I appreciate all the really cool 'self driving cars' and 'long chain-coupling cars' and Tesla cars and all those really cool futuristic new technologies and Hybrid Cars, and electric cars and all that crap. But let's not kid ourselves. These things miss the point. If you really want to help. If you want to reduce traffic and to reduce your carbon footprint, then:
Stop-Fucking-Driving.
We don't need a new design solution or a fantastic new technology. What we need is to get cars off the road.
I would love to see what the fuel efficiency difference is between a Prius driven by one person and a Econoline van carrying eight people. I bet it's pretty close and I bet the Van still wins out. This notion that we can have our cake and eat it too, that we own the open road and cars represent freedom - these notions are helping to fuel a Global Warming lifestyle. If we insist on avoiding one another, and isolating ourselves and not looking at our ugly neighbors on the bus, then we are just digging deeper, no matter what cutting edge and expensive technology we have. The Prius is just working harder to preserve this Global Warming lifestyle rather than to create a sustainable alternative.
According to this government list of best and worst fuel economy cars, the best fuel economy is the Chevy Spark at 119 and the Prius scores a mere 42. And the worst Large-sized fuel economy is Rolls Royce Phantom at 14. Using completely made up math, if we multiply the efficiency for every person riding the car (take off 15% for added weight) then we get an efficiency of 71.4 for the Rolls Royce, easily trouncing a Prius driven by one person. My math may be made up, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be somewhere near the mark.
Now, this doesn't reach the efficiency of the Chevy Spark, but it gets in the ballpark. And very few people can afford either of these cars, so they will have to settle for something, ironically, more or less fuel efficient. You can organize the list by excluding electric cars, and when you do, the numbers are even closer. As the low end and high end grow together, the carpool in a less efficient vehicle will be further and further in the lead. I hope this illustrates that a change in behavior is more powerful and less expensive than a change in technology when it comes to fuel efficiency.
-D
Link: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/best-worst.shtml
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Slogans I'd like to see
"Nobody Drives in New York; There's too much traffic" - Phillip J Fry
Hate Traffic?
Drive Less.
Carpool.
Don't Drive at all.
Take the Bus.
Ride a Bike.
Walk.
While I love to search for design solutions to traffic problems, the biggest cause of traffic is: Driving a car. I took the bus across the causeway the other day, and just for fun, in the last two minutes of the drive, I started counting the cars I saw with only one occupant. I counted twenty five- in literally two minutes.
A series of five carpools could drop that count by 80%. One bus could drop it by 96%. One bus can take 24 cars off the road, if each is carrying only one passenger, which it likely is. This is just rough number-play, of course. Chances are one bus doesn't go everywhere these people need to go, and they certainly don't have the capacity to carry 25 bicycles to help bridge that gap. But still, with a little planning, the bus can work for anyone, which leads me to another slogan:
Hate Traffic?
Practice Patience.
This suggestion works on multiple levels. If you are stuck in traffic, practicing patience can help you cope with it, since there's very little you can do to change things once you are stuck in gridlock. Another way patience works is that it allows you to pursue alternate transportation options. If you are patient, you can get where you're going without having to drive. It may take a while longer, it may require you to be in a room with strangers, it may require you to pedal for twenty minutes in the hot sun, but it will get you there. A little patience goes a long way. All the tools to save money and avoid traffic are available, if you choose to use them.
And frankly, we could use major boosts in public transportation funding and bicycle friendly road design. But you have to work with what you have.
Hate Traffic?
Drive Less.
Carpool.
Don't Drive at all.
Take the Bus.
Ride a Bike.
Walk.
While I love to search for design solutions to traffic problems, the biggest cause of traffic is: Driving a car. I took the bus across the causeway the other day, and just for fun, in the last two minutes of the drive, I started counting the cars I saw with only one occupant. I counted twenty five- in literally two minutes.
A series of five carpools could drop that count by 80%. One bus could drop it by 96%. One bus can take 24 cars off the road, if each is carrying only one passenger, which it likely is. This is just rough number-play, of course. Chances are one bus doesn't go everywhere these people need to go, and they certainly don't have the capacity to carry 25 bicycles to help bridge that gap. But still, with a little planning, the bus can work for anyone, which leads me to another slogan:
Hate Traffic?
Practice Patience.
This suggestion works on multiple levels. If you are stuck in traffic, practicing patience can help you cope with it, since there's very little you can do to change things once you are stuck in gridlock. Another way patience works is that it allows you to pursue alternate transportation options. If you are patient, you can get where you're going without having to drive. It may take a while longer, it may require you to be in a room with strangers, it may require you to pedal for twenty minutes in the hot sun, but it will get you there. A little patience goes a long way. All the tools to save money and avoid traffic are available, if you choose to use them.
And frankly, we could use major boosts in public transportation funding and bicycle friendly road design. But you have to work with what you have.
Bicycle map of Tahoe Park, East Sac, CSUS region
I've been tinkering with Google custom maps, mostly to point out places in my neighborhood that are safe to bike and places that could use improvement. Have a look at the following link:
http://tinyurl.com/kg96p6x
This map got the attention of the Tahoe Park Preservation Association, who will be holding a bike/walk Audit of the neighborhood on Saturday, June 28th.
http://tinyurl.com/kg96p6x
This map got the attention of the Tahoe Park Preservation Association, who will be holding a bike/walk Audit of the neighborhood on Saturday, June 28th.
Friday, June 13, 2014
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