Let's face it: not every town is pedestrian-friendly. If you're driving, going a block or so out of your way feels like no big deal, but on foot it can be pretty frustrating to have to pass your destination just to cross the street at a crosswalk.

"Urban hacktivist" Florian Riviere made his renegade crosswalk to make everywhere he went more walkable. It's made from a reclaimed piece of carpet, and the artist says he was inspired by video games to reinvent his landscape.

This would be a super easy project to make, if you wanted to create your own pop up crosswalk. All you'd need are:

• An old piece of carpet
• White paint
• Black paint, if your carpet's not dark enough
• Masking tape

Just measure and tape off your stripes, paint them white, and you're set! If you need to use the black paint, just tape again when the white paint is fully dry, so you have clean lines on your finished crosswalk.

Of course, there is a question of safety here, right? Would motorists in your town stop for pedestrians on a makeshift crosswalk? Here in Atlanta, most drivers won't stop for me at proper crosswalks, even when there are signs that say "Stop for Pedestrians: It's the Law." But Atlanta drivers might be in a special category. How do you think this would go over in your town?

From Portland to New York, the food truck movement rages on in cities across the US, and San Francisco is no exception. Home to a an eclectic range of mobile food entrepreneurs and the Off the Grid "roaming mobile food extravaganza", Del Popolo's is another tasty addition to the San Francisco street food collective.

As a former pie slinger and perpetual nomad, I couldn't love this concept more. Utilizing a recycled shipping container, Jon Darsky worked with four designers to create a Naples inspired, roaming pizzeria. Replacing the fourth wall with glass doors, customers get a full view of the kitchen and the wood-fired oven. Sourcing all his ingredients from small, generational producers, Darsky is meshing old-world flavors with contemporary food trends.

Using recycled materials is generally a positive approach, and I applaud Darsky's transparent design that allows customers to see the magic behind the food. My only question is how much fuel does it take to tote that 5,000 lb oven around the streets of SF compared to a smaller truck?

Either way, it's an inspiring concept and I'm looking forward to indulging in a Del Popolo pie. To track down this nomadic pizzeria, just follow Del Popolo on twitter.

Source: Inhabitat

Off the Grid Image: Karen MacKay

Hybrid cars were the first alternative fuel vehicle available on a wide commercial scale. The most familiar hybrids are hybrid electric vehicles, which combine an electric motor with a small gasoline engine. The term “hybrid car” has a broad meaning, and refers to any vehicle that uses more than one fuel source to accelerate. So how exactly do hybrid cars work, and how might the technology develop in the next decade?

How hybrids work

The most common hybrid cars are mechanically sophisticated vehicles that use an onboard computer to alternate between gas and electric power. A large battery is charged via a kinetic energy recovery system, which captures energy that would otherwise be lost through regenerative braking. The battery uses this captured energy to power an electric motor while the vehicle is traveling at low speeds. When the hybrid car reaches a certain speed, usually about 40 miles per hour, the onboard computer activates a small gasoline motor that powers the vehicle. The computer allows the hybrid car to use whichever power source is most efficient at a given time, and is responsible for the hybrid vehicle’s excellent fuel efficiency.

Types of hybrids

In addition to the common hybrid electric vehicle, there are several other types of hybrid cars that may become the next dominant automotive technology. A few of these hybrid cars include:

• Diesel hybrids: Since diesel engines have a better fuel economy than gasoline engines, diesel hybrids could become the next popular green vehicle.
• Flex-fuel hybrids: Using an ethanol mixture as its fuel source, flex fuel hybrids operate similarly to a typical hybrid electric vehicle.
• Plug-in hybrids: This type of hybrid vehicle uses an external power source to charge its battery, rather than relying solely on regenerative braking.

The future of hybrids

As battery technology improves, car batteries will get smaller, more efficient and less expensive. Some think that plug-in hybrids will become the dominant hybrid technology, since they’ll be the best equipped to take advantage of developing battery technologies. But since hybrid cars use more than one fuel source, they are inherently complex; it’s possible that a simpler automotive technology, such as the electric vehicle, could eventually make hybrid cars obsolete.

