The fact that the question "Have You Driven a Bus or a Train Lately?" is even being posed indicative of the pathetically un-environmentally oriented state of American society's attitudes. As for Mr. Goodman's statement: "As we now know, warnings like these (Udall's) went unheeded, and Americans became ever more car-dependent. And now, the auto industry is asking for government money that promises, even with more fuel-efficient cars, to give us more of the same. Instead of supporting companies that want to put as many cars on the road as possible, we need a transformational strategy." It is not the government that made the American automobile industry what it is today, and it is not the government that needs a transformational strategy. It's WE, the PEOPLE, the faces looking out from the bathroom mirror, who created the monster, and it's WE, the PEOPLE who need not a transformational strategy, but a major transformation in attitude with regard to what constitutes an environmentally responsible lifestyle. Me? I took the bus five times in the past week; the subway (NYC) twice; the bike 14-15 times; walked seven times (+/- 5 miles total) and took the car 5 times. But I can do that, because I made a lifestyle choice 20 years ago to stay in the city and deal with city "problems" like noise, traffic and my close neighbors' lifestyle choices. I chose to do so instead of moving to the suburbs or, worse, 5-10 miles beyond to some quaint village or into the middle of the woods. That wasn't government policy or automotive industry practice. That was personal choice. WE are the problem. WE are the solution. That is if we want to be the solution. Speaking of transformational policy by the way, why not just euthanize the carmakers and give the $$$ to cities to upgrade their systems? That would provide high quality local jobs, spur local economic development, free up a lot of urban and suburban land wasted on car dealerships and parking lots for more ecologically responsible uses such as decent, affordable housing. It would also enable Bombardier, Kawasaki and other industries that specialize in mass transit reap the profit of their investment in plant, equipment and product design. There are indeed other options to saving the automobile industry, if we as a society stop being fixated on the automobile as a mode of transportation, and stop sustaining the industry with our lifestyle choices. George Frantz
--- On Sun, 11/16/08, Elan Shapiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Elan Shapiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [SustainableTompkins] NY Times op ed on need for car makers to switch to build public transit To: [email protected] Date: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 8:55 PM Have You Driven a Bus or a Train Lately? <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/opinion/16goodman.html?ref=opinion>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/opinion/16goodman.html?ref=opinion -- Elan Shapiro Sustainable Tompkins Community Partnership Coordinator Sustainable Living Associates, Principal Frog's Way B&B 211 Rachel Carson Way Ithaca, NY 14850 607-275-0249 607-592-8402 Cell "We must be the change we want to see in the world" Mohandas Gandhi _______________________________________________ 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
