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Trek MT 220 Boys Kids

USER REVIEWS

very nice kids bike and good components

the wheels are not to good

I bought this bike used for $30.00 at church sale. Needs some work but man the kid loves it, I have a 10 year old boy, kind of on the small side so the bike fits him perfect. He loves the handling and the gears still shift smooth. Need to replace, pedals, chain (rust) and tires- looks to be a 2012 or so. Smooth shifting.

Seems a bit heavy although my son has no trouble handling it.

The major strength of this bike is its lightweight, overall quality build. This bike will last you forever if properly maintained. The paint still shines after years of use. This bike was always easy to shift and operated properly. The ergonomics are perfectly sized for 7-10 years old. The angle of the top tube allows for easy access on/off the bike, this added to the light weight of the bike will give your kid more confidence to tackle the trails. The front suspension and the brakes work as supposed to. This bike is a replica of an adult size mountain bike !

Too many gears to deal with for most kids, Stickers come off the forks and frame after a while ( not the big Trek ones though, so not a big deal ). What you need to know: this mt220 is a great bike, and if you can get a clean used one you’ll enjoy it assuredly, ( or your kid, rather :-) It’s a great performer all around and can be used for racing. One thing is if you compare with the Specialized hotrock of the same ( 24’’) wheel size, the frame on the Trek is a bit smaller. If your kid is tall, you should opt for the hotrock.

I am considering either this Trek MT 220 or a Giant MTX 225 for my 8 year old son. Looking for any good info to compare.

8 years later it's still tough and ride quality is superb.

I'll keep it brief. Today my 8 year old fell in love with this bike. The bike is as old as him. Yes, it's scratched up and shows signs of a beating. But it's whisper quiet and 100% functional. And my boy's words were "wow daddy, this bike is so light!". It cost me $65, a way better value than any shiney Mongoose or Pasific could ever offer. Get one, you won't be disappointed.

the rims are insanely strong and take an incredible amount if force to warp. I have come off of a 4 ft. drop and landed straight on the front tire on a huge rock and it didn't do a thing. The suspension is amazing also.

A great bike with great parts such as the tires, rims, gears, derailer, crank, ect. It will last for as long as you want it.

Easy to adjust, maintain; good for trail and pavement; fast; durable; designed to crash like kids will; parts are standard.

Doesn't magically turn into an adult size bike when the kid grows to 5'10"

I bought a 2006 for my son when he was eight. He rode as much as 30 or 40 mile rides with it on pavement and dirt roads. He crashed it a couple of times and there wasn't much damage. We never even had to get a professional tune up - just a bit of adjusting and wrenching here and there and the odd inner tube. He loved it so much that he was tearfully upset when he outgrew it. Now it has a new 8 year old owner, who is deeply in bikey love with it and who promptly took it and his parents out for a 15 mile ride because he could. The gearing is great for most suburban terrain and low gears crank right up the hills. Light but strong, it takes a beating that kids can give but has some neat features - like the derailleur guard - to keep it intact. Comfortable for moderate distances, too.

nice feel to bike good parts spec

poor suspension fork , and wimpy grips heavy compared to his fisher 20 precaliber,

My son has put a few hundred off road miles on his mt 240 in the last month since he has got it he adapted will to this bike it is more comfortable for him then his fisher precaliber 20. I paid extra for the mt240 overer the 220 for better shifting better fork and better overall parts spec well worth the extra $50

Derailer, grips, chain guards

I bought the MT220's for my 9-year old twins, one boy and one girl. Within the first month both derailers had come off and needed to be replaced. In addition, the handle grips were in need of replacement. Now both bikes have lost their chain guards. We've also had problems with tubes and brakes. By far, the worst Trek we have ever owned, I would not recommend it.

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Trek MT 220: A Comprehensive Guide for Young Cyclists

October 30, 2023

‍ Key Takeaways

The Trek MT 220's adjustable features make it an ideal long-term investment for growing children.
Regular maintenance and understanding wear patterns ensure the MT 220 delivers a consistently smooth ride.
The MT 220 stands out among other kids' mountain bikes with its reputation and unique features.

This article may contain affiliate links where we earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

‍ As young bike riders grow, finding the perfect bike can be tricky. Enter the Trek MT 220, a highly adjustable smooth ride that adapts to their riding style.

The Trek MT 220 combines a lightweight Alpha Aluminum Fork frame, a Dialed suspension fork with 45mm travel, and responsive braking from alloy levers. These features are perfect for tackling off-road terrain. This ensures smooth gear changes when riding on bike paths or challenging dirt roads.

This mountain bike caters to kids' unique requirements, offering the perfect balance of performance and comfort. We tested this bike in numerous conditions to see how it handles different terrains. This review includes everything you need to know about this bike to decide whether it's a perfect fit for what you need.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

‍ Trek MT 220 Overview

The Trek MT 220 is a fantastic choice for young cyclists looking for their first mountain bike. As a part of Trek's impressive lineup of kids' bikes, the MT 220 offers a lightweight and durable construction suitable for off-road riding and bike paths.

One of the key features of the Trek MT 220 is its highly adjustable frame, making it an ideal option for growing kids. The bike's Dialed frame size offers adjustable ball components that make it possible to cater to your child's specific sizing needs.

Additionally, the Alpha aluminum fork provides a smooth ride with excellent stopping power, perfect for all types of terrain, including dirt roads.

We appreciate the MT 220's 24-inch knobby tires that provide optimal traction on a variety of surfaces, from pavement to trails. The bike also features an adjustable suspension fork with 40mm to 50mm of travel, giving riders a more comfortable experience on rough terrain.

Despite its lightweight, the Trek MT 220 is built to last with its high-quality Alpha Silver Aluminum frame, strong wheels, and durable components. This great bike will grow with your child, making it the perfect investment not just for the present but for future adventures as well.

Fundamentals of Cycling With The Trek MT 220

Understanding bicycle mechanics.

When it comes to mountain bikes like the Trek MT 220, it's important to familiarize yourself with the key components and how they function. This way, you'll be able to diagnose and fix any issues that may arise while riding.

The bike's frame is made of Alpha Aluminum, which is lightweight and sturdy, essential for a smooth cycling experience. The Dialed SR Suntour suspension fork with 50mm travel supports a comfortable ride on various terrains, absorbing shocks and vibrations.

The front derailleur and rear derailleur support the precise shifting of the bike's 21 gears

The bike's knobby tires provide excellent grip and traction on different surfaces, including dirt roads and bike paths. The padded seatpost offers additional comfort, making long rides more enjoyable.

Essential Cycling Skills

As a young cyclist, learning essential skills for safe and enjoyable mountain biking is vital. First, focus on how you use the brakes.

Be familiar with the front and rear brake levers and learn to modulate the pressure to avoid sudden stops or skids. Practicing changing gears on different terrains will help you maintain an optimal cadence throughout the ride.

Lean inwards while turning and keep your weight centered on the bike by lowering your outside foot. Develop the skill to safely ride over roots, rocks, and other obstacles commonly found on mountain bike trails.

Correct Postures and Techniques

Maintaining correct postures and cycling techniques will ensure a comfortable and efficient ride on the MT 220. You can maintain a neutral spine with a slight bend in the elbows and knees for better control and shock absorption.

Keep a firm but relaxed grip on the handlebars, preventing unnecessary tension in the arms and shoulders. Adjust the saddle height to allow a slight bend in the knee when your foot is at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

Also, you should be looking ahead. Keep your eyes on the trail, scanning for obstacles and planning your line accordingly. Understanding your Trek MT 220's mechanics and mastering essential skills and techniques will ensure a safe and enjoyable riding experience in various terrains.

Detailed Trek MT 220 Bike Features

Gear system.

The Trek MT 220 has a 21-speed gear system that allows young riders to transition smoothly between different terrains. With a front Suntour XCM derailleur and an SRAM 3.0 rear derailleur, handling hills and flat surfaces is a breeze for most kids.

Its SRAM 3.0 Dialed shifters are easy to use and provide an efficient and accurate gear change. This system is a standout feature for bikes in this class.

Safety is a top priority for kids' bikes, and the Trek MT 220 delivers with its responsive braking system. The alloy levers ensure excellent stopping power, giving riders more confidence while navigating dirt roads and bike paths.

Wheels and Tires

The Trek MT 220 is fitted with 24-inch wheels and Bontrager SX 2.0-inch knobby tires. These tires offer a strong grip on dirt trails, providing young cyclists with stability and control during their off-road adventures.

