Test Your Bike IQ: Pedals vs Pumps

You know it. You love it. The bicycle is a clean machine in a carbon-fueled world. To celebrate Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month, we put together a quiz to test your transportation IQ.

 

Q: Bikes are ideal for short excursions to the grocery, post office, or library. Whether by car, bike, or foot, what percentage of trips occur within two miles of home?

A) 40 percent

B) 15 percent

C) 82 percent

Test Your Bike IQ: Bikeways vs Highways

You know it. You love it. The bicycle is a clean machine in a carbon-fueled world. To celebrate Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month, we put together a quiz to test your transportation IQ.

 

Q: The city of Portland, Oregon, has won praise for its city-wide bicycle network, which cost $60 million. How many miles of urban highway would that amount fund?

A) 362 miles

B) one mile

C) 21 miles

Joaquin Sosa Wins Best Internship on Earth

 

Near the end of his application video, Joaquin Sosa claims that the opportunity to video-blog his exploits as Sierra Club's Outdoor Youth Ambassador "blows [his] mind." Well, consider the grey matter jolted. 

After carefully vetting hundreds of candidates for the Best Internship on Earth, the Sierra Club has announced that Sosa's creativity and enthusiasm stood out from the pack. The rising senior from Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia will travel around the country this summer with the Club's Mission Outdoor programs and work with productions folks in our San Francisco office to document his journey through video. Plus, The North Face will outfit him with $2,000 dollars worth of schwag. 

Check back here this summer to watch his adventures unfold. 

Green Your Garage: Get Back on the Bike

For many people, a garage or storage shed is a magnet for clutter: Boxes of old clothes, forgotten toys, and half-empty buckets of toxic goo all converge in a junk pile that would make any mother, especially Mother Nature, shudder. This week's tips feature easy ways to green your garage. 

Tip #3 : Dig out the bicycle.

There may or may not be a car in your garage, but there's probably a bicycle buried in there somewhere. Now that winter is long gone, find your bike and repurpose an old handlebar to keep things organized. As if bicycling wasn't already fun enough, CLIF BAR created a game called the 2 Mile Challenge where riders register online and compare their logged miles and avoided car trips with others. Think you could ride to the top? Either way you'll be sure to feel better about your commute and your carbon footprint. Take our quiz to learn more about greening your bike ride.  

-- image courtesy of iStock / ParkerDeen

Earthships Could Transform Philadelphia

More than 40,000 vacant lots, many piled high with illegally dumped tires, blight the city of Philadelphia. High unemployment and crime rates discourage many residents, but not Rashida Ali-Campbell, director of the non-profit, LoveLovingLove, Inc.

In Philadelphia's empty lots and abandoned, decaying buildings (approximately 75,000), Ali-
Campbell sees hope and unlimited possibilities. Her mission is to open a school for low-income residents to learn sustainable building techniques. She plans to bring the first urban Earthship to Philadelphia.  

Earthships are the brain-child of architect and inventor Michael Reynolds. His 40-year-old company creates 100 percent self-sustained buildings with a process he calls "Earthship Biotecture" and he has created thousands of them all over the planet. His life-changing projects have brought hope to communities in Europe, Africa, the Netherlands, and Haiti. (For videos click here)

These homes heat and cool themselves, produce wind and solar electricity, grow their own fruits and vegetables, (many even have a catfish pond and a chicken coop providing fresh eggs) they collect and sterilize water and maintain their own sewage system. This small greenhouse (pictured, above), is only a taste of Earthship Biotecture. A two-bedroom home can support a family of four without them ever having to go to the grocery store and their utility bill would be less than $100 per year.

Book Review: Rebuild the Dream

The problem with the American dream is that too often we're caught sleeping. At the very least, in the bliss of freedom, we let our attention wander as the things in life that matter most fail, are neglected, or are simply taken away.

