I think about this often - that everyone wants to maintain their own little private mobile space which is a sacred as your own bedroom. No one can enter it and there is no sharing. The sheer number of single occupant cars on the roads of Sydney drives me mad.
My solution is deck all buses out with Mad Max style spikes, bull bars and huge suspension and just let them destroy any cars in their path. That would instantly increase the usage of buses because a) it would be fun and b) it would be too dangerous to drive a car.
I mean, if we're going to descend into some environmental post-apocalyptic landscape, surely we should get started as soon as possible and at least make it exciting for public transport users?
Don DeLillo expertly investigates the human meaning of waste throughout sections of Underworld. He seems more interested in the concept and application of landfills, though.
Our public transport system is the pits or else I would make use of it. I'm only about 9 miles from my office, so driving or biking 2 miles to the nearest bustop to then ride for an hour only to bike/walk another 2 miles to my office just doesn't make much sense. I wish it dead.
Instead, I mow my hard with a me-powered reel motor and hopefully that counts for something!
thanks for the comments folks. I can't help wishing there was more or better connected public transport, but everything's built for cars and convenience here (in Australia). Which makes it difficult to go green etc. Riding the bike is good - am going to be doing more of that. And just walking. Quitting work in the CBD helped too - but now I got no money. See, it's all connected ;-)
A great insight my friend. Have you ever considered that the purchase price of an item is based on it's cost to produce only, never on it's cost to dispose of? Production plus disposal is the true cost of the item. Except waste isn't sexy, so we ignore it, pretend it doesn't exist, throw it out in the trash.
Take plastic bags. People say you should use less, because they're bad for the environment. But we use them still because they are cheap. If plastic bags had to factor in the cost of disposal they would no longer be cheap. Bang - an instant decrease in use, and without any real consumer problem. We'd all simply switch to recycled paper bags instead.
Now think the same way about petrol. Are petrol fumes accounted for in the amount you pay at the pump? ... ?
There are alternatives waiting if only we were financially incentivised to use less of the damn stuff.
Rod - yes, I think in Holland all new white goods have a recycling or disposal charge incorporated in the price.
But speaking of prices - there's no such thing as a fair production cost reflecting value any more. Not only from the sales angle (the sales price IS the retail price), but from the China Price angle - the real costs of production aren't holistic or equitable across nations. So that super cheap Chinese DVD player from Target (yes, I'm guilty) might have dodgily sourced metals, be put together by underpaid/overworked laborers, and then sold heavily discounted on foreign markets where it'll fail within a year and necessitate a replacement (dumped in landfill) - keeping the whole illegitimate production cycle afloat. I think Raj Patel has covered this with his analysis of the $200 hamburger.
Many people know or suspect that it's wrong, but will happily keep paying cheap prices because everything else is demanding their money. iPhones, new cars, shoes, beer etc etc
I think about this often - that everyone wants to maintain their own little private mobile space which is a sacred as your own bedroom. No one can enter it and there is no sharing. The sheer number of single occupant cars on the roads of Sydney drives me mad.
ReplyDeleteMy solution is deck all buses out with Mad Max style spikes, bull bars and huge suspension and just let them destroy any cars in their path. That would instantly increase the usage of buses because a) it would be fun and b) it would be too dangerous to drive a car.
I mean, if we're going to descend into some environmental post-apocalyptic landscape, surely we should get started as soon as possible and at least make it exciting for public transport users?
indeed, I think that plan has legs, The Cars That Ate Sydney. Maybe Peter Weir can provide some tips and pointers.
ReplyDeleteDon DeLillo expertly investigates the human meaning of waste throughout sections of Underworld. He seems more interested in the concept and application of landfills, though.
ReplyDeleteOur public transport system is the pits or else I would make use of it. I'm only about 9 miles from my office, so driving or biking 2 miles to the nearest bustop to then ride for an hour only to bike/walk another 2 miles to my office just doesn't make much sense. I wish it dead.
ReplyDeleteInstead, I mow my hard with a me-powered reel motor and hopefully that counts for something!
thanks for the comments folks. I can't help wishing there was more or better connected public transport, but everything's built for cars and convenience here (in Australia). Which makes it difficult to go green etc. Riding the bike is good - am going to be doing more of that. And just walking. Quitting work in the CBD helped too - but now I got no money. See, it's all connected ;-)
ReplyDeletehere's the site with the slightly neater version:
ReplyDeletehttp://creativistsociety.tumblr.com/
A great insight my friend. Have you ever considered that the purchase price of an item is based on it's cost to produce only, never on it's cost to dispose of? Production plus disposal is the true cost of the item. Except waste isn't sexy, so we ignore it, pretend it doesn't exist, throw it out in the trash.
ReplyDeleteTake plastic bags. People say you should use less, because they're bad for the environment. But we use them still because they are cheap. If plastic bags had to factor in the cost of disposal they would no longer be cheap. Bang - an instant decrease in use, and without any real consumer problem. We'd all simply switch to recycled paper bags instead.
Now think the same way about petrol. Are petrol fumes accounted for in the amount you pay at the pump? ... ?
There are alternatives waiting if only we were financially incentivised to use less of the damn stuff.
Rod - yes, I think in Holland all new white goods have a recycling or disposal charge incorporated in the price.
ReplyDeleteBut speaking of prices - there's no such thing as a fair production cost reflecting value any more. Not only from the sales angle (the sales price IS the retail price), but from the China Price angle - the real costs of production aren't holistic or equitable across nations. So that super cheap Chinese DVD player from Target (yes, I'm guilty) might have dodgily sourced metals, be put together by underpaid/overworked laborers, and then sold heavily discounted on foreign markets where it'll fail within a year and necessitate a replacement (dumped in landfill) - keeping the whole illegitimate production cycle afloat. I think Raj Patel has covered this with his analysis of the $200 hamburger.
Many people know or suspect that it's wrong, but will happily keep paying cheap prices because everything else is demanding their money. iPhones, new cars, shoes, beer etc etc