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The Darwinistic Roads
***SEE CAMPAIGN 'BIKE FOR PEACE' BELOW***
"Apparently wolves like to drive Hondas, and my Suburban is NOT even on the list."
I don't think that nowdays a vehicle's insurance premium is related to its predatory ways. Well, it should be, but they got too much money, and thus too much political power to let that happen.
A wolf can drive a Honda or a Hummer, but the latter gives him REAL TEETH. In other words, the Big Fish runs the show...
http://www.joryjohn.com/waterville/big/suv-fishII.jpg
***
Allowing for NO CHOICES is part of the strategy to keep you feeding the dinosaur. You must drive --something big if you want to be "safe" on America's Darwinistic roads-- and thus become part of the problem that ultimately causes ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS and WAR. There's a way out of it, though, which is to take personal responsibility and ride a bike, use public transportation and walk.
We shouldn't bury our head in the sand...
PICNIC AT THE PARK
"Don't worry be happy," said the soccer mom trying to calm the nervous little girl, "nothing to worry about; it's only war and environmental damage around us."
Then she got on the gas-guzzling SUV and drove --after stopping at McDonald's for a Happy Meal-- the sad girl to the lifeless polluted lake nearby. "Hey let's turn on the radio," the mom said. And the news came on: "More soldiers killed in Iraq," and then, "Orange Alert for America." "Don't you worry, little one," reassured the soccer mom, quickly changing the station.
THE PROBLEM
TRANSPORTATION
One of the major differences that a visitor from Europe (both Eastern
and Western) encounters on coming to the United States is in
transportation. In Europe the emphasis is on public transit, while in
the U.S. the emphasis is on individual private transportation. Both have
their advantages and disadvantages. If you want to get from the ghost
town of Terlingua (famous for its annual chili cookout) to the hottest
little place in Texas named Presidio you must closely follow the
American shore of the Rio Grande. There is only one road there and
almost no traffic, so it is advisable to use a private automobile and
take plenty of drinking water. On the other hand, if you want to get
from Columbus Circle to the Columbia University in Upper Manhattan, the
transport of preference would probably be the Metro. Not necessarily
because the New York Metro is that much faster than a ride by an
automobile, but because parking in every large city is an expensive and
generally time consuming undertaking. New York City is one of the few
American cities that possesses public transportation, alas decaying and
inadequate for a city of that size.
Inhabitants of most American cities do not really understand what public
transportation is all about because they were never exposed to it. To
them public transit are buses running every half- hour and only during
the day. Consequently, without a taxicab it is virtually impossible to
get, in reasonable time, from point A to point B in an average size
American city. However, transportation by automobile is increasingly
congested especially at the so called "rush hours." These are the times
when the capacity of the existing thoroughfares and connecting roads
reaches its limit and traffic slows to a standstill. Traffic congestions
are a typical dilemma that existed already at the time of Nikita
Kruschev's visit to the United Nations in New York City. At that time
the New Yorkers were still somewhat proud of their monumental traffic
jams because this phenomenon flaunted their riches before the eyes of
the world. Now however, it appears, they agree with the remark of Mr.
Kruschev who surveyed the situation and told them "What a waste" by some
accounts and "What a nonsense" by other accounts. A quarter of a century
after Kruschev's visit most American cities still do not have a viable
public transit system.
The uncontrollable desire for quick profits subverts among other things
also the efficiency of automobile transportation and creates waste not
only in loss of time suffered by the drivers and passengers, but also in
excess fuel consumption. The so called "turnpikes" are some of the most
pernicious capitalist inventions. These are roads owned by special
semi-private groups, called "authorities". They are bounded by toll
booths, where the motorists are required to stop and pay a certain fee
to the owners of the road. Paying of the toll is a slow process and
there are only a limited number of toll collectors. It does not take
much imagination to foresee what will happen when a certain critical
capacity is exceeded. Traffic backs up for many miles and proceeds at
the breathtaking speed of about three miles per hour. The situation
could be remedied if the toll booth operators would take bar code
readings and if necessary video snapshots of the license plates of the
passing automobiles. It appears however, that the owners of the
turnpikes are afraid that they would not be able to collect their money.
Hence, the major links of the transportation system will continue to
regularly break down at times when most needed.