No one knows for sure what the future of hybrid technology will look like, but it’s clear why hybrid cars are the most popular alternative energy vehicle available today. With excellent fuel efficiency and a relatively small carbon footprint as compared to traditional gas-powered cars, hybrid cars are an environmentally friendly way to save money on gas. Another simple way to reduce automotive expenses is to re-evaluate your car insurance company. By comparing several online car insurance quotes, it’s possible to reduce your insurance bill by hundreds of dollars every year.

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by mil8

Powered by fans, Bicycle Music Festival (BMF) rocked Golden Gate Park and the streets of San Francisco this past weekend.

Fully powered by pedaling, BMF is the world's largest 100% bike-powered festival in the world. Founded in 2007, BMF works in collaboration with the San Francisco Parks Trust to promote sustainable living and biking through interactive exhibits and activities on site during the festival. Host to a unique blend of local bands, artists and activists, every element of the festival was transported to the site by bicycle, including sound equipment, staff and instruments.

You can learn more about Bicycle Music Festival over at our sister site, Green Up Music.

As the summer music festival season rolls in, festival organizers across the globe will make significant efforts to create more sustainable events by reducing environmental impacts and educating fans. From solar powered stages to on-site composting, Bonnaroo is leading the way for green music festivals. Tucked away on a farm in Manchester, TN, Bonnaroo celebrated it's 11th year this month and I was stoked to be a part of the celebration.

Phish, one of the 2012 Bonnaroo headliners, has been supporting the green movement since long before "sustainability" was a hash tag on Twitter. Bonnaroo too. Much of the Bonnaroo team hails from the Phish crew, bringing to the table an expertise for organizing large-scale festivals and a true commitment to environmental consciousness. Since it's first throw down in 2002, Bonnaroo has always been committed to promoting sustainability as part of the festivities. Every year the eco-minded activities, amenities and educational workshops continue to expand and this year was no exception. Monday morning, as thousands of music-soaked fans headed home from this year's festival, I had the opportunity to speak with Laura Sohn, Sustainability Coordinator for Bonnaroo.

With six years of working with Bonnaroo under her belt, Sohn has been an integral part of the always evolving green initiatives, including teaching fans how to grow gardens or reduce their carbon footprint all year long. Highlights this year included the Victory Garden in Centeroo and the Carbon Shredders booth.

According to Sohn, "One of our three big highlights has been developing the on-site compost station so that none of that material leaves site. It's a total closed loop." Compost is collected throughout the weekend and then gets used on site at the farm for the trees that they plant, the garden and other various site projects. The two other big initiatives were the Carbon Shredders booth and the Victory Garden, a PlanetRoo demonstration garden where educational workshops are held for people to learn how to garden, compost and grow mushrooms. One of Sohn's favorite on site projects, the Victory Garden, is maintained year round, including all kinds of delicious herbs, such as lemon balm, lavender, fennel and rosemary. "It's important because it encourages people to eat local food" a mainstay passion for Sohn. Most of the fans are from the southeast and there are so many great local resources that they would love to encourage fans to either grow their own or purchase from local farmers. The educational component of the garden ties into their larger initiative with the Carbon Shredders, a Bonnarooo driven project in collaboration with CREx (Carbon Reduction & Energy Exchange). CREx is the organization that completed the carbon footprint analysis for the entire festival. Sohn says "The idea is to help people learn how to reduce their carbon footprint throughout the year when they go home after the festival. It's a big picture kind of education project. We try to communicate with fans throughout the year with tips and information and letting them know what we do as an example of something they can do at home."

Although hugely successful, there are always challenges that exist with an event of this size. A great benefit to the music festival scene is that fans are often already aligned with eco-conscious lifestyles and are interested in learning more. According to Sohn "The biggest challenge for the Bonnaroo team being that the scope of the festival is so large, Bonnaroo really tries to focus on making reductions to their impact, including purchasing offsets and they are working on including permanent on-site renewable energy sources within the next 18 months. They also work with the staff to make sure that as often as possible, materials and supplies are sourced locally." Despite the challenges, as Sohn says "We have a long-term commitment to this philosophy and mission. We know that we can take small steps some years and big steps other years, ultimately working within our mission to be as sustainable as possible."

A five time winner of the "A Greener Festival Award" and the only US festival to have been awarded by this UK-based organization, speaks to their long-standing commitment to creating a festival that is great for the fans but conscious of their environmental impact.

