Blog: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Kelli B. Kavanaugh is Model D's development news editor and writes a weekly column, Green Space, for metromode. In light of the North American International Auto Show, her blog will focus on the the automotive industry. But she is liable to write about any environmental issue that comes to mind.

Post No. 1

I write about environmental issues. A lot. Sometimes I do get bored of always researching and talking about the same thing over and over, but it's something I've always been passionate about -- I was that annoying kid who started up a recycling program at my elementary school.

What is unfortunate is that this week, the very week I am to blog about the greening of the Auto Show and other environmental issues, I am tired of it all.

I am discouraged by the fact that although I see more shoppers at Eastern Market carrying tote bags, there are still way more who carry like six plastic bags at once.

Although sprawl is a well-documented social and environmental ill, I saw McMansions being built in Oakland County just the other day. In this economy, that is just madness.

And the presidential candidates are getting more coverage for their race and gender than than issues like water and transit. On that note, how about the fact that transit is still not here in Southeast Michigan -- and that there are people alive who are actually against it?

OK, enough bitching. We all know we are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to environmental issues. Which is why it is heartening that, despite this area's less-than-progressive track record when it comes to such things, there are some really good, albeit nascent, programs and people and stuff around us. At least enough to give me something to write about every week!

For the purposes of this blog, I will be focused primarily on the automotive world (which is why I wrote about transit in this week's Green Space). Tomorrow, I will be writing about the Auto X Prize, a contest "going public" at the Auto Show that is pretty exciting. And next week, I will talk about the greening of the Auto Show in general as well as some of the specific technologies showcased.

And I promise not to bitch so much.