There’s some controversy over working conditions at an Ikea plant in Virginia. Apparently wages start at $8/hr, with 12 days of paid vacation (8 of which are determined by the company). Oh, and also you’ll often be informed Friday evening that you have no choice but to work over the weekend too. And don’t even think about unionizing. Sweet! It’s just like we keep saying about all those workers in China that make our cheap plastic crap. “At least they’ve got jobs.” I sense that we’re going to have to re-learn all of the lessons about balancing the rights of labor and capital that we already learned so bloodily about 100 years ago. Only now, maybe we get to learn it in the context of becoming an exploited low-wage nation in a global economy. Ikea workers doing the same jobs in Sweden make $19/hr and get 5 weeks of paid vacation a year. And they’re all unionized.
Nothing will change until greens mount some primary challenges and collect some scalps | Grist
Nothing will change until greens mount some primary challenges and collect some scalps. I agree. I would join, give money to, and vote for a Green Party that was organized around this proposal. We shouldn’t get all Lawrence of Arabia until we’ve actually tried real, dirty politics. Which we haven’t. Because we’re sissies.
Almost Ideal Bicycle Parking
The bike parking at the Ideal Market in North Boulder is itself pretty close to ideal: copious, right next to the front door, under video surveillance, and they even provide air and basic tools! The only major improvement I can imagine is a roof to keep your steed dry all winter long:
Can competitive cyclists help the face of bike advocacy?
Tim Johnson, apparently a prominent cyclocross racer, recently got into bike advocacy. Says he:
Bike advocacy is about as far away from ‘cool’ as one can get. It’s a world full of recumbents, Day-Glo yellow, helmet mirrors, wool and tweed; the stereotypes that make self-important racers and hardcore enthusiasts cringe.
I’ve often been confused by the question “Are you a serious cyclist?”. I don’t own a car, and bike virtually everywhere I go. I’ve spent a year or so cumulatively living on my bike touring. In eastern Europe, in Mexico. To my mind, this makes me serious. But not so in some other minds. To many it seems that only competition can make one “serious”, and I just don’t understand. But then, I’ve never watched a SuperBowl either.
Continue reading Can competitive cyclists help the face of bike advocacy?
California Dreaming
An hour long interview based documentary by some Dutch filmmakers about the changing social and economic realities of southern California, in the wake of the financial crisis, and America’s general malaise.
It’s dangerous to cling to an identity which is no longer compatible with reality. Remember the Norse and their Greenlandic colonies. In the long run I think adaptability is the greatest kind of power you can wield. Evolutionary power.
We need, in so many ways, to move beyond thinking of ourselves as consumers, instead of citizens. Consumers, instead of producers and creators. Society and culture are almost infinitely flexible, if you’ve got the right mindset and a reason to change.
Boulder’s Car Commuter of the Year
Automobilist Jay Moriarty Wins “Automobile Commuter of the Year” Award. His unwavering commitment to this relic of the 20th century has no doubt warmed the hearts of oil company shareholders and petro-dictators worldwide.
Daily Camera: “Ride your bike more often”
The Camera today had a nice, though short, plug for bikes as transportation. It’s refreshing to see the paper going beyond its typical approach to bikes as recreation only.
The Varied Costs of Catastrophe
Andrew Revkin notes on Dot Earth that the costs of an enormous earthquake in Indonesia, and in Japan are measured very differently. In Indonesia (or alternatively, Haiti) the cost is measured in human lives. More than 200,000 dead, but only $14 billion. In Japan, there’s a tenfold difference. ~20,000 dead, but $300 billion. I can’t help but think this says something about the morality of our global economy. What, I’m not quite sure.
Seville on how to be bike friendly
Seville, Spain has gone from 0.4% (essentially zero) to 7% bicycle mode share in 5 years. Boulder’s bike share is something like 9% and we’ve been at it for 20-30 years. This suggests to me that we are being too timid, and that we have no reason to rest on our laurels. Seville did this on the cheap, and they did it fast, by taking a small amount of space from cars, and giving it to people, while also physically protecting the people from the cars.
Corporate Climate Adaptation
The Carbon Disclosure Project is helping industry adapt to climate change. It’s almost painfully ironic that some of their biggest customers are electrical utilities, mining, and, of course, oil and gas. 75% of the Alaska Pipeline is built on permafrost. And it’s melting. And they’re sure not gonna let the PR department keep them from shoring up the footings, just because they don’t believe it’s getting warmer.