Walk, bike or take the bus (or train or streetcar or subway). Those are the options if you care about global warming.
Rona Ambrose and the Conservatives appear to have opted for inaction when it comes to global warming. But does it really matter? The main cause for the rise in green house causing CO2 is transportation. Urban transportation. A local jurisdiction.
Public transportation takes to long? Factor in the cost of driving and owning your car. Take the amount of time it takes you to generate that money after taxes, and add that time to your daily car commute. Shocking isn't it?
Bus drivers live in your community. They contribute to the local economy. How many cars are made in Canada outside Ontario? None!
Intercity transportation is also a problem, although of much less significance. Avoid plane travel if possible. Alone in most cars, you use less fuel than on almost all planes (although driving is much more dangerous, something to consider). Via Rail is advertising it's overnights between Montreal and Toronto. That is certainly more carbon friendly than either driving or flying. Intercity bus may not be glamorous, but it is sufficiently comfortable for most of us.
Most of the urban movements are caused by land use. Do you really need a back yard? Factor in the 40 cents or so per kilometer that it costs to drive to Wal-Mart. No so low prices, eh.
I favor a carbon redistribution system (essentially a tax). The money would be redistributed equally among all citizens (including children and babies). The precedence was set in Alberta with the Ralf bucks. But even if nobody has the political courage to do that, there are individuals choices we can make.
And get a Digital Video Recorder. Driving becomes much less appealing when you aren't subjected to all those car commercials...
Other Blogs:
Environmental Benefits of Mass Transit ;
3 comments:
Part of the problem is that conservative-types tend to favour individual responsibility rather than government action.
Hence the transit tax deduction. It was designed to encourage individuals to choose public transit.
But also remember, that in many Ontario cities (ie Windsor) the public transit system is so bad that few would use it anyways. What is needed is for municipal, provincial and federal governments to come together on a comprehensive agreement to improve public transit. Not just a tax deduction or re-allocation.
But that would take years.
Southernontarioan, why does the federal government need to be involved with the Windsor transit system? Local is better.
I agree, the feds should stay out of the municipalities.
I'm just saying, you can't encourage people to use public transit in a city where public transit stinks.
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