The MT 220 features a lightweight Alpha White Series Aluminum frame that is sturdy and durable. In addition, the bike's Dialed suspension fork with 50mm of travel ensures a smooth and comfortable ride on various terrains, from pavement to rugged trails.

The adjustable cranks make the bike highly adaptable, accommodating growth spurts and ensuring a dialed frame size for a more personalized fit.

Trek MT 220 Bike Maintenance

Keeping your Trek MT 220 in top shape isn't tricky with the right guidance. Let's dive into some handy maintenance tips to ensure smooth rides for years to come.

Routine Checkup

As parents, we understand that keeping our kids' bikes in prime condition is essential for a safe and enjoyable ride. We suggest conducting routine checkups to ensure the Trek MT 220 remains a reliable choice.

Start by inspecting the brakes, tires, and gears for any signs of wear. It's important to keep an eye on the suspension fork and front and rear derailleur to ensure they are functioning correctly.

Bike Cleaning and Storage

Keeping your child's Trek MT 220 clean and stored properly prolongs its lifespan and helps maintain its performance. After rides on dirt roads or muddy trails, gently hose down the bike, focusing on removing debris from the chain, gears, and tires.

Once it's dry, store the mountain bike in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight and moisture, to prevent rust.

Understanding Wear and Tear

A certain amount of wear and tear is expected as your child takes their Trek MT 220 for long rides and challenging trails. However, understanding when wear starts affecting performance is necessary.

Keep an eye out for frayed cables, worn brake pads, and stretched chains. If your child complains of a stiff ride, inspect the suspension fork or the front suspension for any stiffness or damage.

Long-Term Bike Maintenance

Besides regular checkups and cleaning, the Trek MT 220 may require more in-depth maintenance. Since kids grow fast, it's important to ensure the bike remains adaptable to their size and skills.

The Alpha Aluminum fork on the Trek MT 220 is designed to endure, but it may need servicing or replacement after significant use.

How Long Does The Trek MT 220 Last?

If we're trying to provide a general timeframe for the longevity of a Trek MT 220 with moderate use and regular maintenance, we could say that the bike, as a whole, could last anywhere from 3-5 years before major components might start to show significant wear or require replacement.

However, keep in mind that within those 3-5 years, certain parts like brake pads, tires, chains, and cassettes might need more frequent replacements depending on usage. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, kids might outgrow the bike within this timeframe.

Overall, this bike provides a highly adjustable smooth ride. The platform components' saddle position can also be adjusted to help with comfort. Plus, the padded seatpost steel design makes it last even longer.

A heavier rider or a rider with an aggressive style can wear out a bike faster than a lighter rider or one with a more conservative style. The MT 220 is light weight and designed for children. As they grow, they might need a larger bike to ride comfortably. So typically, this is a solid bike for about three years.

Is The Trek MT 220 Worth Buying?

The Trek MT 220 is popular among parents and young riders looking for a dependable and versatile kids' mountain bike. Let's examine whether it's worth buying, especially in comparison to other bikes.

One of the standout features of the Trek MT 220 is its two pedal positions. This design allows the bike to grow with the child, offering a closer pedal position for younger riders and a farther one for them as they grow.

Trek is a well-established brand known for producing reliable bicycles, and the MT 220 is no exception. However, while it may offer certain advantages, other bikes might be in the market with additional features or a different price point that could also be appealing.

For many, the MT 220's adaptability and Trek's reputation make it worth buying. So we highly recommend this bike.

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About THE AUTHOR

Danny Lawson

Mountain biking is more than just a hobby for me - it's a way of life. I love the challenge and excitement that comes with it, and I'm always pushing myself to go faster and ride harder. Some people might think that mountain biking is dangerous, but I see it as the only way to live.

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About PedalChef

PedalChef is a blog on all things cycling. We are a group of people who love bikes, and we want to share the joy that comes with the experience. You can read more about us here .

We can be reached at [email protected]

PedalChef.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. This site also participates in other affiliate programs, and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.

MT 220 Boy's

Mountain Youth
Rider Notes

2014 Trek MT 220 Boy's

A 24″ aluminum frame mountain youth bike with mid-range components and rim brakes. Compare the full range

For This Bike

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A bike with lower gearing will be easier to ride up steep hills, while a higher top end means it will pedal faster down hills.

MT 220 Boy's

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Last updated June 29 Not listed for 2,485 days

Is the Trek mt 220 A Good Kids Mountain Bike? [Trek 220 MT Review]

Table of Contents

When it comes to the eve of the holiday season, children always look forward to a one-of-a-kind gift. This is something that adults have a harder time appreciating.

But how do you do it in a practical way that also makes the children happy? My suggestion is that you give a mountain bike. This is a thorough review of the Trek mt 220, and we will explain what the Trek 220 has to offer, including the pros and cons, step by step.

Because this bike is not available in all areas, I will also provide alternatives to assist parents who are purchasing mountain bikes for their children.

Features of Trek mt 220

Alpha aluminum frame.

The Trek MT 220 is available in two frame styles: MT 220 Boys and MT 220 Girls. The new models available today are the Trek mt 220, which was produced between 2014 and 2015, and both frames come in a variety of great colorways.

The Trek MT 220 Boy’s frame has a triangular shape and a quick-release rear fork, making assembly and maintenance simple for hands-on parents.

3X7 drivetrain

The Shimano Tourney is a low-cost accessory, but as a regular mountain bike, parents will not allow their children to go on dangerous mountain rides, and with 21 gears, it’s a good way to get kids comfortable with mountain biking.

When compared to the same price point of children’s mountain bikes, it still has a number of advantages in the drive train. When you take your child on outings, they will naturally learn how to be most comfortable with the gearing and may be able to ride more difficult racing mountain bikes in the future.

Dialed suspension

The Trek mt 220 is outfitted with a Dialed suspension with 45mm travel. We can’t compare it to an adult mountain bike, but the damping effect reduces the impact of rough roads and allows for riding on cobblestone roads in the park. Because it has a 24-inch rim, it can only have a shock fork with so much travel, which is a reasonable design.

A mountain bike like the Trek mt 220 provides more peace of mind for growing boys and girls who are always curious when riding terrain they haven’t ridden before.

Alloy linear-pull brakes

The extremely simple Alloy linear-pull brakes can reduce the weight of the body and at the same time, the Trek mt 220 brakes have good braking power in general terrain, which is again different from adult mountain bikes. A great kids mountain bike will give your child more confidence riding over rough terrain, and the Trek mt 220 brakes do just that.

24×1.85″ Tires

Trek mt 220 Mountain bike, 24x1.85" Tires

The small 24″ inch tires are able to roll smoothly over rough ground. And the 1.85″ wide mountain tires also have great grip and are more responsive, with nimble steering and easier riding that kids love to ride. XR1 tires are perfect for kids to provide plenty of off-road traction while offering low rolling resistance, making it easy for kids to keep up with the sidewalk.

Adjustable cranks

The adjustable crank length of 127mm – 152mm is a modification designed to help smaller children who can’t reach the pedals while riding. Because it is adjustable, the height at which it can be ridden can be increased, making the Trek 220 a more cost-effective option.

Trek mt 220 specs

What is the weight of the Trek mt 220?

About 27.3 pounds, which is one of the lightest mountain bikes in the same price range for kids.

How much weight can the Trek mt 220 handle?

The Trek mt 220 has a weight limit of 160 lbs.

What body colors does the Trek mt 220 come in?

Trek MT 220 Girl’s: Rage Red, Seeglass Trek Black/Flaming Ro Trek MT 220 Boy’s: Trek Black, Lime Green

How much is the Trek mt 220 worth?

Current used Trek mt 220’s are selling for $68 when in relatively good condition.

What we like about the Trek mt 220

The aluminum frame is very light in weight
Available in both male and female frame types and in a variety of paint colors
3X7 drivetrain allows kids to learn everything about mountain biking
Adjustable cranks to accommodate small riders of all heights
Easy and convenient Alloy linear-pull brakes allow kids to ride with more confidence on the mountain

What we didn’t like about it

The paint job is not very strong
Alloy rims need to be maintained so that they don’t rust and become unusable
Plastic pedals, easily damaged

Comparison Table

Trek wahoo 24 vs trek mt 220.

The Trek Wahoo 24 is the most formidable rival to the Trek 220. It has an Alpha Silver Aluminum frame, the most popular 1X8-speed drivetrain, and 1.95-inch wider mountain tires.

