From Philly to DC and Back

Today I took the Amtrak from Philly to DC after reading at breakfast about potential contamination of Philly's drinking water supply, up the Schuylkill River on a feeder creek. Just a "fish kill" from high level of toxicity. No problem, officials say. But people shouldn't swim or even boat in the river as a precaution. Guess I'll stick to bottled water the rest of the trip and scotch that brisk morning dip tomorrow. Just when I said the water was safe to drink at the sustainability forum. Makes me glad I have a protected water source from the slopes of Mt. Tam at our house and from Hetch Hetchy when at work in SF.

On the Amtrak train I could see chemical plants in Wilmington, Delaware, home of Dupont. Those orange windsocks and loudspeakers on the chimney and rooftops are not for a festival, but rather are there in case of an "event". Bottled water for sure.

Passed through Baltimore, city I've never visited though my grandfather Carroll "skippy" Spedden came from there. A street musician, he ended up skipping off to his own beat during the Depression never to be seen again. I can see why he left there--rowhouse after rowhouse, a number of them abandoned or burned out. I'm sure there's a better side, and one day I hope to see it.

DC presentation for governmental types interested in green building and sustainability indicators at the DC Planning Office. They said the water in DC is no longer over the EPA's legal limit for lead content, with high levels of lead reduced by water treatment and replacement of old pipes throughout the city. 

After visit to Washington Post offices, back through the old DC Union Station, an architectural masterpiece with coffered ceilings emitting natural light through hundreds of octogonal cut-outs. Too bad the shops are the same old chains mostly--I could have been in Anywhere USA if it weren't for the Saint-Gaudens statues staring down at me.

Return to Philly for more of its amazing nitelife in Old Town. Lemon water ice (exactly like Chicago's Italian Ice), Yuengling, America's oldest beer, ethereal beauty of City Hall which is I was told the tallest stone building (white marble?) and tallest building with a statue on top in the world, William Penn, above the moonesque clockglow. Breathtaking.

The city has walking signs hanging over sidewalks everywhere with arrows pointing out attractions, and also a very useful map showing walking distances to different neighborhoods. Maybe Philly can improve its 6.5% walk to work rate, now the 6th highest in the nation.

History everywhere--American's Constitution was printed here--here was London Coffee House where slaves were sold. A bartender says she's glad the city council banned smoking in bars (will come into effect in January), even though she's a smoker and her best customers are. "If New York could do it, we can. New York! International City of the the World. They can do it."

A candle-lit procession of students all wearing headphones moves silently through a colonial alley, on the sidewalks hundreds of people of all races and ages, taking to the streets in a warm night of laughter, jokes, wise-guy comments, Spanish Dancers, Raggaeton musicians.

Comments

[Drew Bohan]

You mention "walk-to-work" rate. What factors make it more likely that people will walk to work in a given city. Temperature has to be one factor, but to what extent are incentives a factor?

Bottled water. Are any cities promoting the use of on-site water filters? Many cities and utilities offer free or inexpensive compact fluorescent light bulbs and other tools to reduce energy consumption, and low-flow devices to reduce water consumption. Is there any effort to reduce the need for bottled water, especially since most bottled water is just filtered tap water.

[Warren]

Drew: Good questions and comments. The best incentive to increase walking to work is first to have the infrastructure to make it safe: not only sidewalks (which developers are being made to put now in some forward-thinking cities like Fresno, CA), but also crosswalks, timed lights and traffic-calming design of streets and landscapes. Street trees help shade pavement and cool temperatures, besides making walking more asethetically pleasing. Easy access to public transit for pedestrians is also critical so people can hop on and ride if they get tired, cold, wet or have had enough.

I'm not aware of any city's efforts to reduce bottled water consumption through offering free or discounted filters, but that's a great idea, particularly in cities with poor tap water quality. Anyone else out there aware of any such measures?

[Ben]

Tragic that the 'fish kill' extended 2 mi. downstream- that's a lot of river life that's been affected, not to mention pets or wild creatures or basically everything on the periphery of the river. And "2 mi. downstream from the treatment plant?"

[Chris]

Just wanted to say I think City Hall is limestone, not marble.

[thebizofknowledge]

I wish every American school child could have the opportunity to go to D.C. and to Philadelphia at some point in their school years. It is so inspiring to see where so much of our history took place!