[PLUG] PLUG meeting

Michael Luevane mikel at quantecllc.com
Sat Dec 7 00:06:36 UTC 2002


It's a matter of convenience.

If there was a system that would take me from point A to point B DIRECTLY
(or as directly as possible) and cost me just as much out-of-pocket as it
does to drive, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Fact is, there ain't no such
beast. Public transportation is good, and you'll never hear me claim
otherwise, but it's not always convenient. It's a half-hour walk to the
nearest MAX station, and I have no idea where the nearest bus stop is
because I've never seen a bus in our area. I think it's about a mile up the
road.

Sure, cars and busses and trucks and other petroleum-drinking vehicles have
this habit of impacting the nice clean air that we all love and need, as
does maintaining the infrastructure to support the cars and busses and
trucks and other petroleum-drinking vehicles.

Give me a viable and reasonable alternative and I will seriously consider
it.

-----Original Message-----
From: plug-admin at lists.pdxlinux.org
[mailto:plug-admin at lists.pdxlinux.org]On Behalf Of Jeme A Brelin
Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 3:44 PM
To: PLUG
Subject: Re: [PLUG] PLUG meeting



On 6 Dec 2002, AthlonRob wrote:
> For me, I have to drive up to Sherwood to catch a bus.  That's 20-30
> minutes there.  Then it takes "an hour" (scheduled time) to get up to
> PSU.  In reality, it takes between an hour and one and a half hours.
>
> Driving takes 45 minutes to an hour... rarely does it take a full
> hour.

You can read on the bus or use a cellphone without endangering anyone and
maybe get to know some people that you wouldn't otherwise meet.  If you
drive, your time is spent driving and maybe listening to something.  If
you take the bus, your options are much wider.

And you're building up habits and tolerances that will allow you to live
in a diverse and condensing world without shutting yourself up in little
private steel containers.

> > Oh, and thanks for the "fresh air", drivers.  Mighty kind of you.
>
> Me, my suburban (15/18), and my '89 Dodge Spirit (20/30 while eating a
> quart of oil every 500 miles) say "You're welcome"  :-)

I'm not sure how a person can joke about their destructive habits, but I'm
the sort of person that thinks of criticism as an opportunity for
improvement.

> As Carla was saying, though, find me a vehicle that meets my needs and
> doesn't use so much gas - and I'd happily trade in.

First, I think you might have to re-evaluate your definition of "needs" if
you are truly concerned with adopting more sustainable practices in life.

Second, a private motor vehicle that uses less gas does almost nothing
progressive.  Decreasing emissions per trip sounds like a step in the
right direction, but it's a little like a person who is racing toward
Canada at 100mph and trying to get to Mexico by slowing to twenty.
You're still going in the wrong direction.

> Money is definitely a concern, though, so it can't be too expensive.

You have no idea how expensive your cars are.  First, your roads are
maintained through the wear and tear of hundreds of thousands of private
vehicle trips mostly through the state general fund.  Second, the cost of
your refined petroleum products is reduced drastically by pressures
exerted through the world's largest and most sophisticated terrorist
organization (I'm referring, of course, to the Pentagon system).  Third,
the very cost of your vehicle is subsidized through corporate welfare and
inhumane "trade" agreements.  And last but not least by far, the cost of
cleaning up the waste from your vehicle from production, through its
useful life and maintenance, to its final resting place are covered, once
again, by the public as a whole.  If you were presented with the ACTUAL
cost of exclusive use and operation of a motor vehicle, you'd probably
say, "I can't afford to drive", too.

J.
--
   -----------------
     Jeme A Brelin
    jeme at brelin.net
   -----------------
 [cc] counter-copyright
 http://www.openlaw.org


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