However, it lacks a shock-front fork. As a result, it’s a compromise to use a lighter aluminum frame at the same price point. If you live in an urban area, the lightweight Trek Wahoo 24 would be an excellent mountain bike for your child’s first foray into mountain biking.

Despite the fact that it is, by definition, a hybrid bike, it is unaffected by minor road imperfections. It also has a very light weight of 20.11 lbs. It’s simple for kids to gain confidence while riding the Trek Wahoo 24, and they can still commute on a versatile kids’ bike.

Mongoose Argus ST vs Trek mt 220

Mongoose is well-known for their Fat Tire Mountain Bike, as well as their children’s mountain bikes. As a result, the quality of Mongoose Argus ST is also very high. In addition, the 24 x 4 inch knobby mountain fat tires offer excellent stopping power and traction in sand and snow.

Furthermore, the Trek mt 220 tires are only 1.85″ wide. A mountain bike that can be ridden in the snow and still get you around in the winter. The maximum load capacity is 250 lb. This is a colossal figure for other children’s mountain bikes. However, it is not the ideal child’s mountain bike; it is heavy, and this is something that many parents complain about.

Allow your child to ride the Mongoose Argus ST Youth Fat Tire Mountain Bike if you want him to lose weight by riding a mountain bike.

Learn more: Mongoose Kong Fat Tire Mountain Bike Review – Best Kids MTB

CLEARY Meerkat Kids’ Bike vs Trek mt 220

Known for its sturdiness and safety, the CLEARY Meerkat Kids’ Bike is more about its durability and the use of brakes. No matter which bike you choose for your child this is something to consider. With the CLEARY Meerkat Kids’ Bike, you get: 1020 alloy steel frame, sturdy alloy 3-piece Crankset, Sturmey Archer DLC-50 Trigger shifter shifters, hydraulic disc brakes.

Because of these well-known in high-end accessories, this children’s bike is not in the low price range. But, to my surprise, it’s not cheap: just under $600 to get the job done. When compared to the Trek mt 220, the 5-speed is easier to grasp and provides the child with more riding confidence.

Despite the steel frame, the overall weight is very light at only 25lb 3oz. Finally, the high-quality brakes make for a more secure ride. Try the CLEARY Meerkat Kids’ Bike if you want your child to have a better riding experience.

Diamondback Cobra 20 vs Trek mt 220

Can my child ride a mountain bike if he is younger?

Yes, the Diamondback Cobra 20 is appropriate for young riders ranging in height from 44″ to 54″ and ages 4 to 9. And the Diamondback Cobra 20 comes with a popular accessory package that will delight boys looking for a high-quality mountain bike.

You will receive: DB Shimano 6-speed drivetrain, HL Zoom 40mm travel fork, Hi-Ten steel frame powerful brakes, and 6-speed transmission will get your child started exploring the neighborhood range. There is 5mm less fork travel than on the Trek mt 220, but this isn’t the most noticeable difference.

Your child will quickly learn how to use the trigger shifter with 1X6 speed numbers. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for your child, the Diamondback Cobra 20 is also a great mountain bike worth checking out.

Learn more: Best 20-Inch Bikes For 6-13 Years Old Kids Bikes (With Gears)

Final Verdict (4.5/5)

Whether it’s a boy or a girl, following their parents on a ride to an outing would be a wonderful picture. And the Trek mt 220 is a very good mountain bike with a sturdy body structure and low stand-up height, simple and easy to grasp frame geometry that will quickly increase your little one’s riding confidence. We ended up giving the Trek mt 220 a rating of 4.5/5.

In my experience, the Trek MT220 24 bike is a dependable option for kids in search of a reliable and durable mountain bike.

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Trek MT 220. What year to look for or avoid?

Add to quote

Hey guys, After researching new 24'' bikes for my 9 year old daughter I think the best bet and bang for buck will be to just build one. It seems the Trek mt220 is a preferred frame to start with. With that said is there any particular year(s) to look for or avoid? I have really enjoyed seeing some of the custom builds on here and look forward to getting into one myself. Thanks! Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

It seems the Trek mt220 is a preferred frame to start with. Click to expand...

On the 2008's just make sure you know how to identify if the frame is recalled or not. That's a nice looking bike though. I bought one but ended up selling it because it was so pretty and I was just going to tear it apart. I wanted one that would take disc, but that seemed a bit tough to get a steal on at the time so I settled with rim-only frames. Now what I don't like about my girls' hotrock frames, or at least one of them, it doesn't have enough bottle space in the frame triangle.

Both my two girls have had a MT220, they are both relatively tall and started riding it at age 7 and had outgrown the 24" bike by age 9. You might want to double check that a 24" wheel frame is still a good fit for your daughter, she might be ready for a XS 26" wheel frame bike (which is much easier/cheaper to source good parts for). THe recall MT220 to avoid was a girls specific model with a single boom-tube connected to the headtube, no separate top tube and downtube. My girls did fine riding a standard frame. Info on my MT220 build at; http://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/trek-mt220-24-mod-build-894279.html

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The Trek MT 220 girl's is a juvenile/mountain bike with an aluminum Alpha frame. The frame comes in colors like Rage  Red, Petal  Pink and Satin  Black.

Originally released in 2008, there are 6 versions of this bike. Due to the frame materials and other factors, we estimate that this bike weighs around 35 pounds. The MT 220 girl's has fork suspension with 40-50mm travel.

The MT 220 girl's comes with various juvenile bike components, including a dialed Bontrager Approved stem, an adjustable, Adjustable Aheadset headset and dialed, twist, Shimano SRAM 3.0 shifters.

The MT 220 girl's has 7 speeds and has freewheel SunRun rear cogs and a Shimano SRAM 3.0 derailleur.

It comes with Bontrager tires (24in x NaN) and aluminum rims.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

*Trek is a trademark of Trek Bicycle Corporation, Waterloo, WI

All copyrights in the TREK brochures, pricelists, owner's manuals and photographs displayed on this website are the sole property of Trek Bicycle Corporation, Waterloo, Wisconsin.

Sonequa Martin-Green Admits That Star Trek: Discovery Had A 'Wobbly' Start

"Star Trek: Discovery" helped usher in a new small-screen era for the franchise when it launched in 2017 on CBS All Access (before it became Paramount+). Trekkies have since had several new shows to enjoy, including "Strange New Worlds" and the animated "Lower Decks," among others. Despite being the show that kicked things off, however, "Discovery" didn't start off on the strongest foot, and that's something that series lead Sonequa Martin-Green is freely willing to admit.

Martin-Green has been with the show from the very start as Commander Michael Burnham. With "Star Trek: Discovery" season 5, the show's last, currently streaming , the actor spoke with SFX Magazine for its latest issue. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, she was asked if she felt the show had it from the start, and Martin-Green gave a pretty candid answer:

"To be honest with you, no, we did not have it from the start. We had a troubled start. From what I understand, every iteration has a challenge before them at the beginning. I do believe that we were kind of on wobbly legs. We were walking with purpose and intention and passion, and trying to walk with excellence as much as we possibly could, but we were still wobbling. We really were."

It's not that any season has been generally considered outright bad. /Film's original review of "Discovery" season 1 called it a lot of fun , even if it was a little confusing for new fans. And, in fairness, it often takes shows a season or two to truly find their legs. It's rare that something is excellent from the jump. "Breaking Bad" is more of an exception rather than a rule.

Read more: Every Star Trek Show And Movie In Chronological Order

'I Believe Every Trek Has A Responsibility To Do That'

Other recent "Trek" shows have had a bit more luck out of the gate. "Strange New Worlds" was met with an almost rapturous response from many fans. /Film's review of the show's second season declared it was as good as "Star Trek" has ever been . That wasn't the case with "Discovery" though. Be that as it may, Martin-Green does feel the show found its footing in the third season. Speaking further, she explained:

"I feel personally that we found our distinct identity in season 3 when we separated from the timeline, when we jumped ahead past where any 'Trek' had ever gone. We were able to establish ourselves in a new way at that point. I really appreciate where we were placed. I appreciate all those connected tissues, but I also appreciate that we were able to build anew, because I believe every 'Trek' has a responsibility to do that."

"Discovery" season 2 ended on a high note for fans with "Such Sweet Sorrow: Part 2." That helped tee up the ball for a major time jump in season 3, which takes place roughly 900 years after the events of the original series. That allowed it to truly gain an identity without the baggage of all those many decades of "Trek" that came before. For Martin-Green, that notion of pressing forward was essentially to the DNA of the franchise:

"If you want to hold true to the essence of 'Trek' itself then you have to keep pressing forward. You have to keep encouraging people to look forward, look forward, look forward. So I feel that we really sunk into who we were supposed to be by season 3. We built off seasons 1 and 2. I even love how we stay connected, even through seasons 3, 4 and 5 -- we never lost it. We never lost where we came from. But we also found so many new things. We found new life."

