Texting not a problem where youth do not drive

Clive Thompson to Texters: Park the Car, Take the Bus | Magazine: "The answer, of course, is public transit. In many parts of the world where texting has become ingrained in daily life — like Japan and Europe — public transit is so plentiful that there hasn’t been a major texting-while-driving crisis. You don’t endanger anyone’s life while quietly tapping out messages during your train ride to work in Tokyo or Berlin.

Rich Ling, a sociologist who studies the culture of texting, grew up near Denver but now lives in Oslo with his family. He told me that Denmark has so many buses and streetcars that teenagers often don’t bother getting their driver’s license until later in life. “My daughter is 18, and she’s only sort of starting to think about driving,” he says. As a result, texting while driving “isn’t as big a deal.”"

Ridgewood Patch, NJ - New Free Shuttle Project for the Disabled, Seniors to Run From Ridgewood Train Station

Ridgewood Patch, NJ - New Shuttle Project for the Disabled, Seniors to Run From Ridgewood Train Station: "According to the McNerney, the project 'will provide an excellent source of free public transportation for employees and residents of the region linking it here to the Village of Ridgewood train station.'

Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R-39) of Montvale said the corporate sector in the Montvale office complex area have long talked about some way to get the traffic off the road while also bringing County residents to the area."

Global Warming and Heat Waves - National Wildlife Federation

Global Warming and Heat Waves - National Wildlife Federation: "More extremely hot summer days are projected for every part of the country, and 30 large cities are especially vulnerable, detailed in a new report from the National Wildlife Federation and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

'Global warming is bringing more frequent and severe heat waves and the result will be serious for vulnerable populations,' said Dr. Amanda Staudt, climate scientist, National Wildlife Federation."

Global warming good for farming?

NASA - Drought Drives Decade-Long Decline in Plant Growth: "Earth has done an ecological about-face: Global plant productivity that once flourished under warming temperatures and a lengthened growing season is now on the decline, struck by the stress of drought.

NASA-funded researchers Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running, of the University of Montana in Missoula, discovered the global shift during an analysis of NASA satellite data. Compared with a six-percent increase spanning two earlier decades, the recent ten-year decline is slight -- just one percent. The shift, however, could impact food security, biofuels, and the global carbon cycle.

'We see this as a bit of a surprise, and potentially significant on a policy level because previous interpretations suggested that global warming might actually help plant growth around the world,' Running said."

Rowan, Rutgers study says N.J. is running out of open space, renews urban sprawl debate | NJ.com

Rowan, Rutgers study says N.J. is running out of open space, renews urban sprawl debate | NJ.com: "For the first time, New Jersey’s landscape is covered more by housing and shopping malls rather than forests, the real consequence of the 'two most sprawling decades' ever, a report being released today concludes."

4-H fair more accessible thanks to Cape May Fare Free Transportation

4-H fair kicks off July 15 | Cape May County Regional: "Public hours for the fair are noon to 9 p.m. each day. General admission to the fair is free, as is public parking and shuttle service to the 4-H fairgrounds, provided by Cape May County Fare Free Transportation."

Beloved coach and mentor killed in traffic

How many more loved ones have to die before we realize that there is another way?

Authorities say that Bob Barth, 59, of Winslow Township, a longtime high-school teacher who coached baseball and basketball for decades in South Jersey, was traveling north on Route 42 in Bellmawr, Camden County, around 6:30 a.m. when his Mercury Mariner struck an abandoned vehicle near the Creek Road exit.

New Jersey State Police said that Barth was ejected from the vehicle, which flipped over when he struck the car, and that he was not wearing a seatbelt.

He was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Cooper University Hospital. PhilaDailyNews