City of Cambridge - Community Development Dept.

Black History Month day 2: Who was Frederick Douglass?

Frederick Douglass (1818-95) was a prominent American abolitionist, author and orator. Born a slave, Douglass escaped at age 20 and went on to become a world-renowned anti-slavery activist. His three autobiographies are considered important works of the slave narrative tradition as well as classics of American autobiography. 

Douglass’ work as a reformer ranged from his abolitionist activities in the early 1840s to his attacks on Jim Crow and lynching in the 1890s. For 16 years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an inspiring and persuasive speaker and writer. 

Mapping urban trees.

“In the years following Mao Zedong’s 1949 communist takeover, bikes ruled supreme in China and the Flying Pigeon – the eastern equivalent of the Raleigh Roadster – became one of the country’s most recognisable symbols.

But two-wheeled travel began to go out of fashion as China became more open to the world, ushering in decades of economic boom and a high demand for cars.

In 1980, almost 63% of commuters cycled to work, the Beijing Morning Post reported last year, citing government data. But by 2000 that number had plummeted to 38% and today it stands at less than 12%.

According to state media, Beijing has 5.65m registered vehicles which annually pump 500,000 tonnes of pollutants into the atmosphere. And with China now waging a high-profile “war on pollution”, cities hope a return to the era of the bicycle can help them clean up at least some of the smog. Transport officials in Beijing are aiming to get 18% of commuters riding to work by 2020.

“Public bike-sharing schemes, of which there are more than 500 around the world, have existed in China for about a decade but the scale on which these private initiatives are being rolled out is unprecedented.

Reports in the Chinese media suggest hundreds of thousands of shared bikes have been put into action. That compares with 11,500 operating in the British capital, according to Transport for London.

The other factor making China’s bike-sharing boom stand out is the technology.

While those sharing bikes in cities such as London must pick them up and park them at docking stations, tracking technology means Chinese users can collect and park their bikes wherever they please.

Users of Ofo’s yellow bikes, which cost about 10p to use, unlock them using a combination code sent through its app, and the company keeps tabs on its bikes by monitoring the location of the users’ smartphones.

“It is very convenient,” said Li, who claims an Ofo bike can be ready to ride in about 10 seconds.

“Chinese investors, including the tech giants Didi Chuxing and Tencent, are throwing their weight behind the bike-sharing startups, pumping tens of millions of pounds into their operations since the autumn.”

Excerpt:

All Las Vegas city facilities ― from government buildings to streetlights ― are now running entirely on renewable energy, city officials have announced.

The achievement marks the completion of the city’s nearly decade-long goal to fully transition to clean energy only ― a project that was expedited after the city partnered with public utility company NV Energy almost a year ago. While all government facilities are now only powered by renewable energy, many residential and commercial buildings are not.

The shift to renewable energy started in 2008 and has since saved the city roughly $5 million annually and decreased energy consumption by more than 30 percent, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.