"Star Trek: Discovery" season 5 is currently streaming on Paramount+.

Read the original article on SlashFilm

Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Apr 24 2017

City Street Guides by f.d. walker: A Street Photography Guide to Moscow, Russia

*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!

At over 12 million people, Moscow is the largest city in Russia and second largest in Europe by population ( Istanbul is #1). An urban, cosmopolitan metropolis with more than enough glitz and glam to cater to the elite, but without losing its fair share of Soviet era roughness around the edges. It can be fast paced, brash, busy, and trendy like other big cities, but it has its blend of West meets Russia atmosphere and beauty that provides plenty of unique interest. The Red Square is as famous as it gets, but there’s so much more to this city, including the most beautiful subway system you’ve ever seen. It would take years to capture all of Moscow, but that means you have an endless amount of areas to discover.

So here’s a Street Photography guide so you can be ready to capture all that Moscow has to offer before you even arrive!

Patriarch’s Pond
Old Arbat Street
Maroseyka Street
Tverskoy Boulevard

Top 5 Street Spots:

1. red square.

The Red Square is the most famous square in not just Russia, but all of Eastern Europe. The name actually doesn’t come from the color of the bricks or communism, but from the name in Russian, Krásnaya, once meaning “beautiful” before its meaning changed to “red.” This large plaza is what you see on the cover of guide books and magazines for Moscow, with St. Basil’s Cathedral being the center piece next to Lenin’s Mausoleum surrounded by the Kremlin Wall. Of course, the Red Square attracts hordes of tourist due to the main attractions, but all that activity around an interesting atmosphere does provide street photo opportunities. It’s also the central square connecting to the city’s major streets, providing a good starting point to explore outward.

You’ll also find the popular pedestrian only Nikolskaya Street connecting the Red Square to Lubyanka Square. This line of expensive shops includes plenty of activity, while also leading you to another popular square. Filled with history rivaling any city, the Red Square and surrounding areas are the heart and soul of Russia.

2. Patriarch’s Ponds

Patriarch’s Ponds is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Moscow. Despite the name being plural, there’s only one large pond, but it’s worth a visit with your camera. It’s a popular spot for locals and expats to come relax or take a stroll around the pond. You get an interesting mix of young and old too, from young love to “babushkas” feeding pigeons. It’s a very peaceful park atmosphere in one of the nicer areas within the city center, while bringing enough activity for street photography.

The pond is shallow and in the winter becomes a popular spot for ice-skating too. The area is also well-known for the location in the famous Russian novel, The Master and Margarita.

3. Old Arbat (Stary Arbat)

Old Arbat is the most famous pedestrian street in Moscow, and dating back to the 15th century, also one of its oldest. Originally, it was an area of trade, but soon became the most prestigious residential area in Moscow. During the 18th century, Arbat started attracting the city’s scholars and artists, including Alexander Pushkin. Cafes lined the streets and impressive homes filled the neighborhood. Since then, New Arbat street was created as a highway in the area, while Old Arbat was paved for a 1km pedestrian only walkway.

Due to the historic buildings, famous artists that lived here, and the bohemian atmosphere, Old Arbat has become a big attraction for tourists today. Now, there’s a mix of cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, street performers, street merchants and other attractions for visitors, and some locals, to come enjoy. It can get really busy here and there’s usually something interesting going on so it’s a good street to come walk with your camera for guaranteed life.

4. Gorky Park

One of the most famous places in Moscow is Gorky Park. The official name is Maxim Gorky’s Central Park of Culture & Leisure, which gives you an idea of what goes on here. When built, it was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. Divided into two parts, it stretches along Moscow River. One end contains fair rides, foods stands, tennis courts, a sports club, a lake for boat rides, and more. This end brings more active life due to its number of attractions, while the other end is more relaxed, where you’ll find gardens, trees, older buildings, and an outdoor amphitheater.

Gorky Park attracts mostly locals so it’s a good spot to capture the non-tourist side of Moscow life. Muscovites come here to escape the city and unwind in a picturesque setting. The park remains alive outside of the warmer months too, especially when the lake turns into the city’s largest outdoor skating rink. I’d recommend taking the metro out here to spend at least half a day exploring the massive park’s life with your camera.

5. Maroseyka Street

Maroseyka Street is a popular area not too far from the Red Square. The long, winding street turns into Pokrovka and is lined with restaurants, cafes, bars and places to stay. It’s actually where I like to stay when I’m in Moscow due to its location and solid street photography opportunities itself. You have Kitay-gorod station near and if you keep walking southwest, you’ll get to the Red Square. But if you walk northwest, as it changes to Pokrovka, you can find a long street of activity for photography with its own interesting atmosphere.

6. Tverskoy Boulevard

Tverskoy Boulevard is the oldest and longest boulevard in Moscow, beginning at the end of Nikitsky Boulevard, and finishing at Pushkin Square, a spot to come for activity itself. The boulevard is made up of two avenues, with pedestrian walkways in-between. You’ll find grass, shrubbery, trees, benches and more walking it’s almost kilometer length. Many people come here to enjoy some relaxation, walk their dog, or just to use it to walk wherever they’re going. Its center location also provides a nice place to walk with your camera near plenty of other spots you’ll want to check out anyway.

Sample Street Walk:

For a full day of Street Photography, covering some of the best spots, you can follow this sample street walk for Moscow:

Start your morning walking around the Red Square (1), while exploring the surrounding area, including Nikolskaya Street
Then walk northwest to Patriarch’s Ponds (2) and slowly walk the pond and surrounding area with your camera
Next, walk east to the Pushkin Monument and stroll down Tverskoy Boulevard (6)
Once Tverskoy Boulevard (6) ends, it will turn into Nikitsky Boulevard. Follow this down until you get to the start of Old Arbat Street (3), across from Arbatskaya station
After you’re done walking down Old Arbat Street (3) for more street photography, spend some time checking out Moscow’s beautiful metro stations
To finish off the day with more street photography, get off the metro near Red Square (1) again, Maroseyka Street (5) or wherever you’re staying for the night.

3 Things I’ll Remember about Shooting in Moscow:

1. museum metro.

The Moscow metro system was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union and today includes 203 stations across 340km of routes. The elaborate system has some of the deepest stations in the world too, with escalators that seem to go on forever. None of this is what makes it so special, though. Many of its stations feel like stepping inside a museum, making it without a doubt the most interesting and beautiful metro system I’ve been in.

When built, Stalin wanted to make the metro stations “palaces for the people” with marble, chandeliers, and grand architecture. The best part is the variety of architecture and styles used, making many of the stations a completely different experience visually. You could easily spend a whole day traveling the stations and there are even tours available for people who wish to do just that. My advice, though, would be just to buy a ticket and hop on and off at different stations, while exploring different lines. The museum-like surrounding mixed with the crowds of characters can make for a great photography experience.

Since there are so many stations, here are some of my favorites to check out:

Novoslobodskaya
Mayakovskaya
Elektrozavodskaya
Komsomolskaya
Ploschad Revolyutsii
Dostoyevskaya
Prospekt Mira

2. Moscow is Big

It’s no secret that Moscow is a big city, but it can feel even bigger with how spread out much of it is. This is especially true if you compare it to cities outside of Asia. If I compared it to cities in Europe, I’d probably say only Istanbul would warrant more time to really discover the depths of this city. Most only explore around the Red Square and surrounding area, but that is such a small part of the city. Although, that central area does give you plenty to see on its own.

Fortunately, I had a good friend living in the city to show me around, but it opened up my eyes even more to how much there is to discover in Moscow. It’s a big city with a variety of atmosphere that can take you from “east” to “west” and trendy to rugged depending on where you go. I’d imagine you’d have to live here a while to really know the city.

3. Cosmopolitan Mix of East meets West

Modern skyscrapers mixed with amazing architecture, a world-class metro system with museum-like beauty, trendy fashion and chic clubs, Moscow is a rich mix of Russian culture and history in a more western cosmopolitan package. There is a push to keep the Russian culture, while also pushing forward with a modern metropolis the whole world will envy. This comes with an impressive skyline, that continues to grow, and endless modernities, but with soviet nostalgia and atmosphere mixed in for good measure.

