Posts Tagged ‘Public Transportation’

Yesterday I asked if there were places were we could apply the 80/20 rule to benefit the environment. I indicated that the were and that I would share some of them today.

Just to clarify, we are looking for places were we can put forth 20% of the total effort for complete “green living” and achieve 80% of the benefits. If we can do that, then we will not only be well on our way to living in a more environmentally friendly manner, but we will also be doing it in a way that we are most likely able to sustain.

Here are some areas that take little effort, but could have a big effect on our impact on the environment.

Telecommuting, car pooling, consolidating trips, walking, biking, and public transportation

Weather stripping, insulating, and applying plastic film to our windows

Decreasing our thermostats a few degrees and wearing seasonal appropriate clothing

Recycling, reducing, and reusing

Composing

All of these ideas take little effort - just a change in our lifestyle. Yet if we all started to apply them, the benefits to the environment would be huge.

Right now various levels of government are in talks with the auto sector trying desperately to keep it alive. After all, too many jobs are at stake to allow it to fail.

I’m sorry… are we missing the point?

It’s not a huge secret that the North American approach to transportation (that is, the private car) is extremely damaging to the environment. For years governments have been desperately trying to motivate people to use public transportation. The results from their efforts have been almost non-existent.

Here are the two main reasons why I think this is:

• Public transportation is not as convenient as a private car. With public transportation I have to adjust my schedule to fit that of everyone else. I do not have the freedom to come and go as easily as in a car. In addition, a trip on public transportation often takes longer than in a car.

• For the most part, the auto sector is not selling transportation. That may sound odd, but if you watch their marketing carefully you will discover that they are selling an image. Almost none of the commercials are about how a vehicle can transport you. They are all about how the vehicle will make you feel and how others will admire you.

We know that we need to make some changes in our society. We are trying to get people to make those changes by promoting public transportation. We are currently faced with an opportunity – the auto sector is failing. But we just don’t have courage to see the changes through.

We reason that we can’t allow people to lose their jobs or their investments – so we prop up an environmentally damaging industry because of politics. After all, any government that allowed that many people to lose their jobs would surely lose the next election.

Bust as is usually the case, it doesn’t have to be an “either or” case… we can make compromises, change the way we’re doing things, and make improvements for both the economy and the environment.

What if the stimulus money that is being injected into the ailing auto sector was instead directed towards public transportation projects? What if we improved public transportation so that it did become expedient and comfortable? What if we helped the auto sector workers apply their current skills to building, selling, running, and maintaining public transportation?

What if we used those companies that build cars and car parts to make public transportation convenient rather than propping them up so they can promote their products as an image?

We have an opportunity for change here. Why are we continuing to force life into an industry that damages the environment and is proving itself to be economically unfeasible? I would suggest it is because of politics – but politics never protected the environment.

Please let me know your comments.