Monday, March 19, 2007
Hitting a Triple
Thanks to U.S. News I hit a triple this week -- three short pieces on life in Europe published as part of their "How They Do It Better" package, a refreshing look at good ideas from other countries.
The first dealt with an innovative traffic-calming program that's spreading to small towns across Europe. The big idea? Taking traffic signs away makes roads safer.
Of course I had to get a cycling article in, this one giving props to good old Berlin. While it's got a third the per-trip cycling activity of the Netherlands, it's still amazing that 11.6 percent of trips in Berlin are by bike. And although they get in my way, it gladdens my heart to see the hordes of small kids cycling or being towed to the elementary school next door to me in trailers every morning. It's a new generation that sees cycling as an entirely normal means of transportation. The picture above is from Amsterdam, where bike parking is a huge issue, courtesy of Dutch cycling consultant Roelof Wittink. Here's hoping it'll become a problem in America some day.
The third piece dealt with a few innovative programs Germany has to care for the elderly. One pilot program, ProFridA, retrains prostitutes and victims of domestic violence as elder-care workers. Considering about a third of Germans will be over 65 by 2050, it's good that they're getting started now.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Science and Looting
Germany's Bundesrat, or Senate, ratifed the 1970 UNESCO treaty dealing with the protection of cultural heritage a week ago. Aside from being 36 or 37 years late, archaeologists here felt the way Germany ratifed it will create as many problems as it solves, possibly even turning the country into a laundry for items looted illegally in Iraq or elsewhere.
You can read all about it in the latest issue of Science, out tomorrow.