Mixed in with this grand western cosmopolitan atmosphere, is a strong national pride in Russia. This includes their famous leader, Vladimir Putin. Maybe no other place will you see a country’s leader more often. All over, from the pricey tourist shops to the underground walkway stalls, you’ll find goods with Putin’s likeness covering them. From t-shirts to magnets to Matryoshka dolls. There’s a strong national pride that can be seen around the city, which also extends to their leader. Moscow is many things. It’s East meets West, modernizations meets Soviet era, and a whole lot more.

What To Do For a Street Photography Break?:

Eat at a stolovaya.

Stolovayas are Russian cafeterias that became popular in the Soviet days. You grab a tray and walk down the line of freshly prepared local dishes, and select whatever you want from the chefs. They’re usually inexpensive and a much better value than restaurants, while giving you the opportunity to try from a wide selection of everyday Russian food. They’re also very tasty. I always include some borsch on my tray and go from there. The places themselves are all over Moscow and usually come with Soviet-era aesthetics to complete the experience.

Street Safety Score: 7

*As always, no place is completely safe! So when I talk about safety, I’m speaking in general comparison to other places. Always take precaution, be smart, observe your surroundings and trust your instincts anywhere you go!

Being the 2nd largest city in Europe with over 12 million people, you’re going to have your dangerous areas, but for the most part, it feels safe walking around. Russia is statistically higher in crime compared to most of Europe, but this generally doesn’t apply to tourists and visitors. Around the Red Square and surrounding city center, you should feel completely safe walking around. Pick pocketing can happen, but no more than other touristic places. I always explore Moscow freely without coming across too much to worry about. It’s a spread out city, though, so of course it matters where you are. Just use basic street smarts, know where you are and Moscow shouldn’t give you a problem.

People’s Reaction Score: 7

Moscow is fast paced, big city life, which usually means people aren’t too concerned with you, or your camera. I don’t find people notice or pay much attention to me when I’m out taking photos in Moscow. For the most part, people just go about their day. You shouldn’t get too many looks or concern. But it can depend on the area you are in. The more you stick out, the more you might get noticed with suspicions. I’ve never had any problems in Moscow, or Russia, but just be careful who you’re taking a photo of if you get out of the city center. Other than that, it’s about average for reactions.

Street Tips:

Learn the alphabet .

Much of Moscow, including the metro system, doesn’t use english. The Russian alphabet uses letters from the Cyrillic script, which if you aren’t familiar with it and don’t know the sounds, can be hard to decipher the words. This is most important for street names and metro stops when trying to get around. It can save confusion and make it easier getting around if you learn the basic alphabet. At the very least then, you can sound out the words to see which are similar in the english conversion, which can help matching them to maps. When out shooting street photography, getting around is as important as anything. So save yourself some time and frustration by learning the Russian Alphabet.

Use the metro

While Saint-Petersburg feels very walkable for a city its size, Moscow can feel very spread out, even for its bigger size. Outside of the Red Square area, you can have plenty of walking before getting anywhere very interesting, so you’ll need to take the metro a lot if you really want to explore the city. Maps are deceiving here too, it will always be further than it looks.

Another reason it’s less walkable than Saint-Petersburg is its completely different set-up. Moscow’s streets are mostly contstructed in rings with narrow, winding streets in-between. This is common with medieval city cities that used to be confined by walls, but you usually don’t have it in a city this massive. Saint-Petersburg has a more grid-like pattern that also uses the canals to help you know your way around. When it comes to navigating on foot in Moscow, it can be more difficult, so bring a map and take the metro when needed. It’s why Moscow’s metro carries more passengers per day than the London and Paris subways combined.

Explore other areas if you have time

Moscow is really big. While most people stay around the Red Square within the Boulevard Ring, there’s so much more to the city. I covered some other spots outside of this circle, but if you really want to see the city, you’ll need time. If you do have time, some other areas I’d check out first are Zamoskvarechye, along some of the south and western Moscow.

Inspiration:

For some more inspiration, you can look through the Street Photography of Moscow photographer Artem Zhitenev and check out 33 of my photos taken in Moscow .

Conclusion:

Moscow’s name brings a certain mystique, but once you’re there it might bring a different atmosphere than you expect. It’s big and sprawling, but beautiful in many ways. It can feel like a European capital on a grand scale, but you can definitely find its Russian side in there.

The urban sprawl of Moscow can be intimidating, but give it enough time and you’ll be rewarded with plenty to discover. All with the world’s best metro system to take you around.

I hope this guide can help you start to experience some of what Moscow contains. So grab your camera and capture all that Moscow has to offer for Street Photography!

If you still have any questions about shooting in Moscow, feel free to comment below or email me!

(I want to make these guides as valuable as possible for all of you so add any ideas on improvements, including addition requests, in the comment section!)

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The Inventory

This Week's Star Trek: Discovery Is a Time-Hopping Marvel

In "face the strange," discovery returns to a trek trope it mastered in its first season to deliver a clever, thoughtful reflection on how far it's come..

Star Trek: Discovery is really good with time. We knew this almost immediately when one of its earliest episodes to really wow us was “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” a delightful time loop caper. We knew it again, when it flung caution to the wind and catapulted itself into a future no Star Trek show had visited yet at the climax of season two . And now, as it stares down its final end , Discovery once again turns to time—and twists it, to look back on its long, strange trip.

'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5's Captain Rayner Ran His Ship Like a Pirate

Callum Keith Rennie also discusses coming into 'Discovery's final season, getting into prosthetics, and how much he has in common with Rayner.

The Big Picture

Callum Keith Rennie's Captain Rayner brings conflict and depth to Star Trek: Discovery 's final season.
Rennie discusses his experience on Star Trek: Discovery , praising the supportive cast and crew, despite the initial challenges of joining an established series for its last season.
In Season 5, Episode 4 "Face the Strange," Burnham and Rayner must work together within a time bubble to save the universe.

As Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) embarks on one last adventure with her crew, Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 is bringing a few new characters along for the ride. Chief among those newcomers is the blunt, war-worn Captain Rayner. Played by Battlestar Galactica alum Callum Keith Rennie , Rayner is Burnham's new second in command on the Discovery , taking over after Saru ( Doug Jones ) took a different position at Starfleet.

Having lived through The Burn, Rayner doesn't have time for niceties and butts heads with Burnham almost immediately — so naturally, she takes it upon herself to give him a second chance when Starfleet is ready to cut him loose. Last week's episode saw him, rightfully, put in his place a bit as Tilly ( Mary Wiseman ) attempted to help him connect with the crew, much to his chagrin. In Season 5 Episode 4, "Face the Strange," Rayner and Burnham are thrown into a time bubble, forcing them to work together if they ever want to get back to the correct timeline and prevent the universe from being destroyed.

Ahead of the episode, I sat down with Rennie to dig into Rayner's backstory, what we can expect from him in the rest of the season, and what it will take for Rayner to truly connect with the crew of Discovery . During our conversation, we also discussed Rennie's history with sci-fi, what it was like joining Discovery for the show's final season, and what he's taking away from the whole experience.

Star Trek: Discovery

*Availability in US

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Taking place almost a decade before Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the USS Discovery charts a course to uncover new worlds and life forms.

Rennie is no stranger to science fiction, having had roles in such series as The Umbrella Academy , Jessica Jones, and Battlestar Galactica. As Battlestar Galactica was the series that turned me into a sci-fi fan, and perhaps Rennie's most recognizable role, I had to ask him about being a part of such massive and beloved franchises within the genre. "It's amazing," he said. For Rennie, even though Battlestar was also a reboot of a classic series , the show's success was a lot less predictable than the mainstay that is Star Trek . He explained, "Like, say Battlestar , when I started on that I had no idea where that one was gonna go. Discovery was already very established , but I actually didn't let any of that into my [head], because I went, “That's not gonna help.” So, I didn’t. Now, I'm feeling the world of it. Now, I'm sensing what the world of Discovery is and how many people love it, and how it fits. "

Discovery also isn't his first experience with Star Trek , "I watched the original. That was my thing, and that was it," Rennie told me. While he may have missed some of the series' in between, saying, "There's big chunks of time where I just didn't watch a lot of TV, so I missed all of the other stuff," he'll always make time for The Original Series when he comes across it, "even if the old Star Trek comes on, I'll still watch it because that was my Star Trek . Jim Kirk, and all of that. "

While we've gotten a pretty good sense of who Rayner is in these first four episodes, most of his backstory remains a mystery. Rennie revealed that "some backstory comes up in a few episodes." Part of his gruff exterior will be explained as we'll "get a sense of why he's maybe got a chip on his shoulder and has some unprocessed resentments about a bunch of things that maybe have played out in his work in a negative way."

