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| This is what consumers want. |
Terrafugia flying car (not yet available).
Cost: $300,000
Purpose: To get from point A to point B.
Tesla model S electric car.
Cost: $80,000
Purpose: To get from point A to point B.
Hammacher Schlemmer solar powered golf cart.
Cost: $9000
Purpose: To get from point A to point B.
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This is what consumers can get.
|
Tesla model S electric car.
Cost: $80,000
Purpose: To get from point A to point B.
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| This is what the planet can sustainably provide. |
Hammacher Schlemmer solar powered golf cart.
Cost: $9000
Purpose: To get from point A to point B.
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| This is what will allow the planet to replenish its overdrawn resources and return to health. Pedego Electric Assist Tandem Bicycle.
Cost: $4000
Purpose: To get from point A to point B.  |
Zamberlan Hiking Boots (leg power)
Cost: $400.00
Purpose: To get from point A to point B.
I use the last one almost exclusively, as do our children. Sometimes we mix it up and use bikes or scooters ( non electric). Society scares me and saddens me. So many people with such big expensive and fancy cars. All of them driving their children to the school gate, too scared/lazy/disorganised to walk them anywhere, and yet in the same breath hand their offspring the latest technology (and all that entails) with no holds barred. Priorities are completely skewed.
ReplyDeleteOne of my kids loves flash cars. As I keep saying, it's really just a metal box on wheels that gets you from point A to point B, save your money!
ReplyDeleteMadeleine
I really like this post, thank you! I am taking good care of my 12 year old Prius, which was purchased used from my mother. She took excellent care of it, too. When it is feasible (in a big city in North Texas) I ride my bike or walk. Batching errands helps a lot, too. I walked by a big brand-new Mercedes hummer-looking vehicle this morning and just shook my head. Why? Why? Why?
ReplyDeleteI would guess the owner of said car would say: "Because I work hard and deserve it."
I think the world would be so much healthier if people stopped working "so hard" and slowed down. Take a nap. Bake some bread. Read a book. Go for a walk. Play cards with your partner and kids. This pause might give them the awareness that they don't need all the flashy things to live a very good life.
-Erin
You forgot the horse. Although you do have to feed them.
ReplyDeleteThe reality is that often "point B" is farther away and some sort of vehicle is needed. Does that need to be a flying car or a Mercedes Hummer? Of course not. Like Erin, we have older efficient cars. I guess the point is to be smart about the times I do drive and ride my bike or walk the other times - like others here have pointed out. Thanks for the article. Although the idea of a flying car just baffles me. Why? -- Mary
ReplyDeleteCheck out these running shoes from Vivo - they appear to be the most environmentally friendly shoes ever made, that to a degree are biodegrade. It's a step towards a fully plant based shoe:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.vivobarefoot.com/uk/mens/active/primus-lite-ii-bio-mens?colour=Green
Peace,
Alex
I'm still using my 18 year old car to drive to work and get groceries. I don't plan on ever buying another car. I will just keep repairing my old gal with parts from the junkyard (parts already made and just sitting unused). Unfortunately we do not have reliable public transport here yet.
ReplyDeleteI used to walk to the grocery store, but the closest one to me closed down. :( I'm repairing my bicycle so I can start biking to the next closest one instead.
It's such a great feeling to not drive whenever I can manage. I walked to the park to play tennis the other day and had several people stop and offer me a lift. No thanks! My feet are taking me there. :D
-A
Haven't had a vehicle since 2000 and really haven't missed it. At 70 I still make the forty minute walk *to* work everyday, although I have caved in to my children and now take the bus any time it is hotter than 25C or colder than -25C. I bus home from work for safety's sake--I live just outside the downtown and I finish work between ten and eleven at night. I rented a vehicle to go out camping for three nights last month and have to roll my eyes when people say, "Oh my goodness, isn't that horribly expensive?". The vehicle issue is one of the (many) reasons I live in the heart of the city rather than the suburbs now that I am "of a certain age." Suburbia is so vehicle dependant and I don't think I could handle the sense of isolation. Mela
ReplyDelete