Transportation
Planes Trains and Automobiles, maybe some of you remember that old gem of a movie though maybe some of you are to young to know. It is a tale about a man trying to get home for Thanksgiving. But frankly I am more interested in the title of the movie than the movie itself.
Planes, trains and automobiles are the backbone of the American transportation system without them the country would not be as it is. But I am willing to argue the point that maybe they are being used to much and are no longer simple a mode of transportation but are now a way of life. A way of life that has been documented to have impacts to the environment. The one I wish to discuss in this post however the use of automobiles.
I live in a small town of about 750 people for about 2 years now and I have noticed one thing about the people of this town, they love their cars. I have seen reasonably healthy younger to middle age people drive the 2 blocks to grocery store and pick up 1- 2 bags of groceries. Does that seem insane to anyone else? Why would you spend the money on the gas and wear and tear on the car. Now I realize that 2 blocks is not far so the cost would be minimal to your wallet but what about the cost to your health if such habits continued. The real irony of all this is I have seen a 80 year old man walk about half a mile to grocery store while walking his dog to pick up the same amount of groceries. The way people think and act about their health and the environment these days frankly astounds me. Such wasteful usage of our precious transportation resources and our own bodies just doesn't make any sense.
For a small town like mine I believe a two pronged approach is needed to stop and reverse this wasteful uses of our resources. The first thing to do would be to establish a education program that outlines the true cost of using vehicular resources so frivolous ways. It would cover the,
- Inefficiencies of in town driving
- Wear and tear on car from short drives
- Health dangers
- Loss of exercise opportunities
- Loss of social interactions
- Other various environmental impacts.
The second would be to develop a infrastructure that would support the usage of non-polluting and more efficient transportation. This would include developing better sidewalks to support the usage by pedestrians and bicyclists. For those that don't have bicycles a rental program or free to use system should be established to provide bicycles to any one that would need them. I would also like to see the usage of electric golf carts increase for the use of transporting goods or people that are sick or elderly that may have need of them. While I realize that golf carts would be powered by coal burning plants they are more efficient than when compared to internal combustion engines (ICE). Coal plants on average are around 34% efficient while a standard ICE is only around 26% efficient so the shift to electric powered vehicles in town would be worth it. Plus if the community were to implement the energy saving and production methods I covered in part 1 of this post they would be able to power these carts on renewables eventually.
Lifestyle
This would be the hardest to change I believe. We Americans have become accustomed to a fast paced high energy lifestyle and boy oh boy do we love it. But a change must be made if we are to survive as a society. This way of life cannot be sustained and that is a fact we cannot avoid for much longer. So how to bring about this change is the question that must be answered. I believe that education will be key to bringing about this change. People cannot be made to care about the environment. They must be shown how their actions and lifestyle has impacts far beyond just what they can see. They must be show that when they throw something in the trash that doesn't mean it is gone. They must be shown that we are rapidly using our finite resources that cannot be replaced. They must be show how to live a different life.
To live a different life is the reason I have started this blog and why I share what discover with the world at large. This blog is coverage of my journey towards living a sustainable life. It is a journey that will take me the rest of my life.
Please feel free to comment on this post and offer any suggestions you might have on how Em"Powering" Small Communities might happen.
Sources:
http://web.mit.edu/mitei/docs/reports/beer-emissions.pdf
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/atv.shtml
http://www.passivhaus.org.uk/standard.jsp?id=37
http://205.254.135.7/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=86&t=1
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