Rennie Calls 'Star Trek: Discovery's Latest Episode "Amazing"

"Face the Strange," is such a classic Star Trek episode, employing the ever-entertaining sci-fi trope of sticking our main characters in a time loop, both to put an obstacle in their path as well as to bring them face to face with some of their own demons. For Rennie, the episode really put the science in science fiction. "It was like, 'Whoa! What's happening? I don't get it.' There's just so much science stuff and talk, so much jumping about to places and history and stuff." But he had high praise for his fellow castmates as well as the crew behind the camera." Lee [Rose] being the director, you're in great hands. Being in scenes with Sonequa, you know that you're gonna be in it , and it was great. I watched it again last night, and there’s just an amazing amount of stuff in there. It was just an amazing episode. "

In this episode, Burnham and Rayner are tossed back in time to the first season of Discovery , bringing them both face to face with the version of Burnham who's fresh off her own demotion in Starfleet . Throughout the episode, it becomes quite clear that Burnham and Rayner have a lot more in common than either of them might have realized. When asked if this experience might put them more on equal footing, Rennie confirmed that "he's learned an understanding of the crew." He went on to point out that we haven't seen the relationship that Rayner had with his own crew.

He explained: "We're not on the Antares talking about his crew, which I think is an important part that we missed, where you go, 'How did I see my people on my particular ship? And how well did I know them?' No one's asking me how well I knew everybody because I did, but if I've only been there a brief time, you're only gonna have facts." He admits that it is important for Rayner to connect past the surface level. "Through that particular episode, you learn and go, 'Yes, it is good to know what people are up to and where they're from,' because in that particular instance, it saved us. So, I learned a thing, and I give a, 'Yes. Got it. Thank you.'"

Rayner Will Have to Shorten the Distance Between Himself and the Discovery Crew

While it doesn't sound like we'll be getting any flashbacks to Rayner's time on the Antares Rennie believes that he'd spent a similar amount of time with that crew as Michael has with hers. "We didn't get to inhabit that, I get to make it up in my own mind," he said. "But for me, it was more like a pirate ship that I had. " While Rayner comes off as the more stubborn, stick-to-the-mission Captain between him and Burnham, Rennie doesn't think he was quite so strict on his own ship. He said:

"That's the way I perceived it. It wasn't some rigid, completely stoic, boss fest, but a little bit of a wild card ship. We're gonna go into things that nobody else wants to go into, or knows how to deal with, but we would. "

While the walls around Rayner are still pretty high, Rennie explained that we will see him "shorten the distance" he's put between himself and the crew of the Discovery. "There's a great bit, there's an episode where Burnham leaves me again to take control of the ship. There's an interaction with everybody in a certain way because they don't like me yet. [Laughs] And I need some help a little bit, but I've created a distance, and I have to shorten that distance between everybody." He went on to say there are plenty of "fun dynamics" to look forward to and Rayner's insistence on keeping everyone at arm's length will likely come back to bite him.

Star Trek has quite a long list of original alien species created for the franchise, and Rayner just happens to be a Kellerun, a race that hasn't been seen since Deep Space Nine . In classic Trek fashion, Kelleruns appear mostly human with the most visible difference being the shape of the ears. As he follows in the footsteps of the likes of Leonard Nimoy and any actor who has ever played a Vulcan or a Romulan, I asked Rennie about getting into prosthetics for the role. "Those guys are great. Rocky [Faulkner] was great, Nicola [Bendrey] was great." While it was certainly an extra step the process was brief enough that it didn't bother him to come to set a bit earlier than usual. "That was probably an hour, and I really didn't think about that enough to go, 'Oh, that's right. I have to get up earlier.' But I think we got it down to an hour and a bit for just the ears because there’s a lot of stuff on them."

Despite the agonizing wait of sitting in front of a mirror for an hour, Rennie noted that Faulkner and Bendrey made the make-up experience as fun as it could possibly have been. He said: "I don't love just sitting there looking at myself for an hour, but there's music and great company and coffee, and it became a really sweet part of the day, and then another sweet part of the day where I download. " It wasn't his first time getting into prosthetics, but his previous experience had been brief. After playing Rayner across an entire season, Rennie admitted by the end, removing the glue actually started to feel like you'd expect pulling costume glue off your ears to feel. "There was a point near the end where the glue-on, glue-off became quite painful for a while."

The Support of the Cast and the Fans Are Highlights of Rennie's 'Star Trek' Experience

While this is Rennie's first season on the show, it's the final bow for Star Trek: Discovery . When asked what he'd be taking away from this experience, he had nothing but high praise for the cast and crew. As a newcomer on a well-established show, jumping into the fifth season had a bit of a learning curve. "I found that coming into the show was difficult for me because it was unlike a show that I'd been on before. It was already very well established." He went on to say:

"I pat myself on the back because I made it through, and there was this wonderful group energy that helped me do that. The good naturedness of the show was something that I maybe haven't worked on. There was a wholehearted goodness about it, which was quite nice, which overlapped into how people treated each other and mutual respect. Also, I kind of blocked out all Star Treks in my mind, so I'm there not thinking of Star Trek history. I'm just doing scene-to-scene and working on this stuff, and then it finishes, and then I forget that there's an incredible vast following of the show that somehow you are now part of it like that. All of that, this is all relatively new to me."

As a new addition to an already established group, I pointed out that it seemed as though Rennie's experience mirrored that of his characters, and he agreed. "I'm excited for people to see the season. And then, coming into it playing, “I don't want to be liked. It doesn't matter if I'm liked. I'm there to do my job, like Rayner, and I'm doing it. And then there's the after-effect of an incredible fan base that seems to be very supportive ."

You can watch our full conversation in the player above, and catch the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery now on Paramount+.

'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 Review: One Hell of a Final Ride

Watch on Paramount+

Moscow’s Green Bonds: reducing the public transport emissions

Anna Kryukova

The green bonds initiative

In April 2021, the Moscow government adopted a new concept of the city’s green bonds. All the funds received from their placement were supposed to be spent on construction of the new metro stations and purchase of electric buses [1] [2]. The bonds worth 70 billion rubles were issued by the city government on the Moscow Exchange in May 2021 and later in September were presented on the list of securities of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange [3]. The issue was carried out in accordance with the Green Bond Principles (GBP) of the International Capital Market Association that also confirmed that the project met Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [4] [5]. Thus, it became a part of international sustainable finance community.

In this entry, I explore the specifics and possible impacts of this initiative and challenges that it faces. In particular, I reflect on the project’s engagement with climate change, its objectives, values, feasibility, and limits.

Moscow’s background

In this section, I briefly outline the environmental issues that city faces, as they have determined the features of the green bonds initiative. Moscow’s 2021 population was 12,6 million people. It is the largest Russian city with developed industry, services, and urban infrastructure. Accordingly, the emission issues are relevant. Moscow is one of the worst polluters among the world cities: annually it emits more than 110 million tons of CO 2 equivalent into the atmosphere [6]. Although the main source of emissions in Moscow is the energy sector, the popularity of cars powered by internal combustion engine also worsens the situation, additionally affecting air quality and contributing to heavy traffic. Several ratings on the traffic situation in the world cities contain very different data and results, however, according to TomTom traffic index, as of 2021, the Moscow region has taken the second place in the traffic index with congestion level of 61% [7]. According to INRIX 2021 Global Traffic Scorecard, Moscow is the 4 th most congested city in the world with 108 hours lost in congestion annually [8].

Environmental, climate, and social relevance of the initiative

The Moscow administration considers the initiative to be a part of city’s efforts to achieve the following Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and Goal 13 (Climate Action) [9]. This project is one of the city’s tools to reduce GHG emissions by 30% by 2030, improve air quality and thus public health. As the project is completed, Moscow has to become a healthier and more accessible place to live in.

Although the main reason for issuing the bonds is directly to addresses climate change, the project also greatly affects the city’s infrastructure and improves mobility. According to the mayor Sergey Sobyanin, the metro will become more accessible for ~800 thousand of Moscow residents. Travel time from one area to another will be reduced approximately by 20 percent, so all the residents using metro will benefit at some point [10]. The administration experts claim that more than thirteen thousand people will switch from personal cars to public transport when Bolshaya Koltsevaya line (also known as Big Circle Line) is completed. Moreover, some areas around the new stations are planned to be landscaped and arranged with greenery, so that local residents get a chance to have a better rest outside. This measure will contribute to climate adaptation as well, as the heat waves are relevant for Moscow. The total zone of such improvements should make up to approximately 44 hectares. Also the local government plans to construct bicycle parking stations near the metro, so the residents who use bikes as a transportation source, will also benefit [11]. It is not clear, whether such improvements will be done only with funds collected under the green bonds, however, these projects are interconnected at any rate.

