[SustainableTompkins] Hybrid parade: just nibbling around the edges

[Andy Bailey Goodell]

I agree, but as long is there is gasoline to be used for transportation
people will be burning it. Similarly with conservation: the general
population will not take serious measures to conserve resources until their
disposable income has reached almost nothing (i.e. if they want to buy a new
TV they will need to conserve their energy use to save up that money). The
math shows that to be sustainable at this population, Americans need to use
about 1-2% of the energy they currently average. Is that something you are
ready to do? I'm down to about 10% of average, but that means I still have a
long way to go.

To think that even owning a car is truly sustainable would be kidding
ourselves. But while I try quite hard to reduce my energy use and impact in
all ways, the system around me (in all forms of infrastructure) is not, and
that makes it very hard to live a low-energy lifestyle. But as we have
'evolved' to want our own house with a big yard, a few parking spots, and
the ability to drive when we want, it will certainly take much time and
involve plenty of resistance to get away from that model.

The best we can really expect is nibbling around the edges until we are
forced by legislation, energy prices, or a drastic change in society by
choice.

Andy Goodell
1894 Charlotte Creek Road
Oneonta, NY 13820
(603) 831-0356
http://geekguyandy.com

-----Original Message-----
From: sustainabletompkins-bounces at lists.mutualaid.org
[mailto:sustainabletompkins-bounces at lists.mutualaid.org] On Behalf Of George
Frantz
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 11:02 PM
To: Sustainable Tompkins County listserv
Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] Hybrid parade: just nibbling around
theedges

Our 1983 VW Rabbit "Sparmeister" diesel with a simple 3-speed plus overdrive
standard transmission spent practically its entire 14 years and 130,000
miles puffing around the hills of Ithaca at 48 mpg actual city and 54 mpg
highway.  But it was simple, noisy, had a  1.8 liter engine, anemic
acceleration hard suspension and lacked air conditioning.
   
  My bike burns about 60 calories per mile.  Moreover, I can bike from my
home on Cliff Street in the morning and meet that same Prius that past my
house as I was leaving downtown at the corner of Green and Cayuga.
   
  But I live in the city where I work and deal with the issues that arise
because I live in a compact neighborhood in close proximity to people who do
not necessarily share my values or tastes and can be noisy and obnoxious on
occasion.  I deal with it, primarily because I feel that if the vast
majority of the world's population can live in harmony in close quarters
with each other then we Americans should be able to as well.
   
  Am I the only one who sees the contradiction in people living 5, 10, 15
miles out in the middle of nowhere and commuting daily to work in Ithaca,
each needlessly spewing 1,000-1,500 lbs or more of greenhouse gasses into
the atmospher every year driving to and fro, and still thinking of
themselves as being "green?" 
   
  Am I the only one wondering why the Ithaca urban area sprawls out over 11
square miles when cities in the rest of the world with similar size
populations take up only 2-3 square miles?  
   
  The Prius may be getting a few people almost back to where I was in 1984,
but it's still an example of how we as a society are simply nibbling around
the edges of the problem. We are still refusng to confront the fact that we
(a.k.a. the person in the bathroom mirror) have to acknowledge the high
environmental costs of our personal lifestyle choices if we are to have any
chance of reversing the destruction of our environment.
   
  George Frantz



       
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