their-old-ways folks who tell me I'll get over it. Like going carless is a disease in need of a cure. A Consumer Reports approved safe car, perhaps? All cars are the unhealthy addiction clogging our roads, making people irritable and distracted. I have friends who just don't know how easy and pleasant taking the bus is, and they remain shielded from the free feeling one gets when taking the bus: Someone else takes the stress of driving, no hassle parking, no hassle looking for quarters or credit card to park, no worry about another acci...  Rather my friends, the great majority, look for the the best and safest cars to drive, and plan ahead for the best routes. I used to think like that too, even wrote a clean cars column.

Anyway, I haven't chased lately; researched bus lines, check. Researched "chasing clean air" trips that involve public transportation, check.

Carless.

Totally carless environments exist, too.

Researched carless places, check.

I could be on Hydra Island in the Aegean off of the coast of Greece right now. That's where donkeys are the preferred mode of transport. I wonder how it smells, though? Or strolling along Mackinac Island in Michigan. Or hanging out in the village of Jakriborg, Sweden. And then what?  Interesting to find out. Learn how people lived preindustrial revolution-like. I love to walk! Especially without fear of cars in the pedestrian crosswalks. Look both ways, stare down drivers protruding into intersection, looking impatient. But don't get into a modern duel.

If you're sincere about chasing clean air and that's why you're reading this blog, we all must be clean air. Try. And then air quality will have a chance to get even better. I acknowledge by chasing I'm part of the air pollution problem. Going carless, hopefully, I'm a tiny part of the air quality solution.

The carless lifestyle.

Did I tell you how much I love my 30 day Big Blue Bus pass used daily? Care to join in the stress-free, no added carbon way to get around?

Meet new people, read and listen to music on the bus, (be as distracted as you'd like!) and cut wayyy down on potential accidents, which trust me is awful! And if it happens; an unnecessary life distraction. According to XYZ, buses are 100s to 1000s of times safer than driving a car. Check out the studies online.

Take-aways: bring extra clothes and food for weather and bus schedule changes (they get stuck in traffic, too), wear comfortable shoes, watch both ways when crossing the street, and don't sweat missing a bus because there's generally another one coming.

Breathe.

P.S. My other being clean air ways:

A meatless diet. (Over 7 years) No extra pigs, cows or chicks taking up space for my appetite. Space is better used for trees and keeping eco-systems intact. Did you know the Amazon forest was sold out for Westerners to eat hamburgers?

What else? I pay lip-service to buying locally but I haven't succeeded with a closet-full of Made-in-China clothes, and a new iPhone. I upgraded my Made-in-China iPhone 3GS to the Made-in-China iPhone 5s. I do love it. I do wish Apple products were Made in the U.S.A. Ship emissions are far from clean. On the otherhand, I love my Dr. Beat headphones to listen to music on the bus, and they are made in Santa Monica, California!

Have you made positive changes lately?

Photos courtesy of Big Blue Bus and Jeff Brody (clean air correspondent on Hydra Island) and me (chicks in hand).

To stay connected with my search for clean air & solutions to air pollution...

FACEBOOK LIKE Chasing Clean Air

Subscribe to Chasing Clean Air Twitter

Chasing Clean Air RADIO airs here. TV series coming soon. (Slowly... I'm waiting for a bus)

Subscribe to the Chasing Clean Air RSS feed

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Verify your email. Subscribing is safe. No 3rd party sharing.

 

 

Dad's Pristine 4-Bedroom House-On-A-Hill for Sale in Clean Air San Rafael, California

My dad and his wife moved out of their beautiful 4-bedroom house on the regal San Rafael Loch Lomond hill surrounded by trees, birds, and spectacular views in California's Marin County. Colorful stained glass windows, stunning views of Mt. Tamalpais from most hardwood floor rooms, and an inviting porch for afternoon tea where you can watch light streaming like diamonds at play on the San Francisco Bay.

Photo is of me a few years ago on house's porch on a balmy evening. Weather is warmer than San Francisco mostly year-round, with occasional winter cold nights and rain.

Dad and Nola's pristine house, on a clean air hill, towers above the quiet Loch Lomond Marina and is up for sale. I love the peaceful feeling a marina offers; we used to walk there and sit, talk, enjoying the view, meeting locals. So, naturally, I'm writing about the house I paid visits to the past few decades.

If you want to see or buy it, open houses have begun at 20 Tweed Terrace, San Rafael, California, 94901

Did I mention Marin's clean air? Yes! Marin is located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge and if memory serves 80% of the land is preserved, including Point Reyes National Seashore and Muir Woods with the tallest in the world! Redwood Trees. Owls may be seen strolling in the evening.

Dad's house is about a mile from the uncrowded, gorgeous, China Camp State Park. Walking distance to aforementioned quiet Marina, and a local grocery store with gourmet prepared food choices, and a short drive or bus ride to downtown San Rafael with its quaint diverse restaurants, art galleries, progressive movie theatre and farmer markets.

Marin may be the place to live if you consider  unsurpassed beauty, trees, safety, great schools, educated residents, opportunity for outdoor sports, proximity to San Francisco, and some of the cleanest air in America.

Photo taken from China Camp State Park (there's an interesting museum there, hiking and mountain bike trails)

The house is for sale in the eastern section of San Rafael in Loch Lomond, which offers some of Marin's cleanest air considering it's away from large population centers and far from West Marin known for residents burning wood and creating smoke in the winter. I wrote about it here.

Year after year, the American Lung Association has recognized Marin County as one of the cleanest air counties in California, though due to wood smoke this year the rating came down a notch. Again, mostly as a result of burning in West Marin. I've never experienced wood smoke as a problem in my dad's "East" Marin neighborhood, rather clean air, beautiful views, quiet and friendly, helpful neighbors.(Photo: Point Reyes National Seashore, West Marin)

Dad recently retired after over 50 years working for the state of California, mostly as an administrative law judge with the Public Utilities Commission, the longest working judge there. And possibly the reason I'm as interested and knowledgeable regarding clean energy. Photos of Dad in Catalina where I joined him for a public hearing about water in 2011.

The solar and nuclear energy pros/cons/challenges conversations started at the dinner table growing up in the Bay Area. I have strong opinions but for today I can tell you... finding a home that feels right isn't always easy and nowhere is perfect but some areas come close, others are packed with good vibes, lives well-lived.

House for Sale

20 Tweed Terrace

San Rafael, CA 94901

To see photos of house, and learn more, click here.

Photo taken  at nearby Stinson Beach on Dad's 80th birthday with his wife, Nola, also a PUC retiree who educated the public about rewards of solar power.

To follow my chasing clean air search and explore air pollution solutions together, subscribe to the Chasing Clean Air RSS feed!