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ALRC NEWSROOM: In The NewsNCBW SHARES IDEAS FOR WALKING TO MOBILE (AL) SCHOOLS According to a Feb. 2nd Press-Register article, "A team from the National Center for Bicycling and Walking is in Mobile this week to make recommendations on how to ensure safety for children who walk to and from Fonde Elementary School in west Mobile, among other area issues. This comes after a December accident, during which a fifth-grader was critically injured when struck by a car on his way to school at Fonde, located at the busy intersection of Azalea and Cottage Hill roads. "'Every kid deserves a safe trip to school,' said Sharon Roerty, with the organization. 'Not every kid is going to come by a school bus or by car.' The team on Monday afternoon observed walking and traffic patterns as classes were dismissed at Fonde. It will make a presentation to the Mobile City Council at 10:30 a.m. today regarding the safety, walkability and traffic flow at some downtown intersections." "And it will host a meeting with Fonde parents at 6:30 tonight. The team is also working with the cities of Chickasaw and Fairhope and the Mobile Medical Alliance. The Fairhope-based group Smart Coast is working with the team on these issues. Officials with the local group are trying to encourage the Mobile City Council to add bicycle lanes to some streets..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/yaf34d3 REPORT: BIKE/PED INVESTMENTS COULD SAVE LIVES According to a Jan. 28th news release from the Alliance for Biking & Walking, "States and cities are ranked on a number of indicators including bicycling and walking levels, safety, and funding. The report also highlights the great disparities that exist between bicycling and walking levels, safety, and funding: While 10% of trips in the U.S. are by bike or foot, 13% of traffic fatalities are bicyclists and pedestrians, and biking and walking receive less than 2% of federal transportation dollars." "The report also highlights the connection between biking and walking and public health: states with the lowest levels of biking and walking have, on average, the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. In contrast states with the highest levels of biking and walking have, on average, the lowest rates of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure." "The nearly 200-page report is a snap-shot of the state of bicycling and walking in the U.S. and in 50 states and the 51 largest U.S. cities. It contains a number of illustrations which you are welcome to use..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/yhdmddz CALL FOR ACTIVE LIVING RESEARCH GRANT PROPOSALS In a Jan. 27th news release, Deborah Lou of Active Living Research wrote, "I am pleased to announce the release of our 2010 Call for Proposals - Round 10: Active Living Research and RWJF New Connections Grant Opportunities. This call for proposals (CFP) will focus on supporting research to inform policy and environmental strategies for increasing physical activity among children and adolescents, decreasing their sedentary behaviors and preventing obesity. This CFP consists of grant opportunities for specified research topics and dissertation awards. It also includes funding opportunities for New Connections grants made available through the Active Living Research program. New Connections grants through Active Living Research are for new investigators who have been historically disadvantaged or underrepresented in research activities." All proposals must be submitted through the RWJF Grantmaking Online system. by April 14, 2010, 1:00 p.m. PT. To view the CFP and to link to the RWJF Grantmaking Online system, go to: http://tinyurl.com/yg5ek7z Questions? Contact Debbie Lou, Ph.D., Program Analyst at <dlou@projects.sdsu.edu> or (619) 260-6336 (phone) or (619) 260-1510 fax). For more info on Active Living Research, go to: http://tinyurl.com/ydt32r6 DOING YOUR OWN LOCAL BIKE SUMMIT* According to Jeff Peel of the League of American Bicyclists, "The number of state and local bicycling summits seems to grow each year. The League of American Bicyclists would like to help spread the word about these events, as well as provide League materials or staff attendance when possible. If you are organizing these or similar events please send me info so that we can include them in our bi-weekly e-news and on our website." Specifically, the LAB is looking for: Name of Event, Date & Time, Location, Registration information, Organizer Contact info, Website (if available), Logo (if available) For more info, contact Jeff Peel, Program Specialist, Bicycle Friendly America League of American Bicyclists, 1612 K St. N.W., Suite #800, Washington, DC 20006; (202) 621-5445, <Jeff@bikeleague.org>. The LAB's website is here: http://tinyurl.com/5l9ze7 *Ed. note: How about local "Walk Summits"? ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY OFFERS GRANTS According to EPA's website, "Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) is a competitive grant program that offers an innovative way for a community to organize and take action to reduce toxic pollution in its local environment. Through CARE, a community creates a partnership that implements solutions to reduce releases of toxic pollutants and minimize people's exposure to them. By providing financial and technical assistance, EPA helps CARE communities get on the path to a renewed environment." For more info, go to: http://tinyurl.com/29fzwo PEDAL POWER: WHAT ACADEME KNOWS ABOUT BIKES According to a Dec. 22nd Campus Ecology article, "Susan Handy is the type of bicyclist that environmentalists and policymakers would like to see more of on American roadways. She commutes to work by bike, rides to the store for groceries and pedals her children to soccer practice. 'Bicycling is my favorite mode of transportation,' says Handy, director of the Sustainable Transportation Center at the University of California at Davis. 'I can't imagine living without it.' And it's worthwhile for more quantitative reasons: according to the EPA, bicycling instead of driving for five miles a day reduces individual CO2 emissions by 1,287 pounds annually, 6% of the average U.S. individual's total emissions." "Handy is one of the leading university researchers on the subject of American attitudes toward bicycling for transportation, and she has a simple goal: 'We want to understand why people do or do not bicycle.' Bicycling is an affordable, healthy and climate-friendly transportation solution, and increasing the number of bike trips is a public policy goal of federal, state and local governments, but getting more Americans to hop on bikes instead of into cars has proven difficult. Just one percent of vehicle trips in the United States are by bike. In some European countries, by contrast, nearly 30 percent of trips are on bicycles..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/ybfusbh OBESITY GROWING PROBLEM IN INDIANA, NATION According to a Jan. 17th Star Press article, "As the national health care reform debate continues, the 20th anniversary edition of America's Health Rankings has reported that obesity has increased nearly 130 percent in the past 20 years. Currently, 27 percent of the population is obese -- more than one in four Americans. Obesity is defined as having an excessive amount of body fat. Doctors often use a formula based on your height and weight -- called the body mass index (BMI) -- to determine whether you are obese." "Adults with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered obese. Extreme obesity, also called severe obesity or morbid obesity, occurs when you have a BMI of 40 or more. With morbid obesity, you are especially likely to have serious health problems. If current trends continue, 103 million American adults -- or 43 percent of the population -- will be considered obese in 2018..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/y93br5p |
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