Riding the Railrunner

Who would really want to deal with all the hassles of public transportation if you could just get into your car and go directly from point A to point B. You're likely to be there in less time and cheaper too if you just look at the gas price cheaper. Plus you can sing off key in your car to the music you choose, stop where you want, leave things you don't want to carry around in the car. Let's face it: public transportation sucks. You have to get to where you catch your means of public transportation and you have to be there on time or you'll miss the bus or train or plane, then you wait around uselessly. You may need exact change to get on only to end up sitting next to somebody who may talk your ear off, excrete odors you don't want to identify. An old lady makes you feel guilty because you are not giving up your seat for her. There are a lot of reasons why public transportation is not the vehicle of choice for lots of New Mexicans.

Where is she going with this? I thought this is supposed to be a green blog and not a worshipping of car culture. Yes, that's right. The question is: What does it take to make a person want to leave the car and come on board?

Is the New Mexico railrunner, the commuter train that goes from Belen through Albuquerque all the way up to Santa Fe the answer? And how can that be?

My family and I had to see for ourselves. To our dismay the train doesn't run Sundays, so we had to wait for an opportunity we could catch it on a weekday since our Saturdays are packed with the kid's music classes. Anticipating we might not be the only ones who though Presidents' Day was just that day, we arrived over 30 minutes early at the downtown station. Parking went well, but added another $2.50 to the tap. Next we had to find out about tickets. We found a sign telling us they can only be bought at the train. Now we still had 30 minutes to wait around on the track with a growing crowd of wanna-be train riders. Some asking about where to buy tickets, feeling a little excited and unsure about the whole thing, but definitely with a sense of debarking on some adventure, leaving the safety of their own car behind.

The web site had told us service was on a first come first serve basis. Mmmm. There certainly was no system in place anybody would be able to know who was there first. We had to prepare for push through the door event. Somehow we made into the train up to the top level and got seats. The train seemed filled up, no people standing. The passengers who got on the next stations weren't as lucky, the walk way between seats filled up with people having to stand. And the train was on its smooth ride to Santa Fe. How relaxing it was, just to be able to sit and look out the window, not paying attention to traffic, having a conversation. My husband and I remembered a romantic train ride we had in France. The view from the train is much different than from the highway. People chattering away, strangers talking to one another. The ride went by quickly and it was time to get off. 

Now we had four hours in Santa Fe. A nifty free shuttle dropped us off at the Plaza after what seemed like a tour of the town. No worries about finding parking. We enjoyed lunch at the Plaza and visited our favorite Georgia O'Keefe museum, strolled through a few galleries, hopped back on the shuttle. The train came quite early and people lined up to get in. My friend and I who had gone exploring the new little stores near the station rushed back over to the tracks. This time we weren't so lucky to all sit together. My three-year-old made friends with another little boy and after the train ride the parents knew a lot about him. 

We were back in Albuquerque just for dinner time. The train ride had turned the trip to Santa Fe into a mini-vacation. It was relaxing and I really enjoyed the social aspects of it. I grew up taking trains in Germany and I love how it brings people together in random ways. It's not like in airplanes, the set-up is different and allows for communication. 

Anyhow, this was my plea to promote the New Mexico Railrunner, greener way to travel. 

Be adventurous, leave the car behind and try some public transportation. It matters. Let's matter together. Yes, we can.

On the discovery of podcasts

It's been a while. Something new has entered my life. I broke down and finally got an ipod, a belated Christmas gift. Wow, it's lifechanging. I am discovering the world of podcasts. I had no idea how much stuff is out there a download away. There are free coffee break Spanish lessons I listened to while emptying the dishwasher. Episodes of NPR's fresh air are readily available. There are podcasts just about anything for anyone. You can learn about scientific findings in 60 seconds, discover new recipes and not to speak of all the neat stuff for kids. So why am I writing about podcasts in a green blog? I am still trying to figure myself what the green aspects of having an ipod and the availabiity of podcasts truly are. Am I just buying into consumerism here that somehow I need one, too, even though I have lived without an ipod for so long. Sure in my twenties I had a walkman, you know one of those clunky things which would hold just one cassette and for a while it was enjoyable to hear music on public transportation or while skiing (back then, I didn't have the awareness of what the skiing industry is doing to nature). Somehow the novelty wore off and the walkman became a backup tape player. Is this going to happen again with the ipod? A big reason why I wanted one was the capability to hook it into the car stereo, so if we go on a road trip (somewhat cleaner than flying) we could listen to all kinds of music and books. The 6-CD charger somehow always holds the same 6 CDs, and boy, am I tired of those.

So much for my initial personal reasons. I can argue that I may never have to go out and buy a CD again, thus saving resources. That is part of the beauty of new technology, it really does make the use of paper and other resources a lot less necesary. The downside seems the constant development of technology which produces technotrash, only slowly are the producers of electronics paying attention to producing more recycable equipment.

