Have a great run Fargo Marathoners
We're fired up and ready to cheer the 11,500 plus runners on this Saturday, my wife and I ride our bikes on side streets not on the route, to watch our friends and other runners and cheer them at at different intervals of the race, it works great.
They're off!
These young people look determined for the 5 K
This young woman doesn't even look winded
after completing the run.
Here's to a nice day Saturday, cool with little wind and no rain.
Posted by: Michael Williams on 5/15/2008 at 5:52 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Fourth week of FM Commuter Challenge ends on Marathon Day
For those of us that aren't runners, we can get some excercise and save some money walking and biking for the fourth week of the FM Commuter Challenge. My wife and I will be riding our bikes around on Saturday morning of the marathon to watch our friends and other runners and cheer them at at different intervals of the race, it works great.
FM commuter challenge is helping promote alternative modes of transportation than driving alone. Transit ridership continues to grow Ridership was 23% higher in March compared to last March, and 36% higher in April compared to last April. As reported earlier this year, both January and February were both 28% higher than last year. www.matbus.com
It's bike to work week! With this nice weather, it might be fun to give the FM Commuter Challenge a try, you might even win a prize donated by Island Park Cycles for the event.
Many in our area are taking the challenge to reduce the miles we drive alone. We've been walking, biking, riding the bus, and carpooling for the FM Commuter Challenge. Here's a good article about Moorhead City Council member Laurie Winterfeld Shanks: Commuter Challenge gears up
Here's more info on how you can join in this challenge:
| 2008 FM Area Commuter Challenge |
The Purpose of the Commuter Challenge is to help people try a different way to get to work or school. Register for the Commuter Challenge, submit your log sheet and become eligible for prizes! The challenge is scheduled to take place April 21 - May 17, 2008.  The Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments is pleased to announce the Fourth Annual Commuter Challenge. The challenge is scheduled to take place April 21 - May 17, 2008. This event encourages Metro area residents to leave their cars at home and use transportation options such as Metro Area Transit, carpools, bicycles and walking.  The goal of this event is to get area residents thinking about the many options they have for getting around town in a cheaper and cleaner way. It is also a chance to show off our area's continually growing transit systemas well as the metro area bicycle and pedestrian network. The Commuter Challenge is offering several exciting opportunities to area residents including:
Here's how the Challenge works. It's as simple as entering each one-way trip that you Bike, Bus, Carpool, or Walk on the trip log thats available at fmcommuterchallenge.com. At the end of the Commuter Challenge you will be asked to submit a completed trip log. We hope you will take part in this exciting program! Participants can register at fmcommuterchallenge.com. The registration deadline is Sunday, April 27. All registrants who complete and submit a trip log are entered into a drawing to win prizes.  |
Posted by: Michael Williams on 5/12/2008 at 5:19 PM | Comments (4) | Permalink
Whoo Hoo! Fargo named one of America's top cleanest cities
We're on a roll! Now along with being ranked #1 city for best overall environment by the Earth Day Network, Fargo is also named one of America's cleanest cities!
Here's Taylor Kearns Miss Teen ND 2007. She helped kick off all the great Earth Week events at the Moorhead Center mall. Taylor is a NDSU student and she's a great representative for youth and North Dakota helping to prove going green saves and pays.
Here's the article from the AP today:
Fargo named one of nation's cleanest cities
By Noaki Schwartz
Associated Press - 05/01/2008
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A city outside California has for the first time been named the sootiest in the nation, one of the categories the American Lung Association uses to determine the most polluted cities in the country.
Los Angeles still took the all-around pollution title, though.
Pittsburgh overtook Los Angeles in the category that measures short-term particle pollution or soot. Los Angeles, the country's longtime soot and smog leader, has enacted aggressive measures to tackle sources of pollution, resulting in a substantial drop in particle pollution levels, said Janice Nolen, the association's assistant vice president of national policy and advocacy.
