The Crazy Man and the Cars

[jordan179]

Once upon a time I knew a crazy man who wanted to abolish automobiles.

He wasn’t really crazy, of course, and he didn’t want to “abolish” automobiles in the sense of destroying every car in existence and forbidding their further manufacture.  He was an supporter of the “car-free” movement, which advocates a return to living in the urban cores

Comments

[gothelittle]

The curious thing about these new sustainable living folk is that they are increasingly conservative. Back in the '60's and '70's, the Mother Earth movement was largely liberal and on the fringes, though a few things (like peasant blouses made from unbleached muslin and deerskin moccasins) made it further into the mainstream. Now, however, conservatives are finding their own way into the environmental movement, and changing it to meet their needs.

On the whole, these new conservative environmentalists are more interested in saving money and energy than following fads or feeling good about their work. They are ruthless in evaluating methods and choosing the ones that *work*. A recent study showed that conservatives would not choose energy-saving lightbulbs if the bulbs were priced significantly more expensively than non-energy efficient bulbs, while liberals were more likely to pick the energy efficient bulbs regardless of price.

As such, you will not see as many solar panels and yoga stretchers among this new group of people. Instead, you are more likely to see older methods, tried and true, and methods that pack a lot of punch for a low price. Hence the growing popularity of vegetable gardens, rooftop gardens in some regions (like Colorado), cisterns, geothermal heating/cooling, lower-mpg minivans and SUV's (rather than tiny hybrid hatchbacks - these families are more likely to haul several children and two weeks' worth of groceries in their vehicles), and chicken houses. If one of these people calculate that he uses less gas by driving a truck biweekly rather than a car daily, he will get the truck, regardless of its beastly fuel economy.

Now keep in mind that I'm still identifying a trend, not a sweeping revival. Homeschooling families, for instance, have increased by 76% in the past eight years, but homeschooled children still make up only about 3% of all school-aged children in the country. I'm less interested in these movements due to the raw numbers, however, and more interested in both the rapid growth and the potential usefulness to society. I'm looking at a synthesis between the high-tech crowd and the luddites, and that's pretty exciting!

You may find this story interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/business/04chickens.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[cutelildrow]

On the whole, these new conservative environmentalists are more interested in saving money and energy than following fads or feeling good about their work. They are ruthless in evaluating methods and choosing the ones that *work*. A recent study showed that conservatives would not choose energy-saving lightbulbs if the bulbs were priced significantly more expensively than non-energy efficient bulbs, while liberals were more likely to pick the energy efficient bulbs regardless of price.

Oh definitely, especially with saving money and energy being the motivation for being more 'environmentally friendly.' I'd be keen though to have solar panels to help defray the electric bills; there are some good (and actually efficient, I'm told) combos that are popular here in Australia that I've been noticing - the ones that help power water heating tanks and the ones that power the airconditioners. My mum and dad in law have a grey-water cistern and I think a rainwater one. Back in the Philippines, we did consider gathering up rainwater in drums for watering the garden and flushing the toilets, but in the long run we couldn't afford the barrels and my mom isn't likely to be able to schlepp the buckets from outside.

One of the ways that R chooses a lightbulb is to calculate the immediate cost versus the cost of the light over time. One of the annoyances I have with this house we're in is that the main dining and kitchen area is rather dark, even during the day, so I have to keep a light on in the kitchen when I'm prepping food during the daylight hours!

Regards driving, we'd both like for me to have a car since it provides the independence I need to be able to help run the household better. I used to daydream of a nice pickup truck or van which would let me haul groceries, plants, soil, pots and other things AS WELL AS the children. <.<;;; I may have to do more research in the matter but I might just end up with a four door little car of some kind, just large enough to hold myself, the children, and a small amount of groceries, since I have problems seeing over the dashboard of most cars, and our current family vehicle ... well, my feet don't touch the floor if I sit back properly, the seatbelt strangles me if I do, and I'm scared of what might happen if my feet don't reach the pedals well enough for braking!

*helpless, rueful smile and shrug* Oh well...