Reducing Car Dependence (@ content in posts)

[aurora]

And I also want to add a big thank you to the people who talked about lobbying for more transit. I admit that's not something I've done much of (even as a bus rider myself), so it's a great eye-opener to realize it's something I should be doing.

[audette]

Apr 26, 2019 8:46:57 GMT -5 aurora said:

And I also want to add a big thank you to the people who talked about lobbying for more transit. I admit that's not something I've done much of (even as a bus rider myself), so it's a great eye-opener to realize it's something I should be doing.

And, not just transit (Although that is awesome). Even getting a pedestrian crosswalk button added to the traffic lights at an intersection can make the area more walkable and safer. Little things can add up...

(I recently read a story out of Canada about a group of grade 9 kids who decided they were done with the lack of pedestrian crosswalk at one of the intersections near their school, and were fed up with the safety risk after a fellow student had been hit there. So they all wrote to their alderman about it, convincing the alderman to fight for that crosswalk.)

[minzy]

Apr 26, 2019 8:40:51 GMT -5 audette said:

Apr 26, 2019 7:38:27 GMT -5 wawa said:

I FINALLY am on a computer to reply to something in this thread. So I'm gonna babble for a bit here with all my pent up thoughts.

Yes, I agree. For most people, given the choices they've made or the limited options handed to them about where they live and what they do, going car free simply isn't possible. I do think the extra clause in there is important though. And some of those choices and options are a lot easier to adjust than others.

<big giant snip to reduce length>

The fact that I don't really see a way around MH and I driving vehicles to work most days for the near future because of our choices over the past 15 years doesn't change that it's important shit and we should keep chipping away at it.

I think this is the crux. When I first started reading this thread, I was passed off, because it felt to me like people were getting shamed for being in a situation where they had few options about car use. And I responded angrily.

But,it mulled over in my mind after I stepped away, and I came back to the thread with the idea of trying to consider ways we could alter our future decisions to make us less car dependent, and less fossil fuel dependent. Maybe there is little I can do today, but if our life situations change, we may be able to take advantage of that change and modify bigger things that impact our vehicle dependence. Or, even just making sure we re-evaluate and examine our current use, and see if we can do better.

It isn't necessarily about how much I am doing this moment, but keeping focus on what can I work on to improve, and both big and small changes can reap benefits for me, and for my community.

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This is a great point. Examining past decisions helps you see how you got to where you are, but we need to focus on what we can do going forward. When I had my “global warming” party a month ago with 15 people, I straight up acknowledged three things at the beginning: 1) my hypocrisy, “caring about the earth” when I live in a not-small house, I don’t have solar panels or drive an electric car (yet) and my husband flies everywhere; 2) my privilege, in being able to “sit around” jobless and actually read books about climate change “for fun,” and not having a sick kid or parent or any other huge life stressor right now; and 3) the futility of my efforts alone - I’m not delusional enough to think one LED light bulb l install is going to change the world. We need top down solutions, but since they are not happening fast enough (and the clock is ticking), we need to go bottom up.

But after I got that out of the way, I said, I’ve got two hands, and influence and power as a consumer, friend, leader and increasingly outspoken critical thinker, and I need to use it. We all do! The exciting thing is that there are just so many places to improve that no one will get bored looking for those.

Just in my own little sphere, the 15 people in my house that day led to an active Facebook group of 50 (and growing), voices being raised and minds being changed, purchases being altered and connections being made. Additional meetings are happening about actual solutions (composting is a focus right now since we’ve got a little traction there, but I’m certainly not limited to that, and obviously from the OP, transportation solutions would be another great area).

Keep piping up, and implement change where you can. We owe it to our selves, our kids, and the future of life on the planet, to at least try!