In his new book, Rebuild the Dream, former special advisor to the Obama White House Van Jones drafts a thoughtful plan for the reconstruction of the simple American ideals and principles that secure the dream of a better life for everyone willing to work hard and play fair. With a vision centered on the benefits of a fully integrated green economy and practices of sustainable living, Jones's book offers a detailed analysis of the circumstances that led to rise of the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street movement. The author also provides a game plan for political activists looking to transform hope into lasting change and get the U.S. economy working again for everyone.

Invited by the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Jones recently visited Madison to address a crowd of true believers. Drawing upon themes in his book, the co-founder and president an the organization of the same name made a solid connection with an audience eager to return to better times. 

"We don't have to wait," Jones told them. "Once again we can be a nation of neighbors who were raised to look out for one another."

Green Your Future: Wildlife Conservation Work

What's in your future? Whether you decide to spend the summer traveling, learning green job skills, or cultivating sustainable habits, the choices you make today could change the course of your life. This week, we've got tips to help you pave a path to a greener future.

Tip # 4: Take Refuge in Conservation

If you'd love to spend your summer protecting wildlife, restoring habitat, or building trails, just look for the nearest wildlife refuge. This year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hire 2,300 youth for summer jobs in 556 national wildlife refuges. You can find even more opportunities through the Student Conservation Association.

--photo courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service 

Green Your Future: National Park Gigs

What's in your future? Whether you decide to spend the summer traveling, learning green job skills, or cultivating sustainable habits, the choices you make today could change the course of your life. This week, we've got tips to help you pave a path to a greener future.

Tip #3: Work in a Park

Imagine spending the entire summer in Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Rocky Mountains or the Grand Canyon. The National Parks Service has hundreds of job and internship listings for park rangers, guides, science techs, and seasonal maintenance workers. If you're wondering what it would be like to live in a park, read our Year in Yosemite series, written by resident blogger Jamie Simons.

Find more green internships at camps, ranches, and resorts at CoolWorks. 

 photo by iStockphoto/milehightraveler

Green Your Future: Organic Farming Opportunities

What's in your future? Whether you decide to spend the summer traveling, learning green job skills, or cultivating sustainable habits, the choices you make today could change the course of your life. This week, we've got tips to help you pave a path to a greener future.

Tip # 2: Go WWOOFing

Want to cultivate more than memories when you travel? The World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms program (WWOOF) has outposts in more than 50 regions, from the Caribbean islands to Malaysia. Whether you decide to participate for two weeks or two months, "WWOOFing" is a great way to learn about organic farming and meet interesting people. Other than a small fee to join the organization, no money is exchanged in the WWOOFing world: Volunteers work on farms in exchange for meals and lodging provided by host families. Check out WWOOF International for opportunities abroad or WWOOFing-USA for U.S. farm stays. To learn more about what to expect and how to prepare, read advice from a former WWOOFer.

--photo by iStockphoto/bjones

Green Your Future: The Best Internship on Earth

What's in your future? Whether you decide to spend the summer traveling, learning green job skills, or cultivating sustainable habits, the choices you make today could change the course of your life. This week, we've got tips to help you pave a path to a greener future.

Tip # 1: Apply for the Best Internship on Earth

Looking for a summer gig that won't leave you trapped you behind a desk? Apply for the Best Internship on Earth and you could spend the summer hiking, rafting, and exploring the great outdoors with the Sierra Club’s Mission Outdoors programs. Instead of delivering coffee and making copies, you'll video blog about your adventures. In addition to a stipend and all-expenses paid travel, the winning intern will receive $2,000 worth of merchandise provided by The North Face. 

The ideal candidate is passionate about the environment and being outside; open to new experiences; a skilled storyteller; experienced with video software and production; and highly engaged with their online community.  To apply, students and recent graduates between the ages of 18 and 25 must submit a video clip (60-90 seconds) showcasing their love for the outdoors and why they want to intern with the Sierra Club. 

Watch the video below to learn more: