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  • Eric Fredericks 11:50 am on March 31, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

    We’ve All Lost A Great Friend 

    UPDATE 4/1: A Memorial Service will be held for Jason on Saturday April 5 from 2-4PM at Redwood Covenant Church, 3175 Sebastopol Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95407. The church phone is 707-528-8463.

    Jason Presley, an inspirational and tireless advocate for a more sustainable world, passed away last week of complications from a liver disease. He was only 36. He leaves behind a wonderful family—his wife Michelle, and his two young daughters Aria and Lyra. He also leaves behind a legacy that no one will ever match here in Sacramento.

    This is definitely the hardest article I’ve ever written. I’ve been avoiding writing it because his death has been consuming my thoughts and I thought it would be difficult to look at photos of him. I’m really glad that I did look through my photos, because it put a smile on my face to see that amazing things he accomplished.

    I knew Jason through his work at the local development firm LJUrban. He served as their marketing and outreach guru and resident expert on eco-friendly building practices and communities. He used the term “eco-urban” to describe their developments in the urban cores of Sacramento and West Sacramento, a term that I absolutely love.

    I first met Jason when he invited me to lunch last summer to chat about ideas. He had been following my website and other local blogging websites that discussed urban life in Sacramento. When we met for lunch, he was nothing like the person I expected him to be. He just had this glow about him and he exerted so much energy that you couldn’t help but absorb it yourself and be inspired to do anything you put your mind to. We were only supposed to meet for an hour or so, but we ended up talking for two hours and we dove into details about our personal lives. You just don’t meet many people like him. You felt like you were instant friends with him.

    Jason and I kept in touch over the next few months—I went to some outreach and “smart growth” educational efforts that he organized. But, where I really got to work with him was organizing last year’s PARKing Day events here in Sacramento. There were about 7 of us that helped put the event together, but Jason was really the guy that made things happen. He did a fantastic job bringing the media to the event and answering difficult questions in interviews. He helped keep us energized and gave some incredibly inspirational speeches full of ideas for the park. As a result, the park we created (from what I witnessed on other websites) was the most beautiful park in all of dozens of cities that created parks last September. In fact, the event made such an impact in Sacramento that the Sacramento Bee mentioned the park in his obituary.

    Aside from everything that Jason did for creating a more sustainable world, I think Jason reached far beyond that with his personal skills. There was never a time where I didn’t see Jason with a radiant smile on his face. You could also tell that he always had 1,000 brilliant ideas cooking in his brain at any given time. That is why it’s going to be so hard for everyone to pick up without him.

    His death comes as a shock to me and everyone I knew that knew him… which is just about everyone I know in Sacramento! None of us knew that he had this liver disease, and it was not a long, drawn out illness. As my friend Jeffery Rosenhall pointed out in these comments, “I just read about Jason passing away this morning – what a blow to the gut. He was an amazing guy who could teach optimists about optimism.” I couldn’t say it better myself.

    My heart goes out to Michelle and his daughters. It’s going to be tough going on without him. They had just purchased a beautiful house in Curtis Park last summer. It’s really tragic that Jason will not get to see his daughters grow up.

    My heart also goes out to the rest of his family and LJUrban co-workers. LJUrban can’t possibly be the same without him and it’s going to leave a huge void. They were not only co-workers, they were like a family. Jason also did a lot to change the image of what developers could be like—and that they were not inherently evil. I’ve never had that feeling, but I would say the majority of people I know do… although many probably don’t now after meeting Jason.

    Chris Morfas made a comment that we should continue the PARKing Day movement here in Sacramento and call the parks Presley Parks. I think that’s a wonderful idea. Though I know he will be on my mind the entire time we put the event together.

    Jason’s visitation continues from 4-7 tonight (Monday) and tomorrow at Thompson Funeral Home, 3601 Fifth Avenue, in Oak Park, Sacramento.

    Here are some more links and background about Jason:

    LJUrban owner Levi Benkert’s article about Jason’s passing
    SacBee: Obituary: Jason Presley was advocate of eco-friendly buildings
    My photos of Jason
    Photos from last year’s PARKing Day event
    A blog post on Jason by his friend Jer.

    Jason, you were amazing. You will be sorely missed.

    Popularity: 2% [?]

     

    • connie 10:29 pm on June 16, 2008 Permalink

      wow. I had no idea. you have done an amazing job of describing him. I met him a handful of times and I always felt a lot of positive energy from him and came away feeling inspired. What a tragedy for his family and for the eco-urban movement. we need more people like him, not for them to be taken away.

