I'm not talking about mechanics, I'm talking about attitude. I'm talking about the kind of holier-than-thou preening that implicitly relegates the rest of America to the category of the morally inferior.
The fact is that the vast majority of Americans -- I'd guess around 90 percent of them -- are dealing with economic tides about the best they can while swimming in a sea of government and media manipulation that very few people can resist. Yes, there is a group of people who might in some better world be held to account for what's happening -- the usual suspects. But most people have landed where they are through the operation of forces beyond their control. Here's a single mom with four kids who lives in the same place in Newfield that her family has lived in for 150 years, located on a side road that is not and probably never will be served by TCAT. She drives into Ithaca every day to her job at Wal-Mart in a car that doesn't get good mileage but is far beyond her means to replace. She feeds the kids GMO crap from Wal-Mart because she can't afford anything better. What's your solution for her? Tell her to commute to work on a bike? Give her a lecture on the need for population control and tell her to shoot two of the kids? What's your plan? Jon George Frantz wrote: > On Fri, 7/18/08, Jon Bosak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Oh, that's right, without those wasteful vehicles, they're not going to be > able to get it to you, are they? Tsk. > > Jon, > > On our farms we really never had any use for all those cars Andy Goodell was > referring to when it came to getting our goods to the city. > > On our farms we used trucks, not cars, to transport the tons, not pounds, of > our farms' production to market. Between the dozen or so farms owned by the > members of the clan we had the 1/2-3/4 ton pick-up for small loads, 2 or 3 > single-axle large trucks and at least one ten-wheel truck owned by an uncle > but available to other family members as needed. Milk production was hauled > away by a truck - owned and operated by a local family. > > For large shipments like bulk grain, hay and straw we would contract with a > local indpendent owner/operator or a tractor-trailer to haul goods to market. > > I've seen nothing in the past couple of decades to make me think that this > practice has not changed among farmers. > > My farmer in-laws in Viet Nam still rely on the old standby that Tom Shelley > referenced in his e-mail, the handcart. On flat land they can haul a > 500-1,000 pounds of produce the 10 miles to market in Hoi An in about 3 > hours. But I'm willing to bet they are in far better physical condition than > any reader of this post. > > One of the horrible negatives of the urban density model I advocated a few > months ago is the elimination of that suburban American sacred cow known as > the sideyard. Eliminating the sideyard in favor of townhouse party-wall > architecture however would free up 25%-30% of the land currently wasted in > cities such as Ithaca and let it be utilized for more productive, greener > use, like community gardens within walking distance of ones home. > > Our colonial predecessors here and America brought that concept from Europe > 400 years ago. Outside the United States 99 percent of the world's urban > denizens understand the concept. It's pretty amazing in this "enlightened" > day and age that we still can't figure it out. > > George Frantz > > > --- On Fri, 7/18/08, Jon Bosak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > From: Jon Bosak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] Prius/electric Cars Could Be Polluters > To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" > <[email protected]> > Date: Friday, July 18, 2008, 3:21 PM > > Andy Goodell wrote: > | I specifically chose to live in a place that I knew I would easily > | get along without owning a car. I get everywhere by bike except > | when I have been lazy and use the moped, which is about $2 of gas > | per month with my current usage. > > Good thing someone else is willing to grow your food for you. > > Oh, that's right, without those wasteful vehicles, they're not > going to be able to get it to you, are they? Tsk. > > Jon > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please > visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please > visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