"The nature of Bonnaroo is so high profile, that its definitely an example that if we can make some of these efforts than other smaller festivals can as well." Bonnaroo does have a great advantage by owning the property which allows for more control over what happens on site. Both the on-site composting and the addition of a permanent main stage significantly limit the amount of material that is trucked on and off site, creating measuarable reductions to the environmental impact of the festival.

The greatest impact reduction over the years has been the vast amount of waste diverted from landfills, almost 240 tons in 2011, representing 68% of the total waste created, and the number continues to grow every year. As Sohn stated, it's the most direct way to make change and more volunteers means more waste diverted and sorted. Bonnaroo has also installed a permanent electrical system which reduced generator usage by seventy percent.

In addition to big changes, Bonnaroo is always looking ways to improve the community and the experience for fans in any way possible. This year more water refill stations were added and for the first time, Bonnaroo coordinated with California-based ride-share program Zimride. Combining social networking and carpooling, Zimride is a great way to meet other music lovers and reduce the impact of traveling. Over one thousand fans traveled together via Zimride this year with participation expected to increase next summer.

A a frequent concert-goer and an environmentalist, I know we all want to have a good time and we want to share in the experience of music, but what's also important is finding ways to do that which limit the impact on that place and the larger community. Bonnaroo is committed to the cause, whether educating their fans or improving conditions on the farm. With a captive audience of almost eighty thousand, there really isn't a better opportunity to expose a multitude of green lifestyle choices to the masses. And even those this year's festivities have just come to a close, according to Sohn, new and exciting carbon reducing projects are already in the works for 2013. Personally, I can't wait to do it all again next year.

Image Sources: Ray Terrill; Richard Allen/Green Up Music

A version of this article originally ran on our sister site, Green Up Music.

Last weekend, I volunteered at a super awesome event here in Atlanta: Atlanta Streets Alive! For four hours on Sunday, we closed busy North Highland Avenue to cars and opened it up to pedestrians, bikes, dancing, music...people. It was a magical day, and I loved seeing a road that I associate with traffic jams and parallel parking taken over by people soaking up some sun and getting a little bit of exercise.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a ton of photos on Sunday, because my volunteer shift was at the info booth on the north end of the event. The upside to working the info booth is that in my downtime I got to peruse the flyers and pamphlets on the table, including the awesome map above showing what Atlanta's transit system, MARTA, could look like if we pass the upcoming Transportation Investment Act on the July 31st ballot.

MARTA is notorious for not going anywhere. We basically have two rail lines right now: North/South and East/West, and the system is badly underfunded. To give you an idea of how big these changes are, take a peek at the current MARTA map:

If you live here in Atlanta, July 2nd is the deadline to register to vote in the July 31st election that will decide the future of the Transportation Investment Act. If you want to see the map above become a reality, vote YES! The folks at Citizens for Progressive Transit (CFPT) shared the language that you'll see on your ballot, so you'll know exactly where to vote yes on the 31st:

Ballot Question: “Shall [YOUR COUNTY'S] transportation system and the transportation network in this region and the state be improved by providing for a 1 percent special district transportation sales and use tax for the purpose of transportation projects and programs for a period of ten years?”

The one percent sales tax will fund rail expansion and repairs to existing rail lines as well as "other transportation initiatives," like adding and maintaining bike lanes. What I heard from the CFPT folks over and over on Sunday was that if this Act doesn't pass on the 31st, Atlanta's transportation future is going to be pretty bleak.

Have you ever ridden your bike to an event only to find that there's nowhere to lock it up? Bike valets to the rescue!

I spotted this bike valet service at Atlanta's Sweetwater 420 Fest. My husband and I walked to the show, but it looks like lots of folks took advantage of the convenient, secure bike parking.

The bike valet is a service of the Atlanta Bike Coalition, and the money they earn goes to keep the bike advocacy organization going. They can park up to 100 bikes in a station, and attendants are keeping an eye on the bikes at all times. Bike theft is pretty rampant here in Atlanta, so that set of eyeballs on your wheels is super reassuring.

I love the idea of catering to cyclists instead of motorists. Does your city have a bike valet service anywhere? Tell us about it in the comments!