Fixing the Future

In a one-hour PBS special, Host David Brancaccio visits communities across America using innovative approaches to create jobs and build prosperity in our new economy. I couldn’t find it on our local TV schedule (not that it matters since I don’t have a TV), but the whole episode is now available online (conveniently embedded below). Don’t miss a quick shot of our buddy John Brooking at (0:46)!

Watch the full episode. See more NOW on PBS.

From David Brancaccio’s travelogue

I join John Brooking, a bearded computer expert, on his six -mile commute home. We’re on bike, me on my nice touring bike, John on a very robust, beach-cruiser type bike. Brooking does this during all four of the seasons. Let me remind you, this is Portland, Maine a place where snow covers the ground from December to April. Yet Brooking commutes on his bike 12 months out of the year. Maybe if there’s a blizzard, Brooking will work from home, but other than that, wide tires and prudent stopping distances keep him on the bike to and from work, most days.

Go John!

4 replies
  1. JohnB
    JohnB says:

    Thanks for the shout-out, Keri! I haven’t been on this site in a while and only saw this today!

    I think it was a very good production, despite my only being included in it for a few seconds! (After 45 minutes of riding with a camera crew behind us, filming and recording our conversation.) But green transportation was not the primary emphasis of the film, so I understand the decision. The ideas he did focus on were great, and it does make me want to check out that time bank now!

    For the record: I was not riding a “beach-cruiser type bike”, I was riding a hybrid, my bad weather bike, because it looked like it might rain that day. Also, I actually use pretty narrow tires, narrower than usual on a hybrid, because it cuts down through slush better. Not that anyone but us knows or cares about these details, obviously… 🙂

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