According to officials, the proposed transport infrastructure will lead to the following greenhouse gas emissions reduction: carbon dioxide by 20,900 tons per year, and other pollutants by 885,5 tons per year (starting from 2023). For illustration, CO 2 emissions from one diesel bus and one electric bus are estimated at 64.9 and 4.4 t / year on average, respectively [12]. Replacing just one diesel bus with an electric one allows to reduce the air pollutant emissions by 190-260 kg per year [13].

The initiative has one more impact that is not so obvious and that is related to citizens’ financial literacy. The administration is willing to involve the residents in financing the city’s green projects and thus increase their financial awareness. In late 2021, the representatives of local government claimed that the bonds exclusively for private investors were going to be issued. However, it is unclear for the author at this point if such initiative has been fulfilled yet.

Implementation status and challenges

Now I outline the progress that has already been made and criticism that the initiative faces.

Maturity date for the Moscow green bonds is May 18, 2028. The low-carbon transport project will be completed by the end of 2023, and it is not clear at the moment what kind of measures will be taken after that. As for now, the authorities have already made a particular progress, for instance, ten metro stations were opened in December 2021 [14]. In general, the Big Circle Line has to be completed by the end of 2023 [15] with 18 new stations built and 3 stations reconstructed. About 48 kilometers of the metro lines are going to be built or reconstructed.

According to the plan, the electric buses have to be purchased in 2021-2023. In total, the administration plans to buy approximately 1675 of them on the funds collected from the green bonds issue. As of November 2021, 800 electric buses have already been purchased. The Moscow city government plans to procure another 500 in 2022 [16].

The bonds turned out to be quite popular: demand exceeded supply by 1.2 times. The authorities have stated that the citizens in particular showed a high demand for green bonds. They have already invested about 700 million rubles in the project – that is the main reason for the local government to issue the bonds for individual investors [17].

Despite the existing success of the project and its ambitious goals, it is still being criticized. I have outlined three groups of disaffection:

First of all, although the authorities claim that a lot of people are going to switch from personal cars to metro as the Big Circle Line is completed, some experts do not believe that this will improve the heavy traffic situation in Moscow. For instance, Peter Shkumatov, auto expert and coordinator of a famous Russian public movement ‘Blue buckets’ (fought against self-serving use of emergency rotating blue flashers by public servants) claims that the incentive parking could have enhanced the effect and reduced the traffic, but not the metro infrastructure alone [18].
The cost of the new electric buses is also being criticized: they are three times more expensive in comparison with the common diesel buses and trolleybuses. The maintenance cost is also too high [19]. Many urbanists (for instance, Maxim Katz) and citizens (‘Moscow for trolleybus’ movement) have actively criticized the administration’s decision to abandon trolleybuses, as they have more range and are more environmentally friendly [20] [21].
Also the diesel heaters are reported to be installed in the purchased electric buses, and that makes them much less environmentally friendly during winters. As the Deputy General Director of Kamaz (the company that manufactures the Moscow electric buses) states himself, the analogues that use electricity for heat do exist, for instance, in China [22]. According to the Moscow Vice Mayor Maxim Liksutov, the city plans to purchase the models that are fully powered by electricity, without diesel heating in 2022 [23].

A critical reflection and a future of the initiative

As the Moscow administration claims, the authorities of other Russian regions and cities have already expressed their interest in issuing their own green bonds, for instance, Saint Petersburg, Moscow Oblast, [1] and Krasnodar Krai [24]. It is a very important fact for the environmental protection, but I see even a greater potential in this. The power of regions in Russia is limited by many issues. Moscow’s attempt to take action in tackling climate change could encourage other regions not only to become more ambitious non-state actors in the global climate regime, but also to truly strengthen the federalism in the country. However, I had made such a suggestion before the war against Ukraine began. Now the Russian people face the mobilization times: free speech and anti-war movement are being prosecuted, unprecedented sanctions make the federal government limit both green agenda (many federal programs are being postponed) and regions’ opportunities to decide their development directions.

As of March 2022, due to Russian’s invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed, the Moscow bonds were suspended from the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Also the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), being an influential center for sustainable development initiative, suspended all Russian members [25]. With no doubt, the project of Moscow administration and the green agenda in general will be greatly affected in Russia from now on.

The project has the following joint co-organizers (investment banks engaged in Bond issuance): Alfa Bank, BCS Global Markets, VTB Capital, Gazprombank, Credit Bank of Moscow, Otkritie Bank, Promsvyazbank, Raiffeizenbank, Rosbank, Region Broker, Russian Agricultural Bank, Sber CIB, Sovkombank. Due to the war, the sanctions were imposed on many of them. Moreover, the foreign investors probably will not be interested in Russian state bonds in the nearest future, even the green ones. The author doubts that domestic investors will be able to cover the whole project now, although at the very beginning the Moscow administration expected the demand of Russian investors to be sufficient.

Despite all this, I consider the green bonds to be an effective instrument that could boost the changes and contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The financial mechanisms have a great potential of accelerating the voluntary transformation and raising ambition.

Although the validity of some decisions made in the green bonds project is questionable, for example, the choice of certain models of electric buses, the general approach of promoting green mobility is promising. The initiative does not only improve the environmental state of Moscow, but also takes into account the social part of the transformation related to climate change. Such transition has to be a part of sustainable development in a broader sense. Also, although the decentralization in Russia will obviously be delayed, the accumulated experience and acquired skills can be used in the future. The transformation is still possible.

[1] Moscow and Moscow Oblast are different independent regions. While Moscow Oblast has several cities and other kinds of settlements and it’s a standard region according to Russian law, Moscow has a special status, being both a region and city. The same goes to St. Petersburg.

Green Energy

Electrek green energy brief.

wind turbine

The size of Washington State’s largest wind farm just got cut by 50%

Washington State’s energy board cut the size of what would have been the state’s largest wind farm in half yesterday – here’s why.

Wind farm controversy in Washington State

The $1.7 billion, 1,150-megawatt (MW) Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center combines wind, solar, and battery storage. The original plan was for the project to feature 244 wind turbines across 24 miles of hills, and three solar farms over 5,447 acres south of the Tri-Cities, near the Oregon border.

But Horse Heaven has been stuck at the permitting stage with the seven-person Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) for the last three years. Yesterday, the EFSEC voted 5-2 in favor of a rule stating that new wind turbines could not be located within two miles of the nests of endangered ferruginous hawks.

The ferruginous hawk is classified as a Priority Species whose habitats need protection, and its nests can be found throughout the planning area. The nests often sit empty, but North America’s largest hawk is known to return to its nests after years pass.

The Audubon Society – which states on its website that it “strongly supports wind energy that is sited and operated properly to avoid, minimize, and mitigate effectively for the impacts on birds, other wildlife, and the places they need now and in the future” – supports the EFSEC’s decision.

So that decision effectively cuts the number of Horse Heaven’s wind turbines in half. Understandably, Horse Heaven’s developer, Colorado-based Scout Clean Energy, isn’t happy. But the company can appeal the decision to the EFSEC. If that fails, then the case goes to Governor Jay Inslee (D-WA), who will make the final decision.

With 3.4 GW of capacity, wind power is the second-largest contributor to the state’s renewable electricity generation, behind hydroelectricity, which supplies 60% of Washington’s total electricity net generation. In 2023, wind provided almost 8% of the state’s power.

Washington State is No 3 in the US for renewable generation overall, behind California and Texas. But natural gas is the second-largest in-state source of net generation, fueling about 18% of Washington’s total electricity generation in 2023, according to the US Energy Information Administration ( EIA ).

By 2045, 100% of all electricity sold to Washington State customers must come from renewable or non-emitting sources.

Electrek’s Take

The EFSEC wanting the number of turbines reduced to protect an endangered hawk seems like a fair decision. The Audubon Society is very pro-wind power – they know that wind turbines aren’t the things that kill the most birds. No 1 is cats, No 2 is windows, and ultimately it’s climate change. So its support of the Horse Heaven decision carries weight.

The Yakama Nation isn’t in favor of the wind farm, either, citing damage to the hills’ cultural and historical significance. So it will be interesting to see what Inslee ultimately decides.