Every European who visits the city of Los Angeles cannot fail to notice
the acute transportation headaches that the inhabitants of that city
must endure. Most transatlantic visitors think that the solution to all
Los Angeles transportation problems is exceedingly simple: rapid trains
at 5 to 10 minutes intervals and parking lots adequately staffed with
short range electric cars. Unfortunately, an average American's habits
are a major part of the transportation and pollution problem. Since the
early years of this century when the rails were pulled out, courtesy of
oil and car manufacturing companies, he became so dependent on his
automobile that even a temporary separation is to him a traumatic
experience. He realizes that public transport is safer, faster,
healthier and cleaner than individual driving; that it allows him
pursuit of some of his favorite leisure activities such as reading and
writing. Nevertheless he is still reluctant to part with his jalopy and
limit his driving to only these occasions where private car is
irreplaceabke.
In American democracy important decisions are usually made by small
powerful groups. The decisions, favoring the interests of these groups
are almost always made at the expense of a much larger but powerless and
silent majority.
***
(The following extract explains how this problem with public transportation came about. Source: book "Fast Food Nation," by Eric Schlosser.)
The automobile offered drivers a feeling of independence and control. Daily travel was freed from the hassles of rail schedules, the needs of other passengers, and the location of trolley stops. More importantly, driving seemed to cost much less than using public transport --an illusion created by the fact that the price of a new car did not include the price of building new roads. Lobbyists from the oil, tire, and automobile industries, among others, had persuaded state and federal agencies to assume that fundamental expense. Had the big auto companies been required to pay for the roads --in the same way that trolley companies had to lay and maintain track-- the landscape of the American West would look quite different today.
The automobile industry, however, was not content simply to reap the benefits of government-subsidized road construction. It was determined to wipe out railway competition by whatever means necessary. In the late 1920s, General Motors secretly began to purchase trolley systems throughout the United States, using a number of front corporations. Trolley systems in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Montgomery, Alabama, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and El Paso, Texas, in Baltimore, Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles --more than one hundred trolley systems in all-- were purchased by GM and then completly dismantled, their tracks ripped up, their overhead wires torn down. The trolley companies were turned into bus lines, and the new buses were manufactured by GM.
General Motors eventually persuaded other companies that benefited from road building to help pay for the costly takeover of America's trolleys. In 1947, GM and a number of its allies in the scheme were indicted on federal antitrust charges. Two years later, the workings of the conspiracy, and its underlying intentions, were exposed during a trial in Chicago. GM, Mack Truck, Firestone, and Standard Oil of California were all found guilty on one of the two counts by the federal jury. The investigative journalist Jonathan Kwitny later argued that the case was "a fine example of what can happen when important matters of public policy are abandoned by government to the self-interests of corporations." Judge William J. Campbell was not so outraged. As punishment, the ordered GM and the other companies to pay a fine of $5,000 each. The executives who had secretly plotted and carried out the destruction of America's light rail network were fined $1 each. And the postwar reign of the automobile proceeded without much further challenge.
***
A SOLUTION (Curitiba, Brazil)
The urban transportation system is one of Curitiba's best-known planning
successes, a model for cities around world that want to implement
eco-efficient transportation networks that are well-integrated with
urban form and produce environmental benefits.
The city pioneered the idea of an all-bus transit network with special
bus-only avenues created along well-defined structural axes that were
also used to channel the city's growth. The transit system is rapid and
cheap, and is currently being integrated with the metropolitan region.
Its efficiency encourages people to leave their cars at home. Curitiba
has one of highest rates of car ownership in Brazil, and high population
growth. Yet auto traffic has dropped substantially; Curitiba has the
highest public ridership of any Brazilian city (about 2.14 million
passengers a day), and it registers the country's lowest rates of
ambient pollution and per capita gas consumption. In addition, an
inexpensive "social fare" promotes equality, benefiting poorer residents
settled on the city's periphery. A standard fare is charged for all
trips, meaning shorter rides subsidize longer ones. One fare can take a
passenger 70 kilometers.
***
'Of course, there are reasons why the American government no longer
helps us make war-related connections, mostly having to do with where
those connections might lead us politically. There's a World War
II-era government poster that reads "Should brave men die so you can
drive?"—a question we might well ask ourselves today. But don't count
on the government to ask it, not in an age where campaign
contributions from oil companies are so important to getting elected.'
(see link 'bin Laden' below)
Do you have bin Laden for copilot?
drivers deserve liberation
Bike for Peace
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