Gigantic hole two-thirds the size of Manhattan discovered in Antarctic glacier, Sheena McKenzie, CNN, January 31, 2019 (CNN) A massive cavity two-thirds the size of Manhattan has been discovered growing in an Antarctic glacier, signaling rapid ice decay that has shocked scientists. The huge hole — measuring almost 1,000 feet (300 meters) tall — was found growing at an “explosive rate” at the …
U.S. traffic fatalities rise while international numbers improve. US not yet engaged with “freedom from death and injury on roads”
U.S. traffic fatalities rise while international numbers improve Posted on August 20th, 2018 By Robbie Webber A new report by the International Transport Forum highlights how the United States is losing the battle to reduce traffic fatalities, while other countries improve their safety records. Out of 41 countries contributing to the International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group, most reported a reduction in …
Permitting rights on red increases pedestrian crashes by 60 percent and bike crashes by 100 percent, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found in the 1980s
By Angie Schmitt on May 15, 2018 on Streetsblog Legal right turns on red are practically a given at intersections from rural Oklahoma to urban Boston. But it wasn’t always so. It wasn’t until the 1970s that allowing drivers to turn right during the red signal phase became common across the country, says Bill Schultheiss, a civil engineer at Toole Design Group …
Safety expert says: ‘We’re doomed’: Mayer Hillman on the climate reality no one else will dare mention
By Patrick Barkham, in The Guardian. The 86-year-old social scientist says accepting the impending end of most life on Earth might be the very thing needed to help us prolong it. Thu 26 Apr 2018 Dr Mayer Hillman with his bike outside his home in London. Photograph: John Alex Maguire / Rex Features “We’re doomed,” says Mayer Hillman with such a beaming smile that it …
SUVs cause nearly 3x the fatalities as other crashes with pedestrians
Almost 6,000 pedestrians were killed on American streets in 2016, an increase of nearly 50 percent since 2009. The cause of the increase, however, has stumped some safety analysts. Groups like the Governors Highway Safety Association, for example, have advanced theories on “distracted walking,” without much evidence. But a new study from a major group, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, …
On National Walking Day, a look at how putting cars first kills people who walk and drive
By Lloyd Alter, 5 April 2018 National Walking Day was started by the American Heart Association as a way of promoting healthy hearts, but all the good achieved through that exercise might be offset by the thousands of walking people who get killed every year. That’s why good pedestrian walking infrastructure is so important- so that people can walk safely, …
It’s time to Stop de Kindermoord (Child Murder): Life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society – nothing matters more than human lives. It means that safety is prioritized over speed and drivers’ convenience.
By Lloyd Alter, 8 Mar 2018 Public Domain Public Archives/ NL cycling Vision Zero has become a meaningless response to continuing tragedy; we have to learn from the Dutch. Vision Zero is a lovely concept; In Sweden, where it started, they believe that “Life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society” – nothing matters more than …
Taking a longer, harder look at the research that shows that more equal societies also turn out to be safer societies
By Sam Pizzigati, Inequality.org, March 2018 Last month’s homicidal horror at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida has Americans searching for answers to the most elemental question a parent can ever ask. How can we, Americans want to know, protect our kids? Overwhelming majorities of us, the polls tell us, feel that the answer involves some sort of meaningful limits on …
Security risk: retired admirals and generals say climate change is putting key military facilities at risk of costly damage that could knock out critical operations for weeks
Also, in this morning’s Washington Examiner, FedEx CEO Fred Smith and former Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James T. Conway, articulate both why and how to strike a deal that serves America’s interests. They write: The reopening of the midterm evaluation of fuel efficiency standards has created an opportunity to strengthen and modernize the fuel economy regime. As technology offers a …
Traffic fatalities on the rise, now ranking as the nation’s second leading cause of death overall
By Katie Pyzyk @ Smart Cities Dive With U.S. traffic fatalities on the rise, now ranking as the nation’s second leading cause of death overall, advocates are increasingly calling on local and state governments to take action to improve roadway safety. More than 37,000 people died in traffic crashes in the U.S. in 2016, which is a 5.6% increase over 2015, according to the …