Irvin Dawid discovered Planetizen when a classmate in an urban planning lab at San Jose State University shared it with him in 2003. When he left San Jose State that year, he took with him an interest in Planetizen, if not the master's degree in urban & regional planning.
As a long-time environmental activist, he formed the Sustainable Land Use committee for his local Sierra Club chapter and served six years on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Advisory Council from 2002-2008. He maintains his interest in air quality by representing Sierra Club California on the Clean Air Dialogue, a working group of the Calif. Environmental Dialog representing business, regulatory and public health/environmental interests.
Major interests include transportation funding, e.g., gas taxes, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fees, road tolls and energy subsidies that lead to unlevel playing fields for more sustainable choices.
He hails from Queens (Bayside) and Long Island (Great Neck); received an AAS in Fisheries & Wildlife Technology from SUNY Cobleskill and a B.S. from what is now Excelsior College.
After residing for three years on California’s North Coast, he’s lived on the San Francisco Peninsula since 1983, including 24 years in Palo Alto. Home is now near downtown Burlingame, a short bike-ride to the Caltrain station.
He’s been car-free since driving his 1972 Dodge Tradesman maxi-van, his means to exit Long Island in 1979, to the junkyard in 1988.
Major forms of transportation: A 1991 'citybike' and monthly Caltrain pass, zone 2-2. "It's no LIRR, but it may be the most bike friendly train in America."
Irvin can be reached at [email protected]
Black Box Showed What, but Not Why, for the New Jersey Transit Crash
The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that the minute before the Sept. 29 crash, the engineer suddenly accelerated, hurling the train into the wall of Hoboken Terminal, killing one person. They will work to find out why.
Global Leaders Agree to Reduce and Offset Carbon Emissions from Plane Travel
The day after the number of signatories to the Paris Climate Accord met its threshold for implementation, the international community agreed to tackle growing emissions from aviation, which was not covered by the Paris agreement.
Paris Climate Accord Will Take Effect November 4
October 5 was an historic day, hailed President Obama, as nations responsible for emitting more than 55 percent of world carbon emissions have now signed the Paris climate agreement, the threshold needed for the accord to take effect in 30 days.
The Carbon Neutral Controversy Surrounding Biomass
A controversial biomass amendment added to the Senate's energy bill would make the burning of wood for energy purposes a renewable source of energy. While the proposal has broad, bipartisan Congressional support, many groups oppose it.
Bill Introduced to Relieve Congestion—on Sidewalks
New York City has come a long way since the Giuliani days, when sidewalk barriers were placed at intersections to facilitate turning vehicles, thus prohibiting pedestrians from crossing the street.