``It's not that Pittsburgh has gotten worse; it's that Los Angeles has gotten better,' Nolen said. ``If the trend continues, Pittsburgh will top two lists, and LA will only be leading the nation in ozone.'
Still, Los Angeles held its own in two other categories measuring year-round soot levels and smog. And statewide, 26 of California's 52 counties with air quality monitoring stations got failing grades for having either high ozone days or particle pollution days.
The association's ``State of the Air: 2008' report, being released Thursday, was based on air quality measurements reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by state and local agencies between 2004 and 2006. The study looks at three key pollution measures.
The eight metropolitan areas considered to be the nation's most polluted by every measure were Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, Visalia-Porterfield and Hanford-Corcoran, all in California; Washington-Baltimore; St. Louis; and Birmingham, Ala.
The cleanest cities were Fargo, N.D., and Salinas, Calif.
The rankings were based on ozone pollution levels produced when heat and sunlight come into contact with pollutants from power plants, cars, refineries and other sources. The lung association also studied particle pollution levels emitted from these sources, which are made up of a mix of tiny solid and liquid particles in the air.
The study found that about 42 percent of residents nationwide live in counties with high levels of particle or ozone pollution.
``When you think of the impact of ozone on our respiratory tracts, imagine putting acid right in your eye. It's that corrosive,' said Tony Gerber, a pulmonary specialist and assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco. ``This corrosiveness causes severe irritation and leads to problems like asthma attacks, coughing, wheezing, chest pain and even death.'
Posted by: Michael Williams on 5/02/2008 at 6:39 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
ND Alliance for Renewable Energy is now ND affiliate for 25 x '25 national alliance
"The 25x'25 Alliance seeks out and facilitates the assembly of committed leaders who are determined to move their states towards greater use of renewable energy," said Ernest Shea, Lutherville, MD, 25x25 project coordinator. "With its vast potential for producing biofuels, wind energy and biomass energy, North Dakota can and will play a greater role in meeting the national goal of 25x25."
Here's the rest of the announcement:
4-29-08 North Dakota now part of national renewable energy push
A new, non-profit trade association promoting development and use of renewable energy in North Dakota has teamed up with a nationally recognized organization with the same goal for the entire country.
The North Dakota Alliance for Renewable Energy (NDARE) is now officially affiliated with the 25 x '25 National Alliance, said Mike Williams, NDARE president. "We look forward to working in partnership with the alliance toward a new energy future for our state and nation."
"The 25x'25 Alliance seeks out and facilitates the assembly of committed leaders who are determined to move their states towards greater use of renewable energy," said Ernest Shea, Lutherville, MD, 25x25 project coordinator. "With its vast potential for producing biofuels, wind energy and biomass energy, North Dakota can and will play a greater role in meeting the national goal of 25x25."
The coalition's goal is the production of 25 percent of the nations energy needs from renewable sources by the year 2025, while continuing to produce safe, abundant and affordable food, feed and fiber. More information about the 25 x 25 National Alliance is available at www.25x25.org.
NDARE was created in 2008 to carry on the work of the North Dakota Renewable Energy Partnership, which dissolved in 2007 after serving for four years as an unincorporated association of individuals and companies. NDARE is an incorporated, structured extension of the partnerships efforts to promote energy conservation, ethanol, biodiesel, wind and biomass energy production and use in the state.
In addition to Mike Williams, board president, elected officers and board members include Brad Crabtree, Ashley, Great Plains Institute, vice-president; Terry Goerger, Mantador, Verasun Hankinson, secretary-treasurer; Mindy Grieve, Jamestown, Environmental Law & Policy Center; Scott Handy, Fargo, Cass County Electric; Patrice Lahlum, Fargo, North Dakota Department of Agriculture, and George Youngerman, Rolla, Rolla Jobs Development Authority.
Posted by: Michael Williams on 4/30/2008 at 6:55 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
ND Alliance for Renewable Energy is North Dakota's affiliate with 25 x '25 National Alliance
Posted by: Michael Williams on 4/30/2008 at 10:47 AM | Comments (6) | Permalink