    • walkable 10:15 pm on June 17, 2008 Permalink

      Yes, sometimes life just isn’t fair. I only knew one small part of Jason as well. He really had a truly remarkable life story. In fact, his younger brother was expected to pass away hundreds of times by now, but yet he has outlived Jason. His wife and daughters have relocated to Austin, TX to live with family. Hopefully they can help get things turned around for them.

  • Eric Fredericks 7:05 pm on March 28, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

    Stupidest Bike Lane in America? 

    I’m not sure if I can argue with this West Los Angeles Bike Lane.

    P.S. – For those of you subscribing to this site by e-mail, I’ve been embedding several videos in articles lately. These do not show up in e-mails, so you need to click on the headlines to view them.

    Popularity: 1% [?]

     

  • Eric Fredericks 1:27 pm on March 27, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

    Do the Test 

    DOTTHETEST. Brilliant!

    Popularity: 1% [?]

     

    • Laura 12:47 am on April 5, 2008 Permalink

      Wow. The bear really is there the first time. I rewound just to be sure. This is amazing!

  • Eric Fredericks 11:31 pm on March 19, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

    My TV Interview With Perils for Pedestrians 

    The video embedded above is Episode 139 of the television program Perils for Pedestrians, produced by John Wetmore. John interviewed me in this episode on the topic of walkable neighborhoods. My interview appears approximately 7:35 into the episode. The program appeared last night on DISH Network Channel 9411 — The Universityhouse Channel. Perhaps it will air again sometime in the future. You also may catch it on some local public access channels or online at Google Video.

    I really want to thank John for the opportunity to give the interview. He threw some interesting and unscripted questions my way. John shot this video last September on a Sunday morning just across from my neighborhood park—beautiful Capitol Park in Downtown Sacramento. Most weekdays there would be many more pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles passing by.

    I was very nervous at the beginning of the shoot for some reason—even though I had done much longer television interviews in the past. Maybe the sun was affecting me as it was shining directly into my eyes :)

    The most interesting part of this experience to me was the opportunity to talk with John for a while after the shoot about his television program. This program he puts together is simply amazing despite the few resources he has to work with.

    This is also the first time I have revealed what I look like on this website, which is a little significant to me. Some of you may be surprised to find out that I’m pretty young. I have experienced age discrimination several times in my career already, so many times I end up having to prove myself twice as much as someone that is older than me. Thus, I have been a little bit apprehensive about posting my image on the website. However, my full-time jobs have been nearly solely focused on walkable neighborhoods for over 4 years now, and I have additional smart growth-related job experience and education beyond that. So, I wouldn’t discredit my experience based solely upon my age. I’m sure most people would be pretty knowledgeable after dedicating their life to an issue for 4 years.

    The age issue just motivates me to work even harder to make sure I know what I’m talking about. Having some background in civil engineering also doesn’t hurt, because many of the questions and concerns about walkable neighborhoods are raised by engineers.

    Anyhow, enough ranting. Please check out the other interviews in the video as well. The interview following mine is with a Sacramento bicycle advocate, Tom Schefflin, who I believe works for the California Air Resources Board.

    Popularity: 1% [?]

     

  • Eric Fredericks 11:49 pm on March 5, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

    My Animal Rescue Story (And Another Reason to Hate Leaf Blowers!) 

    As I was walking to work Monday morning, I noticed a few people gathered around what appeared to be a leaf on the sidewalk. I figured that it must be somewhat interesting, so I walked up for a closer look once the people moved on. As it turns out, it was a tiny green hummingbird that was sitting on the ground, breathing very heavy. I could see that it was not able to fly. I felt really terrible for it and compelled to do something to help it out, but I wasn’t sure what I could do. So, I kept on walking. But, after just a few steps, I decided to go back and at least save the poor animal from being squished on the sidewalk.

    I had never picked up a bird before, let alone a hummingbird, so I was very concerned. The hummingbird easily fit into my palm with room to spare. To be honest, I think it was somewhat happy that I picked it up, because I think it knew that it really needed help. I happened to be right by a little garden next to the Department of Education building, and thought that it would be safe to leave it there while I tried to find someone that could help it. I did consider taking it across the street to Capitol Park, but figured that there were too many predators there. Little did I know that it possibly would have been a better move.

    When I got to the office, I did some Google searches hoping to find an agency to contact—but no luck. Most I found to be focused on cats and dogs. I e-mailed a few local friends and asked them if they knew of anyone. No luck.

