Spotlight on Sustainability: Charlotte Clark
Rolling sustainably in the ELF
Charlotte Clark (CC): Alternative transportation is really important to me because I am committed to doing things around climate change. Most of the other forms of transportation emit a good bit of carbon dioxide. I like reducing my carbon footprint and I am always trying to improve, especially in transportation because I have been driving to work most of my Duke career. I live within walking distance of Duke West Campus, but I would drive from my house the short distance to the Green Zone and then walk from the Green Zone to my office, or even wait for the bus to get from the Green Zone to my office. In nice weather I would occasionally walk, but I just wasn't doing a great job of walking the walk. For some reason that one was difficult for me. I rode a regular bike to work a couple of times and it didn't work very well because I couldn't easily carry all the things that I need to get back and forth to campus, and so again my heart wanted to do it, but in reality it never happened. Transportation was just one of the areas that I felt like I wasn't achieving what I wanted to do. SL: So why did you choose the ELF?
CC: When I saw that the ELFs had come out, I thought, "This might really work for me!" It is cycling so you get as much exercise as you want. It has a motor, so if you need the boost or don't want to get sweaty you can use the motor, and there is quite a bit of storage space in the back to carry briefcases or whatever you want. It's actually, I have learned, the fastest way to my destination, because I can park it right outside my office, only a few steps from my desk. Now I find if I have to drive, I get frustrated with how long it takes me to get around. If I have a meeting in Smith Warehouse, I just ride off to Smith Warehouse and then I come back to Old Chemistry, or I ride it downtown to offices in American Tobacco. I also get a little anxious about bike riding when I am on campus because of the visibility of bikes. Some of our roads are not as bike-friendly as I would like them to be, and those include the roads that I would travel on. I feel like the ELF, because it is bigger and wider and bright orange, is much more visible. I don't think you are necessarily more protected because it is very lightweight material on purpose, but I do think you are more visible. I feel safer than on a bike, I have the ability to use power if I need it, and I have the ability to carry things. That is why I chose the ELF. SL: Any challenges?
CC: The only real disadvantage I have found so far is not the cold or getting wet in the rain, because those don't really happen. But it doesn't have a windshield wiper. So in a driving or hard rain, you can’t see well through the windshield. I think the reason it doesn't is because it is a polycarbonate plastic windshield and I think that maybe it would scratch, like if you got a piece of pine straw or a leaf between the windshield wiper and the polycarbonate it would scratch. That has been the only problem, is that I really cannot see very well in a hard rain.
CC: I would highly recommend it, it is fabulous! I would love to see Duke get some, kind of like the WeCar program, that people could pay a fee and take it off around campus. I think that would be great. SL: For people unable to purchase an ELF, do you have other advice for members of the Duke community interested in using alternative transportation to commute to campus?
CC: First, if you have a choice in where you live, consider living somewhere close to downtown. There are so many wonderful options now that didn't exist a few years ago to live downtown and then you can take the Bull City Connector which is free. I think that is a good option, to really think about where you live, if it is a moment in your life when you have that choice. Advocate for more bus routes on campus. Take advantage of the Robertson Express. And walk! This interview is part of the Spotlight on Sustainability series put on by Students for Sustainable Living. For more information about sustainability at Duke, please visit www.sustainability.duke.edu.