this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2023
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Fuck Cars
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It is straight up delusional to believe we could just flip a switch and not have cars anymore. And I also notice you still haven't provided an actual solution outside of "just use trains, bicycles, or walk."
Whenever I see takes like this, I just assume they aren't from, or maybe have never visited, America. The majority of the country was built on the assumption of travel via automobile from public transportation (or the lack thereof) to urban planning to housing. For the country to function without cars, it would require massive renovations to rebuild cities vertically, install a vast and complex rail system, and completely alter the culture of work and trade. And we can totally do this, but it will be very expensive and take a very long time, and to suggest investing in EVs in the meantime is somehow foolish because it doesn't fully solve the problem is a bit dense. You can do both at once, not that we are, to be fair.
Fully investing in sustainable public transportation and infrastructure is something that would have to take at least a decade, even with absolute maximum commitment. So, yes, anyone who thinks that you can "just switch to trains, bicycles, or walking" is incredibly naive and absolutely fantasizing. Not suggesting it can't be done but we have to live in reality where cost, labor, time, and public interest are factors and those make "just" doing it a bit more complex.
@Tarcion @Not_mikey
Hello Tarcion
Happy to have you here joining this conversation. I completely agree that the USA will not stop driving cars overnight.
This is mostly because USA hasn't even cottoned on the fact that cars are really bad for cities, the environment and humanity. (That's not to say all cars and vehicles are bad, there are shades of grey, but those single occupancy short trips are really bad)
There is an amazing amount of information out there on how we get rid of cars. There are literally hundreds of YouTube channels, Podcasts and Blogs. It's really good thought-provoking and inspiring stuff. None of them have a magic fix for Traffication (that is the name of a great book you should read), but together, they show an America, that is less car dependent is very much possible.
The very first part of this journey is to educate ourselves on this subject and share our knowledge with others. Which I hope you will do. If you want help finding information on a particular aspect of ending, Car Depdency ask me and I'll point you in the right direction.
Cheers
Lee
Yhe first part of the journey is getting you to not sound like your from the 1800s.
I think everyone here, even the ones 'fighting' to save cars, can all agree cars are not good for the environment. It's just some of us live in areas where the nearest store is 20 minutes away, never mind work or friends. The public transportation when running here barely gets used because the stops are still far away from where you need to go since everything is in BFE. So either you need to get sweaty walking where you need to go, or get an Uber and use a car anyway.
So, what's your solution to that Mr. Lee?
@UrPartnerInCrime
Cool. So you do see there is a problem. That's the important bit, and after that it's about working for change.
The Fossil Fuels Industry has done a great job of making people feel guilty about their "CO2 Footprint" but I don't think we should. The reason why you don't have options is because the system the Fossil Fuels Companies have supported and encouraged for 100 Years have taken those choices away and created a situation when many lifestyles are only possible with cars.
So my advice to you is don't worry about it, it's not your fault you don't have choices. Carry on as you are. If you can get a more efficient vehicle, that would be nice, but if you can't afford one, no problem.
What you can do is support all those people, organisations, and politicians who live in cities where we can have transport choices. Vote for politicians who want transport choices. Support organisations that are fighting parking minimums, working for mass transit and bike lanes, in urban areas, where changes can be made.
We need to pick the low hanging fruit. Who knows, one day you might move to one of these places!
Man, you talk in a way that makes people in your side not want to be on your side
@UrPartnerInCrime
Didn't you like my solution?
I have a fuel efficient truck that I use all the time. I only drive if I need be. I try to educate people on helping the planet as much as I can. I bought my reusable bags and use the faithfully. I vut down on my meat consumption.
So don't tell me to just sit down and continue doing nothing. I immediately agreed there was a problem but your acting like I'm on the other side.
So no, Lee, I didn't like your solution because it comes off like a pretentious douche said it.
I didn't say we could just flip a switch, like you said it will be a long and difficult process, but it will take even longer if we continue to focus on evs as the solution. We could do both at once with unlimited funds and will but we don't have that, there's opportunity cost, each dollar we spend on ev subsidies is one not going to projects that can reduce emissions by a lot more like high speed rail and electric bus infrastructure, and currently were spending hundreds of billions of public and private money on evs while almost completely ignoring the other more sustainable solutions. The sustainability movement in the u.s. has very limited funds and public will, and to spend most of that on halfway solutions is short sighted. We need to focus all the resources we can into this because like you said, even with that it would take decades and were running out of time.
I do live in America and have for almost all my life. I have traveled all around this country and know that most of it is extremely car dependent. But my reaction to that is not the problem is so big, we should just do small incremental changes, it's the problem is so big and were running out of time, we need to do a full 180 right now if I want future generations to not live in a hellscape.
All of this is also just about sustainability, cars are bad for a myriad of other reasons, like the comic says, along with discouraging exercise and exasperating income inequality, and anything that helps people realize how bad they are and denormalizes them is a good thing.