What I hadn't expected when I got the ipod was the discovery of the podcasts. Somehow I am quite excited about this new medium. I have my favorite radioshows but they are only available at certain times and when they are over I may pollute my brain with a highly commercial radio station. Now I can just find an inspiring podcast. That feels like a breeze of clean air. Of course there are podcasts on green living and I checked a few out yesterday. When I get a better overview on the good ones, I'll share my insights.

So far I'm the kids in the candystore when it comes to podcasts. So much to listen to. Amazingly lots of podcasts are free with very little advertising and they are so easy and cheap to produce for someone with a decent computer. I like this democratic aspect of giving more people who have something to say a forum. I'm not sure what all this will mean to radio and TV as we know it. Some of the stuff that's so hot and consumes many people's time like twitter, facebook, myspace, youtube etc. I have not been as intrigued.

So I am just enjoying the feeling of being excited about something like the possibilities of podcasts, maybe I'll produce one soon.

Being inspired matters. Let yourself be excited about whatever it is that moves you. Let's matter together. Yes, we can.

No more little juicies and milk containers

A week has gone by in this new America. Last week I came up with a mission of my blog: inspire others by example and giving them good reasons to make environmentally friendly choices. Because it matters. Occasionally I get overwhelmed by all the things I should be doing but can't seem to get around yet. Then I remind myself that it's better to do one little thing at a time than to give up and not act at all. So here is another small change that was fairly easy and left me uplifted about the possibilities.

If you have kids and you pack their lunches and various snacks you are likely to find yourself buying small containers of milk or juices. What happens next is that the kids ask for juicy at home and it's tempting to get out the small container because it's more spillproof than a cup, once it's gone it's easier to argue, that they can only have one. Before you know it, you are throwing out 6 juice and milk containers a day. Plus the small packaged milk that needs no refrigeration is ridiculously expensive compared to the gallon price (for 6.75 ounces you pay between 3-6 times(!) as much depending on what kind of gallon milk you buy), not to mention that the sugared up chocolate, vanilla or strawberry versions are actually cheaper than the pure white stuff.

Last week I finally came across a set of reusable insulated plastic drinking containers, supposedly the kind that doesn't leak any chemicals into your liquid with a great new spillproof concept. I will just poor milk from the gallon jar and put an ice-cube in it for keeping it cool. This should do since it's usually only about three hours without refrigeration. For the juice I am able now to stretch a recycable half gallon with water, which makes the juice last longer and gets less sugar into the kids. With the above mentioned savings the drinking containers will pay for themselves in no time. Now I just need to teach the kids responsibility to make sure to pack them up. Hey, that's actually a good thing, too.

That's another expample of a little thing that matters. Instead of producing all the trash I will be able to recycle the big containers. Now if 50 000 parents did the same, can you imagine? And what I really like about it: It's a green choice that is actually cheaper than its alternative. That's the way it should be anyway. Unfortunately all too often the cost of damage to the environment is not factored into our prices and that is one of the biggest obstacles for many to choose green over dirty. I'll keep looking for those easy to do changes that actually save you money and share them with you.

Because it matters. Let's matter together. Yes, we can.

How the elections kicked my b.. to start blogging

It's a historic day. I am moved to write. New Pesident Barack Obama just kicked my moral bud to get to work and start this blog. There he is, walking fearlessly along the crowded streets of Washington DC, waving to his cheering supporters. The speech was beautiful, restored hope and lifted my spirit to believe that what each and every one of us do, matters. So here I am trying to commit to my cause: inspiring others by example and giving them good reasons to make environmentally friendly choices.

Yes, those lightbulbs matter. Yes, taking the bike instead of the car when you can, matters, using recycled paper matters. Thinking first matters. No, I am no green saint - yet. I still commit environmental sins, I am working on expanding my green ways though. I know the obstacles and the resistance when it comes to changing habits. Yet I see how much a difference it makes what happens around us. Here is an example. I grew up in Germany witnessing the rise of the green movement. Even without the green party people had green habits such as bringing their own bag or basket to the grocery store and dropping off glass at remote recycle containers before detailed recycling became the standard for every household. When I moved to the US my good habit of bringing my own bag quickly gave way to the convenience of having my groceries bagged. I am happy to see that the bring-your-own-reusable bag-movement is really becoming mainstream in the US. I have readapted to an old habit. I enjoy seeing less bags around my house and I try to encourage the cashiers to pay attention to people having their own bag instead of just starting to bag.

The bag is one of those easy examples how the simple things can make such a difference. According to gogreen-bags.com:

• The average family of 4 accumulates 1460 plastic shopping bags a year.


• It can take up to 1000 years for a plastic bag to break down in the environment.


• The oil it takes to produce 14 plastic bags will power your car for a mile, says Green Wikia.

That matters. Let's matter together. Yes, we can.