Top comment by BF

Washington is already well on their way. Less than 20% coal and natural gas and their last coal plant is scheduled to close in 2025. The main loss is the extra renewable energy in the western interconnection (that is, the energy being imported into, say, California being more from Wyoming coal than Washington wind). But in terms of Washington going emissions free - hydro, nuclear and wind make up a vast majority of their power already. The last 15% or so won’t be hard to make up

Washington is legally committed to achieving net zero by 2045, so they’ll ultimately have to figure it out.

Read more: Washington passes bill to target all EV sales by 2030 – for real this time

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Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, …

Michelle Lewis is a writer and editor on Electrek and an editor on DroneDJ, 9to5Mac, and 9to5Google. She lives in White River Junction, Vermont. She has previously worked for Fast Company, the Guardian, News Deeply, Time, and others. Message Michelle on Twitter or at [email protected]. Check out her personal blog.

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Gorky Park and Sparrow Hills: Green Lungs, place to relax and meet

Gorky Park and Sparrow Hills

The history of the gorky.

The park was built in Soviet times between the two world wars and named after the author Maxim Gorky at the time. Up until the turn of the century, the area not far from the center was only a residential area with huge estates and then, in the turmoil of the civil war and shortly afterwards, served as an illegal landfill where citizens and entrepreneurs disposed of their garbage. After intensive cleaning in the early communist years, the site was first used as an agricultural exhibition in the mid-1920s until the Moscow City Council decided to set up a park here that was accessible to all citizens of Moscow. After all, this was supposed to take a full ten years of construction. Throughout the entire Soviet period, the park was incredibly popular and familiar to every Soviet citizen, whether from Moscow or not.

Rebirth after basic renovation

However, after the end of the Soviet Union, the area fell into disrepair – cheap hustle and bustle like shooting booths and slowly rusting rides shaped the sad picture. Only outsiders got lost in the park, which lived more from its reputation than from the sad reality. Only with the fundamental and just as expensive renovation in 2011 did the Gorky become the park it was once loved by the locals. Especially the promenade along the river with its large sunbathing areas in summer and the numerous ice rinks for ice skating in winter now attract thousands of locals to Gorky every day. Countless food and café stands scattered across the site provide visitors with everything imaginable – from Georgian delicacies, a decent café to traditional Russian kvass, or ice cream and smoothies in summer.

Concerts, art and privacy place

Even bigger crowd pullers are just the concerts in the park and these have a long tradition here. In 2018 alone, David Guetta, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Killers and Lana del Rey performed numerous international music greats Open Air. But even outside the big events there is always something to see in the Gorky. The modern art center “Garage” (website https://garagemca.org/en ) in the park holds regular art and design exhibitions. In addition, the art center gave the park the largest children’s playground in all of Russia for its 90th birthday in 2018. Numerous play equipment, including 29 different swings alone, are the perfect place to spend a few hours with the youngsters. Pedal boats can also be rented at several locations in the park, for example at the Andreevsky ponds, which is also suitable for children. Sports courses for adults are held regularly in the park. From jogging to yoga or Pilates there are organized courses – beach volleyball fields, soccer fields and an open air fitness studio offer further opportunities to do sports. Afterwards, beer gardens invite you to linger – all of this happens primarily in the central part of Gorky Park, known as the Neskuchny Garden. Would you like to experience Gorky Park and the magic of Moscow by yourself? Then you need a visa first – you can find out how to get it here !

Away from the central part: Muzeon and Sparrow Hills

In the section called Muzeon north of the Crimean Bridge there are over 1000 statues, Soviet monuments and modern art facilities. This open-air museum-like section of the Gorky invites you to take a walk that takes you past oversized and pompous Soviet busts as well as avant-garde art objects of the 21st century. Surrounded by statues of Lenin, this section looks partly surreal. The Stalin statue in particular, which had its nose removed, magically attracts visitors. For photographers, the sometimes slightly rusty busts and remains from the Soviet era offer great motifs. If you’d like to improve yourself as a promising photographer, you can even take a photography course in the park at Photoplay ( https://photoplay.ru/courses/workshop/photoplayatgorky.html ) At 2900 rubles, i.e. just under $ 41, this is significantly more affordable than comparable products in Asia or Australia. No wonder this section is considered an Instagram paradise for Moscow’s exploding hipster scene. Events are also held time and again in the Muzeon – for example, the warm months over and over here are held cinema screenings outdoors. Russian classics such as international cinema are shown. You have absolute peace in the Sparrow Hills, which also belong to the park but are spatially separated from the other part. About four kilometers further along the Moskva River out of town is this section of the Gorky Park, which is largely natural. There, just opposite the large Luzhniki Stadium on the other side of the Moskva River, where the Olympics and the World Cup finals have already taken place, there is another privacy place in the middle of Moscow. At the highest point of the Sparrow Hills, to which a cable car leads, you have a fantastic view of Moscow.

Alexander Popov

Welcome to Russia! My name is Alexander, I was born in Moscow and I'm a passionate tour guide. I want to share my passion for Russia and my hometown with you. On my website you will find useful information to make your individual trip to Russia as interesting as possible.

Moscow’s Top 13 – The Main Attractions of the Russian capital

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‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Sonequa Martin-Green on Showcasing Burnham’s Series-Long Journey

Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham in Star Trek: Discovery, episode 1, season 5

Spoiler Alert

Where No One Has Gone Before

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4 “Face the Strange.”]

The crew’s latest encounter with Moll ( Eve Harlow ) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis) sends two of its members on quite the timey wimey trip—including to Star Trek: Discovery ‘s past and (hopefully not) future.

Their foes planted a time bug on Adira’s ( Blu Del Barrio ) sleeve in the previous episode , and as a result, Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) and her Number One, Rayner ( Callum Keith Rennie ), go jumping through time. At one point, Burnham even encounters herself—the Season 1 version, fresh off being a mutineer and not trusted by any of the crew (including Airiam!).

Revisiting the past version of her character and fighting her as the present-day one “was one of my favorite moments,” Martin-Green raves to TV Insider. “We had such an amazing time shooting it, and I loved being able to see the contrast between who Burnham used to be and who she is now because I think it can be easy to forget how far she came over the course of the series, but you really see it right in front of your face. I love that they gave me that, and I love that they gave Burnham that as well, where her maturation was cemented because of that storyline, in my opinion.”

Figuring out which past events to revisit wasn’t too hard. “That was one of those that we really had to thread the needle on because we had the present-day story that was happening that they were exploring via these past incidents, and so it felt like we hit the things that we wanted to hit,” explains executive producer Michelle Paradise . “We thought it would be neat to see Airiam again.”

'Star Trek: Discovery' Stars Tease How Series Ends for Their Characters

The focus, the EP continues, “is about Burnham recognizing how far she has come. She has started the series as a mutineer and became captain, and that is quite a trajectory. To give our Burnham the chance to see who she used to be and just how far she’s come was really the heart of that entire episode. And so we just wanted to make sure that any past time we visited was supporting that goal.”

Due to Stamets’ ( Anthony Rapp ) tardigrade DNA, he lives outside of time and therefore was aware of what was happening around him, thusly a vital source for Burnham and Rayner—and aware that he’d already lived events like the Season 2 finale and Season 1. “I had such a good time getting to kind of live in both worlds, also as an actor, as a person reflecting back on that experience, which was from the first season,” Rapp shares. “It was a really special experience. It’s hard to separate in a way, Stamets’ experience from my own experience. There was very little difference between the two of us in a way because we were both revisiting something that was very impactful and having a lot of fun doing it.”

Rennie calls it “a bonding episode,” filled with Star Trek and Discovery history, for his and Martin-Green’s characters. He also enjoyed what we saw of Stamets and Rayner, who has been doing the bare minimum to get to know the crew but volunteers to help the former.

“We had a funny dynamic on set in person, and so then some of that plays into the work,” Rennie says. “You’re learning who’s going to go off on you and who’s not and how much. If you really want to get things done on this, you really have to learn how to communicate better. And with him is just one of those moments.”

But will Rayner take any of what he’s learned in this episode, especially the importance of getting to know his crew, going forward? “I think once you’ve gone through a considerable battle that seemed way out of control and you’ve fought a crisis, you’ve been in the trenches, there’s a respect built all around,” says Rennie.

What did you think of Discovery ‘s trip through time? What was your favorite part to relive? Let us know in the comments section, below.

Star Trek: Discovery , Thursdays, Paramount+

Star Trek: Discovery where to stream