Keren Murphy's Blog: Moving Beyond Oil tag:switchboard.nrdc.org,2009:/blogs/kmurphy//207 2009-08-28T18:04:05Z Movable Type Enterprise 1.52 What do Bikes and Weddings Have to do with Each Other? tag:switchboard.nrdc.org,2009:/blogs/kmurphy//207.3933 2009-08-18T21:31:11Z 2009-08-28T18:04:05Z Keren Murphy I’ve been married for a little over a week now and during the months leading up to our big day, I had every intention of doing a series of blog posts about my progress with planning a green wedding.  Much like the homemade cake toppers I planned, the blogging never happened.   

Although, I am going to let you all in on something that took up a lot (if not the majority) of our wedding planning time---transportation planning.   We spent weeks if not months mapping out routes, estimating costs and researching different transportation options in the Washington, DC area.   Friends suggested we rent buses so we could all travel together.  Others suggested we consider vintage cars so we can capture the charm of old Washington.   None of the ideas people suggested to us seemed to fit our concept of an eco-wedding. 

My fiancé and I had a few questions to answer: How would we transport 114 guests across town for the wedding? 2.  How would we get ourselves and the wedding party to the ceremony?  3. How would we do this while adhering to our original goal of a green wedding?  4.  Will our transportation choice reflect our everyday life (we asked this question before we made all our wedding planning choices)?

My fiancé (now husband) was the first to answer these questions (and with one easy to plan solution). 

Bikes.

We would bike to the wedding (along with the wedding party) and ask the wedding guests who live locally to bike as well.  What about our parents, grandparents, and guests who may not be able to bike across town (or who don’t want to ruin their hair) you ask?  Well, after some research we booked a handful of pedicabs that would do the peddling for them. 

Washington, DC is blessed with miles of bike lanes, an automated bike share system, and ample space for parking bikes.   Thanks to the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, cyclists have access to a variety of area bike maps---including a detailed map of the downtown area that we handed out to our wedding guests. 

Biking really was the best solution to our problem.  

  • Bicycles provided an easy and fun way for our guests to get to and from the wedding—they are cheaper then taxis and faster then driving and even the Metro.  Some even went to the National Mall a little early so they could take a bike tour of the all monuments.   (Our wedding was going to take place at one of the monuments on The Mall.) 
  • By biking instead of renting a limo or bus we minimized our costs---and anyone who has ever planned (or paid for) a wedding appreciates that.  
  • Biking allowed us to avoid traffic jams and searching for a parking.  This helped us get 114 across town without anyone being late.
  • While all weddings are going to cause CO2 emissions, biking helped to greatly reduce ours.   Did you know that some are estimating the average American wedding puts out about 9 to 16 tons of carbon dioxide emissions?   I know I didn't. 
  • Not to mention, I got to pose for pictures with my little yellow beach cruiser*. 

If you can’t tell, my husband and I share a passion for bike riding and the environment.  Even though we ended up pedaling in the rain that morning, our wedding day was made a little more special because we incorporated what we love. 

* I’d like to show you all that yes you can ride a bike in a full wedding gown but we haven’t received our wedding photos yet.

 

 

]]> Déjà Vu: Violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act tag:switchboard.nrdc.org,2009:/blogs/kmurphy//207.3922 2009-08-14T20:33:11Z 2009-08-24T16:49:19Z Keren Murphy After reading some of the headlines this morning I felt like I had a serious case of déjà vu.  All the major news outlets were reporting Exxon Mobil pleads guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

Approximately 85 birds, including waterfowl, hawks and owls, died after landing in oily wastewater ponds and natural gas well reserve pits at a number of Exxon's natural gas operations in Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas.  (Oh and did I mention Exxon Mobil was voted "The Green Company of the Year" by Forbes magazine last week?)

According to the Denver Post,

The company agreed to pay fines and community-service payments totaling $600,000 and will implement an environmental-compliance plan over the next three years aimed at preventing bird deaths on the company's facilities in the affected states.

But wait, didn't I just read about this happening somewhere else?  

Oh yes, yes you did.

In February, Syncrude was charged under provincial environmental law and under the federal migratory bird law for the death of over 500 ducks in Canada.  

Like I said déjà vu.

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, bird deaths can be prevented by scrubbing the water of contaminants before discharge, placing netting or plastic "bird balls" over the water to prevent contact, using closed systems, or cannon fire to deter birds from the area.   They even mention that the fail-safe way to keep birds from landing in oil slicked ponds is to remove the pits or keep oil from entering them in the first place.

If you'd like to read more about how fuel development affects migratory birds read our Danger in the Nursery report that we put out with Boreal Songbird Initiative and Pembina Institute.  The report projects that we could lose 6 million to as many as 166 million birds over the coming decades due to tar sands development.

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