    I took a morning break and went to check on the bird. It was in the exact same place I left it—under a small tree mixed in with some leaves and grass up against a fence. A seemingly safe spot.

    I had an errand to run at lunch, but checked on the bird on my way. Still fine.

    When I was about to eat my lunch, I received a call from a friend that I had e-mailed earlier in the day. He said that he sent my e-mail plea around to his co-workers and received about 20 responses. From those responses, he picked out the best-sounding agency and graciously offered to call them for me. I said fantastic. I was feeling so optimistic at this point.

    Then this is where the story turns sad… (but please read to the end)

    On my way back to work, I walked past the garden. Immediately, I noticed something had changed. I walked up a little closer… and the ground previously covered with leaves and grass was now just dirt. No bird in sight.

    I frantically started digging through some of the small piles of leaves left behind. I didn’t hold out much hope, because it looked like most of the leaves and grass were already collected by the leaf blowers. There were some leaves on the other side of the fence on property that I would have a very difficult time getting permission to access. I thought if the bird wasn’t swept up, it would be over there and nearly impossible to spot amongst the leaves. I searched for a few minutes, but unfortunately, I could not find the bird. I decided to give up and go back to work. I chalked it up as one more strong reason I hate leaf blowers (more on that later).

    While at work, I received e-mails from people that were contacting places to help me. One place, Wildlife Care, contacted me to rescue the bird and I gave them the bad news. They told me what to do next time I faced this situation: pick up the bird; take it to an indoor location; keep it warm; place it somewhere like a bathroom, closet, or shoe box where it will be temporarily safe; and call them. I also learned that mammals cannot contract the diseases or mites that the birds may be carrying. So, that was reassuring.

    A few hours later, feeling quite disheartened, I decided to go back and take one more look at the location. I searched a little more thoroughly this time as I was waiting for someone. With both of us looking, we couldn’t find the bird.

    As I was leaving for the last time, something shiny and pink caught my eye. I went back and took a closer look. Low and behold, it was the hummingbird! Sadly, the bird was upside down with its head smashed against the wall. At first I thought it was dead, but I saw that it was breathing… barely.

    I quickly picked up the bird and started heading directly to my apartment (I was only a few blocks away). I called Wildlife Care and asked them what I should do. They gave me some instructions on how to give it sugar water, hoping this would give it a burst of energy. They said that hummingbirds need nectar about every 20 minutes or so to keep up its metabolism, otherwise they lose energy and get into trouble. I shut the bird in our bathroom (so our cat wouldn’t get it!), put it in a shoe box, tried to give it sugar water, and waited for instructions on who I could get it to.

    After about 15 minutes, I received a phone call from someone that lived in South Natomas (part of suburban Sacramento). I drove the bird with the shoe box open to the caretaker’s house. The bird wasn’t a big fan. In fact, it tried to fly away a few times but couldn’t, which I took trying to fly as a good sign. Still, the bird did not look so good.

    I dropped it off at the caretaker’s house. She told me that I could call and find out how the bird was doing.

    Today, I received a call from her. She told me that the bird had passed away about two hours after I dropped it off.

    I really wasn’t surprised. The bird was in really poor shape. But, as I said before, I really felt compelled to do something and I’m glad I did. What an amazing experience it was to hold a hummingbird in my hand! They are truly beautiful creatures. I’ll probably never have the opportunity again. I really did not want to give it away, but I knew I had to so it had a chance to survive. Plus, I’d imagine it’s pretty impossible to keep a hummingbird as a pet. I’ll probably never look at a hummingbird the same way again.

    The photo above was taken by photographer oskay on Flickr. I thought that it looked most similar to the bird I saw. I’m fairly certain that was an Anna’s hummingbird. Sadly, the most similar photo online to the bird I saw was actually a dead bird—probably because the bird I saw was in such poor shape. You can view that photo here.

    So, you’re probably wondering why I posted this story on here? Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve encountered animals on the ground that shouldn’t be there while I was walking around Sacramento. This is a somewhat common occurrence for me on my walks here. Now I know that I really should pick up some of these animals and call a rescue agency to come and save them. There are too many predators around to not do something. We have many urban parks and tree canopied streets in the core of Sacramento. Naturally, we have many animals too and we should be mindful of them on our walking and biking trips. If you do encounter an animal in need of help, I highly recommend Wildlife Care Association – (916) 965-9453.

