your guide to sustainable living - GreenList Louisville

TARC Upgrading Fleet with Eye on EnvironmentBy J. Barry Barker, Executive Director, Transit Authority of River CityStarting this spring, TARC beginsthe exciting introduction of new,environmentally-friendly buses, a majorimprovement in public transportation forGreater Louisville. With the help of federalgrant funding, TARC has 27 new buses onorder – 11 hybrids and 16 clean-dieselbuses featuring the latest technologyfor fuel conservation, air qualityimprovements and reduced maintenancecosts. Buses to be replaced by these 27new vehicles are at least 14 years old andhave traveled 500,000 miles.TARC will also add five all-electric busesthat produce zero air emissions ondowntown circulator routes. The electricvehicles – hailed as a new cutting-edgetechnology in the transit industry – areexpected to arrive in early 2014. Theywill replace the oldest trolleys in the fleetwhich are TARC’s least environmentallyfriendlyvehicles.Hybrids, Clean Diesels to be Added toour TARC’s Fleet. The first new buses arescheduled to be operating in April. Sixteensilver clean-diesel vehicles will join 23other clean diesel buses that are alreadyin service. A few months later, the 11 newhybrid-electric vehicles will join the fleet,increasing the number of hybrids from 21to 32. With the new arrivals, nearly a thirdof TARC’s 224 buses will feature eitherhybrid-electric or clean diesel technology.The hybrid-electric vehicles use 25 percentless fuel than TARC’s older buses, resultingin reduced air pollutants and lower fuelcosts. Hybrid buses also offer a quieter,smoother ride. Hybrids use electric powerstored in batteries on board to accelerate,and then rely on a combination of dieselfuel and electrical power to maintain speed.The clean diesel bus engines feature“selective catalytic reduction,” a processthat limits the release of Nitrogen Oxides(NOx) which are a key ingredient insmog. The catalysts in clean diesel busengines convert NOx into water vapor andnitrogen, keeping harmful emissions outof the air.Electric Buses. TARC was awarded a$4.4 million federal grant to bring allelectricbuses to downtown Louisville.The grant program - the Federal TransitAdministration’s Clean Fuels Program -provides funds to help cities meet federalair quality standards while supportingemerging clean fuel technology fortransit buses. TARC will select an electricbus model based on a full procurementprocess with manufacturers submittingbids. The grant is expected to providefive electric buses that will replace TARC’soldest trolleys. Combined, the five oldesttrolleys now emit 1,135 pounds of carbonmonoxide each year. The electric buses,with no internal combustion engines,do not produce air emissions. Anotherbenefit is fuel savings - it costs nearly$10,000 per year for fuel for one trolley.In the future. As TARC continues toupgrade the fleet, we will remain focusedon environmental considerations.Air quality, fuel conservation andmaintenance costs are key factors inmodernizing public transportation toprovide service that enhances the social,economic and environmental well beingof the Greater Louisville community.Louisville TimebankToo often, we live close together, butas strangers. We don’t know what ourneighbors can do; we don’t know whom wecan trust. Time banking provides the vehicleto discover the vast wealth of capacity thatsurrounds us. – Edgar Cahn, Founder ofTimebankingTimebanking unleashes the power of localcommunities by using time as currency.The Louisville Timebank’s mission isto create a network of individuals andorganizations, who support and empowereach other, building a social safety netfor us to be a more interdependent andresilient community. We are doing thisthrough the exchange of our greatestnatural resources: our knowledge, skills,and time. One hour of service equalsone time credit, exchangeable for othermember’s services. Members are able toexchange a wide variety of services fromgardening and rain barrel installation tochild care and yoga classes. The beauty ofTimebanking is that everyone is an asset,and by valuing every one's hour the samewe are also promoting equality. What agreat way to see the world, by focusingon a person’s gifts, instead of focusing onwhat they are lacking, and cultivating amore sustainable community one hour ata time. We are all facing a new economicreality and with Timebanking, we allposses the most valuable of currency.Timebanking provides us with a way toreweave our communities. It is similar to“barn raising” when group projects areorganized, keeping in mind that “Manyhands make light work”. Besides memberto member exchanges, there can be oneor many exchanges that take place whensomeone teaches a class, for example, ormany or one as in a group project, wheremany people are helping one person ororganization. TimeBanks USA, our parentorganization, provides our user friendlysoftware, where everyone’s profiles, offers,and requests are easily accessed, butonly by our members, who have beenthrough a screening process. TimebanksUSA’s mission statement is, “…to nurtureand expand a movement that promotesequality and builds caring communityeconomies through inclusive exchange oftime and talent.”By Jennifer Turner and Stephanie Barnettwhile focusing on nurturing our currentmembership base. We envision a futurewhere we can rely on one another tobridge the gap, to create a self-sustainingcommunity. With Timebanking, we areonly limited by our imagination.We have organizational memberships inaddition to individual and family. Howcould the Timebank be used as a toolwithin the organizations you are affiliatedwith? That is what the Timebank is, amultipurpose tool. I like to think of it asa Swiss Army Knife, because I am alwaysusing it for a different purpose.Perhaps you might like to be involved inhelping to start a local currency similarto Berkshares, which is the local currencyof the Berkshire Region. Local currenciesbuild local economies by maximizingcirculation of trade within a specifiedregion. We think that the two currencieswould compliment each other nicely. Localcurrencies are a means of encouragingresidents to keep their money local ratherthan spending it at large, impersonalnational chains. “Louishares” or TimeDollars could pay for services such ashaircuts and small home repairs.How do I become a member? Visit ourwebsite www.louisvilletimebank.org, andyou will find a link to our new memberpacket on the welcome page, whichincludes an application that you may emailus or bring with you to your orientation.Just contact us to set up an appointment.We will provide a short orientation at thattime (no more than 30 minutes), show youaround the member’s website, and willmake sure we have answered all of yourquestions.Market price cannot be permitted tomonopolize our definition of value. Norcan the availability of money be permittedto define the range of the possible. –EdgarThe Louisville Timebank started in Januaryof 2012 with a goal of 100 members bythe end of the year. We have surpassedthat goal, and hope for continued growth, Cahn, founder8 Tell them you found them in GreenList Louisvillevisit us online at www.greenlistlouisville.com9