Welcome to It's Up to All of Us

A HUGE welcome to the many new people joining our blog and learning about how to make a difference. This website is part of a multimedia effort to encourage greener and more sustainable forms of travelling that will have less of a negative impact on the environment.

Walking, cycling, taking a bus or train, car sharing (car pooling) or using greener cars (such as hybrids and electric vehicles) can all make a big difference to the planet in terms of improving air quality, reducing traffic congestion and pollution. There are so many illnesses now attributed to poor air quality we can all make small changes in our daily life which will add up to one big effort. This is what It's Up to All of Us is all about.

If you're going out with friends, car share because the carbon footprint of a full car is less than that of a half empty bus. If you can, start walking and cycling more to get in shape, look after your heart and also to reduce the number of car journeys. You'll always discover new things to see on a walk or bike ride that you may miss otherwise.

If where you're going is a distance away, try taking a bus or train and using the time you have on the journey to listen to some music, catch up with friends, prepare for your meeting or read a book. With your hands free from the driving wheel and no need to keep your eyes on the road, you get additional 'me time' to relax, unwind or simply enjoy the ride.

Every journey you change can help, so whether it's a daily commute or a weekly one, do what you can and help save the planet. It's Up to All of Us!

MAD MEN star goes GREEN

Mad Men star Vincent Kartheiser has decided to ditch the car in favour of public transport. He's not only talking the talk but walking the walk.. literally. He's also just done a public service announcement promoting trains in the US (which we provided a teaser of last week) and has told the New York Times:

“Instead of driving and being stressed out about traffic, you can work your scene, you can do your exercises or whatever on the bus. Everyone’s got their own deal.”

The truth about cars..

“They’ve done a study and they’ve found that people under 30 no longer view cars as status symbols or even positive things. They look at them as pollutants.” - Mad Men's Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell).

MAD FAST TRAINS

"HIGH SPEED TRAINS"

22.2 Percent

Sales of new cars have gone down 22.2 percent compared to October 2009.

The writing's on the wall, guys. Go green!

Get closer to the Sun

Solar powered plane is travelling around the world.

H2-Whoa!

Th Hydrogen car, a much talked about advance in technology, is finally set to be trialled on British roads. The 300mpg vehicle leaves behind a trail of water. See more here.

Got an iPhone? Here's a Green App...

Many of you have been browsing our blog on your iPhones and asking if we'll have an iPhone application. Although this is not planned at present, it inspired us to look into the greener iPhone apps available and we're currently trying one called Commute Greener.

It's a carbon footprint-tracking tool by Volvo. Based on journeys you make throughout the week, (whether you walk, cycle, use public transport or car), it tracks your greenhouse gas emissions and encourages you to set reduction targets. It is a bit tricky to get the settings entirely correct and it syncs your data with the Commute Greener's website even allowing you to compare your greenness with other people.

At £2.39 it's more expensive than a single Oyster bus journey but could save you money in the long run, help save the planet and make you more aware of how your journeys add up. We're trying it now here.

Jack Black takes the Bus

Rarely would a headline like this one make the news, but this time we thought we should share the coverage. Hollywood actor was spotted taking the 319 bus to Streatham much to the joy of many other passengers.

School of Rock? School of Green!

The Hummer Attracts a Governor

After our post on the electric Hummer, we received some special correspondence on the vehicle:

"FYI, we brought the electric Hummer to the Capitol today. Unbelievable technology, great potential."

The Governator also met with BYD, an electric car company recently and attended a Shell Station for the Hydrogen Road Tour from San Diego to Vancouver.

Green Hummer

The electric and hybrid revolution has spared no vehicle with even the Hummer getting a makeover recently. Have a look..

Walking Workout

After a very busy and successful Walk to Work week (which included many non-walk-to-work-trips), it seems the weather is getting warmer providing an ample opportunity to up your walking quotient.

One of the prizes in Harrow's walking challenge was a copy of a book on walking away the pounds. Whereas walking can help reduce and control weight, my recent discovery that it can replace a cardio workout at the gym has left me craving more walks.

The aim of a cardio workout is to raise your heart rate to its optimum level for burning fat and typical ways of doing this include the stationary bike, stairmaster, treadmill etc which imply fast paced running, cycling and so on. On trying to attain the target heart rate for burning fat for a 30 year old (Heart rate of 152 bpm), walking on a treadmill on an incline at a brisk walking speed managed to achieve this in less time than on a stationary bike. Brisk walking does not mean light jogging but simply walking fast.

Walking in Harrow on a hilly terrain at a brisk speed will help not only lose fat but increase muscle tone in the calves, strengthen the thighs and provide a welcome breath of fresh air and the above experiment comparing results from walking and cycling in stationary gym equipment supports this.

So if you've been wanting to lose weight but without the gym membership, invest in yourself, grab a heart rate monitor and join one of the led walks. Once you've found a route you like you can try it yourself as a workout. Walking really can be a great workout!

Pushchair to Pushbike in 20 seconds

Dropping off the toddlers to their local nursery or group has had a green boost via a new buggy which can be converted into a bike for the journey back. Avoid traffic, have a stroll and pedal back!

Read about it here.

St George's Day in Pinner

Sustainable transport is all about walking, cycling, car sharing and using public transport. In St George's time, the wheelbarrow may have been a viable green option too, as we discovered thanks to a resident in Pinner who kindly sent us some images from the celebrations in Pinner. A traditional 'St George' figure appeared on horseback too and much fun was had. It was a true celebration of the street and all it can be. Thanks to James Bond from Pinner for these images.


The Mayor and Mayoress of Harrow, Councillor John and Joyce Nickolay

Research Suggests Traffic Contributes to Heart Attacks

Research based on analysis of 1,454 heart attack patients and their degree of exposure to road traffic over the four days prior to their coronary, has found that an attack was three times more likely among people who had been in traffic within the previous hour, with women five times more prone. The researchers suggest that stress, combined with exposure to pollution, could trigger an attack in those already at risk.

Obama Commits to Plug-in Hybrids

A couple of quotes that set out he's serious. Follow the link for the full story:

"It won't come without cost, nor will it be easy."

"We'll do this because we know that the nation that leads on energy will be the nation that leads the world in the 21st century."

For the bloggers...

You've already begun discussing this under the Mini E post so here's the image of the Toyota IQ some of you are talking about. This is actually a plug in hybrid vehicle designed for urban areas.

The Green, Green Glow of Home

As the festive season fast approaches, why not consider how you can inject a green dosage into this busy time? Recycled cards are now available at most retailers and for those who fear missing the last post or haven’t had the time to shop, why not send the 100% environmentally friendly e-card. You can choose from a photo card, an animated one or even make one yourself from scratch or even send a video message.

If you’re out looking for gifts, why not shop local and avoid the congestion in central London (traffic congestion, congestion charge and even the rush of shoppers who may make getting to that item that you want difficult even though you could probably pick it up locally). Want to see the lights? Why not take the train and see as many lights as you can using a travel card/Oyster card and that way you can see how brightly lit Harrow, Hillingdon, Brent, Ealing or any of the other neighbouring boroughs are, and for a great price.

This December, think how you can green your journey and tell us about it!

Special Podcast

REPOST: The last podcast of 2008 has a very special guest: Transport for London's Travel Awareness Manger, Andy Pidduck. He works in the Smarter Travel Unit of TfL and leads the direction of London-wide campaigns. Hear what he had to say about Harrow's work, how important it is we all do what we can and more below.