By Karen Klinger

Environmentalist and Cambridge resident John Moore is out to change the image of taxicabs as a significant contributor to air pollution.

So far, he's off to a good start.

With Moore's encouragement and the support of Cambridge's Clean Air Cab program and the Whole Foods Market chain, six new hybrid Toyota Camry taxis now are plying the streets of the city. A study suggests that will mean an annual reduction of at least 20 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per cab from the Crown Victoria vehicles the new taxis replace.

It's also good news for the drivers of the hybrid taxis: at $3 for a gallon of gas, they should save up to $21 in fuel costs per shift, during which cabs in the city typically travel about 100 miles.

Moore is an architect and a founder of Boston Clean Air Cabs, which works to create incentives for taxi owners to convert their older cabs to hybrids or alternative fuel vehicles. In Boston, the program has resulted in the conversion of 34 cabs to date, with a goal of turning at least 10 percent of the city's 1,800 taxis "green" by the end of the year. read more...

By Karen Klinger

For years, Boston has boasted of being "America's Walking City," but a recent study confirms what people on the left bank of the Charles River already knew: the title really belongs to Cambridge.

Not ones to gloat, Cantabrigians have been taking in stride news that Prevention magazine, together with the American Podiatric Medical Association, has proclaimed their town the country's top walking metropolis.

"Residents of Cambridge, MA, give yourselves a pat on the back--you live in the No. 1 walking city in the nation, and much of that is due to you!" the health and fitness magazine says in its April edition, noting that more Cambridge residents walk to work than in any other city in the United States, while also ranking seventh in use of mass transit and 12th in lowest ratio of cars to households. The publication also calculates that Cambridge has more parks per square mile than anywhere else in the country and ranks 15th in school density. read more...

By Karen Klinger

Cambridge City Councilor Henrietta Davis and her husband, Richard Boch, take energy efficiency seriously and have the records to prove it. During a recent "green" tour of Cambridgeport houses, including her own, Davis held up a chart showing that since 2001, she and Boch have been able to reduce their monthly kilowatt consumption by about 30 percent.

They did it through measures such as replacing their old refrigerator, using limited air conditioning and employing a gadget called a "Kill-A-Watt" to monitor the amount of electricity electronic devices in their home use even when they are turned off. For instance, Boch discovered that a flat-panel television can consume a "ludicrous" amount of electricity when it is plugged in, but is not on. "There are many more things we can do," said Davis, noting that they plan to replace the flooring in one room with material that will provide better insulation. "It's definitely not rocket science." read more...

Remember THIS FRIDAY, November 30th, is Walk/Ride Day!

Always the last Friday of every month -- Wear green, go green, be green...feel good about yourself!

Walk/Ride days are about challenging yourself to find alternate forms of transport other than your gas-powered fume-emitting car...walk, bus, train, bike, or carpool...(yes, it's a car, but at least you're sharing it...)...but I wouldn't give these unicycles a try unless you're a pro!

Local businesses here in Cambridge (including EMS, Herrells Ice Cream, Full Moon, Porter Square Books, Tag’s Hardware, and others) are celebrating Green Streets' Walk/Ride days by offering people who wear and go green on Walk/Ride days -- rewards including

• discounts
• prizes
• raffles

and more!

For a list of Walk/Ride Day sponsors click on the links by city and see what Green Loot they're dishing on Friday: read more...

Renewing your Cambridge parking permit? If you do it in person, you’ll be standing inside the oldest building ever to receive Gold LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Cambridge City Hall Annex, at 344 Broadway (where you go for parking permits, traffic tickets, and four other city departments: Community Development, Cambridge Arts Council, the Animal Commission, and the Conservation Commission) is the first municipal building in Massachusetts to receive LEED certification.

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System™, is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

Based on strict scientific standards, LEED emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for read more...

• sustainable site development
• water savings
• energy efficiency
• materials selection
• and indoor environmental quality.