Being mobile is a part of being
human. Sure, we don't fly like birds or swim like fish, but we've managed to
emulate and adapt beyond our physical limitations more than any other creature
in the known universe - we get around.
Mobility is, however, about more than
just getting around. It's also about independence, it's about freedom, it's
about quality of life, and it's about privacy. What do I mean by that?
Imagine planning a birthday party for
a 9-year old. Five kids going from Chuck E. Cheese to a movie, and it happens
to be pouring rain. Try doing that on the city bus, if you live in an urban
centre. Or in a cab. Now compare that to the freedom of piling into the minivan
and getting on with the festivities.
Grocery shopping in winter is pain
enough. Doing it on the city bus?
Taking the kids to hockey or soccer
or whatever you do to keep the youngsters active, stimulated and busy?
I want to like and use public
transit, but standing at a bus stop for an hour in the dead of winter is the
wrong time and place to think about how much I'm doing for the environment vs
those polluters passing me by, getting on with their lives, warm and on the
move.
A loved one has died. Are you, along
with family members in a state of mourning, going to take the city bus to the
funeral parlour?
Am I sounding selfish? Perhaps. But
western civilization has an assumption of personal space, of privacy, that is
part of a free society. That can be difficult on any kind of mass transit.
Well, consider how much the price of
a dozen eggs or a head of lettuce might cost if it was delivered by bicycle.
Delivering a lot of stuff in one big truck is more efficient than sending a
bunch of smaller vehices - and less traffic too. And even if you "buy
local", farmers from out of town still have to bring their produce
"to market", which usually means somewhere populated and somewhere
else than where they are farming. Or, you can go out to the farm and pick up
your fresh produce...but you won't get it done if you're walking.
What society needs is a wholistic
balanced mix of transportation options that maximizes mode with need. I don't
need to be the single occupant of a full-sized four door sedan just commuting
back and forth to work. If I could live close to where I work and walk or cycle
or use public transit, great.
Social responsibility should also
trump corporate responsibility and force corporations to develop technology
that is environmentally and ecologically more harmonious. Alternative fuel and
power solutions for large vehicles (ships, airplanes, transit vehicles) should
be made law sooner than later to ease the greenhouse footprint (regardless upon
which side of the greenhouse debate you fall, polluting/consuming less is a
good idea)...having said that, it's to be noted that passenger vehicles are
responsible for approximately 12-20% of the carbon emitted into the atmosphere.
Put another way - if all cars were zero emissions vehicles, 80% of the sources
for carbon emissions would still be there. Statistically speaking, cars have
taken a somewhat unfair bad rap - if we, as a society, are serious about
reducing our carbon footprint, there are plenty other bigger emissions sources
we can target to get cleaner.
There's lots we can do. But, in the
meantime, we all can - and should, I think - appreciate how cars have
contributed to our quality of life, directly or indirectly.
1 comment:
Nice articles!I really enjoyed it reading,specially about mobile freedom.
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