Consider Your Entire Environment

A few weeks back, I had to head in to Portland, OR at night to attend Green Drinks (a green networking event). Normally I try to group my Portland visits together, but in this case I only had one event to go to. I had a few options on how to get to Portland. I could drive my compact car a mere 15 minutes, park outside Ecotrust (look Spencer, it's one word!) and then drive home after the event. Or I could drive 5 minutes to the MAX (subway) station, take a 30 minute trip to downtown Portland, then take the Portland Streetcar another 20 minutes to the stop near Ecotrust.

Now granted, I'd love to not put another car on the road, but Vancouver, Portland, you are not making this easy for me! In fact, you are actually making it harder for me to take public transportation. And since I am currently reading Fight Back: Arm Yourself with Mental and Physical Self-Defense by Dominick DiVito, I was also very aware of another environment: my physical one.



If I parked at the park and ride at the MAX station, because of the time, I would probably have to park at the overflow parking lot. And while lit, it is across a busy street from the MAX station and is not patrolled. Not really a place I want to be by myself at 9pm at night.

So I drove in to Portland. And felt with every thread of my being that yes, I did the best thing possible for the environment.