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Proposed CA law: Bike at your own risk

by johnsmithwindows Posted on March 6, 2013

Proposed CA law: Bike at your own risk

By Susie Cagle

Busted streets + incompetent city employees + you + bike = potential lawsuit! At least for now.

In most cities, if you injure yourself because of a neglected or damaged sidewalk or street, you can file a “trip and fall” lawsuit and claim damages. But California may soon change that for bicycle riders.

Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, (R-Dana Point) has proposed a law that would provide total immunity for governments and their employees in the event of a bike accident caused by faulty city infrastructure. Public agencies already have “design immunity” under state law (i.e. you can’t sue because of the poor layout of a road or bike lane), but this bill would broadly extend that immunity:

This bill would provide that a public entity or an employee of a public entity acting within his or her official capacity is not be [sic] liable for an injury caused to a person riding a bicycle while traveling on a roadway, if the public entity has provided a bike lane on that roadway.

So OK, the state must be thinking that if you disregard the city’s very thoughtful bike lane and go riding out into the road and a city bus hits you, the city shouldn’t be responsible, right? Oh, except for this part: “The immunity set forth in this section is applicable regardless of whether the bicyclist was within the bike lane at the time of the accident.” (Emphasis mine because omg.)

And because of the broad language used, this bill wouldn’t just give cities immunity for their infrastructure — it would also indemnify the actions of city employees. As the California Bicycle Coalition puts it, “if you get hit by a drunk city employee, you’ll have no recourse.”

According to Cyclelicious, “State and local bike advocacy groups are already gearing up to fight this bill.” Hurry up, folks! And, uh, don’t trip.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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RE-volv is making a community pot of solar gold

by olikellopas Posted on January 10, 2013

RE-volv is making a community pot of solar gold

By Susie Cagle

What if every dollar you donated to a worthy cause generated two, three, or more dollars? That’s the idea behind the RE-volv community solar fund project, currently closing in on the end of its first stage of fundraising.

Like Mosaic, RE-volv is tapping the collective for funding to back solar projects. But instead of individuals investing for their own individual good, RE-volv envisions a big pot-o-gold seed fund that would be invested and reinvested in community solar infrastructure. These are investments in solar’s future — essentially donations to RE-volv’s fund. Here’s how RE-volv explains it:

The Solar Seed Fund will use the donations to finance solar installations on community-serving organizations such as schools, universities, hospitals, and places of worship. RE-volv recoups the solar installation cost and earns a return on the investment through a 20-year solar lease agreement. The lease payments go back into the Solar Seed Fund allowing the fund to continuously grow, and finance an expanding number of solar installations.

According to the group’s numbers, once 14 RE-volv systems are in place, the revenue from those systems will be able to fund another solar-power system of roughly the same cost — and on, and on.

RE-volv has already raised almost $12,000 via its crowdfunding campaign at Indiegogo, surpassing its initial goal by nearly $2,000. Combined with $20,000 raised from other sources, that’s more than enough funding to install its first solar project.

“This confirms our idea that lots of Americans support renewable energy, and are excited to have a tangible way to invest in neighborhood solar as part of a collective effort,” said Andreas Karelas, executive director of RE-volv.

If you’re looking to make your money back, Mosaic is a great, and feel-good, way to go. But RE-volv is kind of like a solar Rolling Jubilee, knocking out unsustainable energy by leveraging community cash. Collaborative consumption has become collaborative construction. Um, sharing economy, anyone?

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Green branding sells for Patagonia

by Myrna Posted on December 8, 2012

Green branding sells for Patagonia

By Susie Cagle

A company that actively dissuades its own customers from buying any stuff and transparently tracks its own environmental failings — and still turns a profit selling clothes. No, this isn’t a weird dream. It’s fleece-’n-flannel purveyor Patagonia, which has built a brand, and corresponding loyalty, around sustainable, built-to-last goods, resulting in $400 million in annual revenue. It even recycles its products that you’ve worn out.

Reno Patagonia

  Worn-out Patagonia clothes bound for the recycling center.

From Fast Company Co.Create:

Patagonia makes some of the best, and most expensive outdoor gear in the world, but the company’s mission is bigger than simply maximizing profit. The mission is: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

That would be an easy pursuit if Patagonia didn’t care about running a great business. But therein lies the lesson. Patagonia has found a way to marry good business with its brand promise. According to Patagonia’s Director of Environmental Strategy, Jill Dumain, “If I wanted to make the most money possible, I would invest in environmentally responsible supply chains … these are the best years in our company’s history.”

The company is making money by living its brand promise … Thus, Patagonia’s audience trusts the brand, admires its values, and aspires to live by the same principles.

Patagonia is essentially selling your ethics back to you, but in a cozier and arguably more durable package. It’s working for the company, but is it working for the rest of us? Co.Create says consumers “invest” in Patagonia by buying its goods, but we know that’s not really how this works.

The company’s brand acknowledges and kills a little bit of our shopping guilt, but it’s still ultimately selling us more stuff. Make no mistake — Patagonia does not really want you to overthrow capitalism.

And if you don’t need that new flannel in the first place, it doesn’t really matter how recyclable it might be.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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