    The other reason I mentioned this is because I absolutely hate leaf blowers! They are a serious problem here in Sacramento. We have the most amazing urban forest of any city I’ve visited, but the forest has its drawbacks. One is leaves on the ground. Most every block of sidewalks is cleared of leaves rather quickly—and I do agree that this is necessary because the leaves are very slick when they are wet—however, the negative externalities from clearing the leaves are quite significant.

    Leaf blowers are almost always gas-powered here. Considering the number of leaf blowers constantly going in Sacramento, I’m sure this has an impact on air pollution. Not to mention noise pollution. I get so sick of listening to leaf blowers running all day long. Sometimes I like to take little catnaps at lunch, and many days its impossible to do so with all the noise!

    So, what to do? Considering the extra time it would take, using brushes and sweeping is probably too costly for companies or property owners to implement. I don’t know enough about leaf blower technology to recommend much, but I’m so annoyed with them. Especially now—helping to contribute to the death of the little bird.

    I deeply appreciate everyone’s help! Sorry that I don’t have more positive news to report.

    Popularity: 1% [?]

     

    • Val 9:51 am on March 6, 2008 Permalink

      Jeez Eric, I was hoping that he was gonna make it. You were awesome to have taken the time to rescue him. Despite what Russ says.. I think you’re alright!

  • Eric Fredericks 4:33 pm on March 2, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

    Crude: The Incredible Journey of Oil 

    Today, I watched the film Crude: The Incredible Journey of Oil. The film has been showing on the History Channel, but I just found the entire film available for watching on the Australian Broadcasting Company’s website.

    The film is broken into three sections: the origin of crude oil, the discovery of uses for crude oil and our subsequent addiction, and the future of oil. I found the film to be interesting, but nothing in the film was too shocking to me, as I try to keep up with oil-related issues. The most informative part for me was the part on how crude oil forms and why there is such a large reserve in the Middle East. There are some other key takeaways from this film that make it an important film to watch:

    - One obvious point mentioned is that crude oil took millions of years to form, but within 150 years time since the demand for crude oil skyrocketed (originating from oil drilling in Pennsylvania), we will have depleted most sources of crude oil. At least we will have depleted enough of it to where extraction cannot come close to the amount demanded.

    -The film also drove home the point that there is virtually nothing that isn’t made from oil. Our oil addiction goes far beyond driving vehicles and delivering goods. If the price of oil skyrockets, there is not one commodity that won’t be affected by the rise of oil prices.

    - The film really hits home the point that global climate change is a serious issue. I’ve been under the assumption that peak oil will be the catalyst that finally starts to force people to find alternative energy sources. This may be true, but even so, if we use up most of our known crude oil reserves, this will produce enough carbon dioxide to match the levels that existed during the Jurassic period. There was no ice at the Earth’s poles during that period and the oceans were essentially filled with toxins and depleted of oxygen. Meaning that humans likely would not survive an event of this magnitude. The film also makes a rather ironic point—that if this cataclysmic even does happen, it will lead to the production of more oil, and the cycle continues. Of course, humans will likely be dead then.

    - Another area the film touched on is peak oil and the devastating effects it will have on the economy and our way of life… the suburban sprawl model will come to an end.

    As soon as I shut off the film today, my TV was tuned into CNN. They were interviewing a person that worked at BP. He was saying the same exact things that others interviewed in the movie were saying—we are headed for skyrocketing costs and a potential economic meltdown if we don’t find alternative sources.

    This is what I don’t think people understand about energy and oil. The people making these predictions are not a bunch of hippies saying to get out of your cars and help save the world. No—there are oil and energy executives, sometimes conservative Republicans, financial gurus, and famous planners and architects making these predictions. Economists are investing in all energy sources because they foresee the troubles ahead. I still don’t hear much this topic though unless I dig for information about it.

    While I certainly don’t undervalue the importance of solving the climate change crisis we face (and I’m very glad to see that almost everyone seems to think it’s a serious issue now), we need to make sure that peak oil and how to deal with energy costs are mentioned in the same breath.

    If we don’t, and prices do end up skyrocketing, I don’t think there will be much that would separate industrialized nations from what’s happening now in Zimbabwe. We will be fighting each other over bread, and it’s not going to be pretty.

    While I wandered a bit off the main focus of the movie, I do feel that it’s worth watching. If you have no interest in this subject matter, then I would imagine it would be rather boring. I would strongly recommend for anyone to watch End of Suburbia first before watching this film, however.

    Popularity: 2% [?]

     

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