Daily Score Blog

According to the Census Bureau, the typical American worker spends about 100 hours--just over 4 full days--commuting to work each year.  And that's just the morning commute; it doesn't even count the trip back home.

Now, 100 hours may not seem like that much spread out over a full year.  But consider this: most workplaces offer just 80 hours of paid vacation per year.

Washington's commutes (pdf link) are tenth-longest in the nation, but are a mere 30 seconds longer than the national average:  24.8 minutes, vs. 24.3 minutes for the typical US resident.  Oregon and Idaho commuters have it a little easier:  they average 21 minutes (ranked 36th of 50 states) and 19.5 minutes (41st of 50), respectively.

I intend to celebrate this piece of news with a pint of strawberries and a bunch of arugula: the number of farmers markets in the United States doubled from 1994 to 2004.

Of the Northwest states, Washington may have the greatest total number of markets (more than 90, according to this Seattle Times article (the USDA lists 87) with a record number, at least two dozen, expected to open in Seattle and King County this spring. Many have already opened.

The article cites signs that the King County area is in the early stage of a farmers-market boom, despite some resistance from shopkeepers in parts of Seattle where stores still sell produce outside their storefront groceries.

Oregon's farmers markets are also booming, with a number of new locations this year and lots of creative additions to markets, from preserving and pickling workshops to health education classes. The Portland Farmers Market opens a full month earlier (starting this Saturday), expecting that if they open the shoppers will come. The state has more farmers markets per capita than Washington or Idaho (62 total, with 13 in Portland alone). Idaho has 26 farmers markets, according to the USDA; and BC has around 90.

There's no new information here, but this article is worth reading for the reminder: Puget Sound's marine mammals, including orcas, are awash in toxics.  Of particular concern are fire-proofing chemicals known as PBDEs.  Levels of the compounds have grown exponentially since the 1980s, and recent science suggests that they can harm mammals' brain development much as do their chemical cousins, PCBs.

Earlier this week I grumped that this Seattle Times editorial misled readers about the finances behind a four-cent per gallon statewide gas tax.  Among other problems, the editorial overstates how much a four-cent per gallon gas tax could accomplish.  Over 30 years, it would finance less than $2 billion in infrastructure projects, which would only begin to pay for the highway projects--such as rebuilding the Alaskan Way Viaduct (expected to cost $4 billion without cost overruns) and the SR-520 floating bridge ($3 billion or so)--that the editorialists supported.

Now, it looks like the Washington Senate is considering a 15 cent per gallon gas tax hike, as part of a larger package that would raise about $8 billion for transportation projects -- with nearly half of that money slated for the Viaduct and the floating bridge.

That's getting a little closer to reality.

This Sunday begins daylight savings time, ushering in many months of longer evenings. Don't you wish it could be like this more of the time?

It should be, argues David Prerau in a New York Times op-ed today. Originally conceived by Ben Franklin as a form of energy conservation (saving candles actually), it still has untapped potential to reduce electricity consumption, as well as improve our lives in other ways. According to Prerau, extending daylight savings time by a week or two in the spring and autumn:

can save us energy while also preventing traffic accidents, cutting crime, helping trick-or-treaters safely across the street, and providing millions of gardeners, softball players and backyard barbecuers an additional hour in the sun.

It's worth a read.

UPDATE (4/7/05): The full US House of Representatives will likely soon vote on an energy bill that will contain a bi-partisan ammendment extending Daylight Savings Time by two months.

Cascadia's guru on pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) auto insurance and related transportation pricing innovations is Todd Litman of the Victoria Tranport Policy Institute. He provides a useful summary of who's doing PAYD in his newsletter, which I'll simply insert below the fold. The growth of PAYD programs is very encouraging, because PAYD is among the most powerful incentives for sound transportation and land-use patterns. There are rumors that a Cascadia locale could be the next place to host a PAYD insurance offering--more on that, if it comes to fruition.