Energy body wants brakes on fuel consumption (stop driving so darn much)

[cthrumatrix]

Energy body wants brakes on fuel consumption
by Adam Porter


The International Energy Agency is to propose drastic cutbacks in car use to halt continuing oil-supply problems. Those cutbacks include anything from car-pooling to outright police-enforced driving bans for citizens.

Fuel "emergency supply disruptions and price shocks" - in other words, shortages - could be met by governments. Not only can governments save fuel by implementing some of the measures suggested, but in doing so they can also shortcut market economics.

An advance briefing of the report, titled Saving Oil in a Hurry: Measures for Rapid Demand Restraint in Transport, states this succinctly.

"Why should governments intervene to cut oil demand during a supply disruption or price surge? One obvious reason is to conserve fuel that might be in short supply.

snip

http://www.energybulletin.net/4864.html

Actually...it would be very helpful for Bush to do a 60 tour across America to tell people to "lighten up" on the SUV gas pedal.

We need an energy transition plan..and we needed to start some time ago.

[shadowknows69]

1. peak oil? bah, no such thing

people seem to getting pretty scared pretty quick. I guess that whole "grab the world's oil supply" thing isn't exactly on schedule.

[formernaderite]

2. I don't think gas pricing going up is a bad thing....

...it will force the consumer to make decisions without government intervention. Look at Europe....the price of fuel dictates what people drive. I have to drive a pick-up for work, but have always been fuel conscious in my shopping habits. I pick up groceries on the way home, or my wife does. We use her small compact on weekends.

[cthrumatrix]

3. what happens when it affects your ability to work or pay bills?

at some point there will be an issue

[scarletlib]

4. well i am continuing to do just that

i have always driven small cars with good gas mileage. (I've been "green" since forever).

Now I am not making any frivolous trips in the car. no going anywhere for lunch. if i need to do some shopping i will stop on the way home from work and not do it at lunch. trying not to go out on weekends, etc.

[IrateCitizen]

5. Our driving patterns are more important than what we drive...

Someone who owns a run-of-the-mill SUV but lives in a town, walks to run most errands, and takes public transportation to work uses much less gas than someone who has a fuel-efficient compact but drives everywhere they have to go. Of course, if you combine the driving patterns of the first example with a fuel-efficient car, it's even better!

A big part of this is developing sustainable models of growth. By that I mean incorporating mixed-use zoning so that people can live, shop and work all in the same area, while linking communities together with good public transporation networks. Our current models are utterly and completely car-dependent, and those living in such areas will pay the price for their inefficiency in the not-too-distant future.

I was amazed at how nice these development models can be when I visited Germany. There, all development is limited to within town/city limits, and all communities are surrounded by farms and open space, with top-rate rail linking towns and cities together. While it doesn't offer the large yards that can be fenced in to isolate us from each other as is so popular here in the states, it is a much more sustainable model of growth overall and also helps lead to much more livable urban areas.

[LynzM]

6. I noticed the same thing living in Germany

We lived there for 9 months and I missed having a car exactly twice, when I was shopping for furnishings for my room, and getting all my luggage to the airport. Other than that, public transportation was great, affordable, and the walking we did in between was good for us. It's just a totally different model of living/shopping/travelling. Things in the U.S. are going to have to change a lot, and it's going to hurt, for a long time.

[IrateCitizen]

8. Yes, it will have to hurt, and I'm not looking forward to it...

People like to howl about those of us who say that the price of gas SHOULD go up right now, as somehow being against poor people. The problem is that gas WILL go up inevitably, and I'd rather see it go up to $5.00/gal now in order to spur some meaningful change than to see it rise to $10.00/gal over the next several years while nothing is done to change things. It's a moderate short-term pain vs. an extreme long-term pain without any positive outcome.

People should, if they can, try to move to areas where they can easily walk/bike to most of the shops they need to visit, and also live in areas close to where they work. Also, living in an area that affords you the opportunity to develop a garden of some sort is a big plus, because food prices will skyrocket as gas gets more expensive.

[HereSince1628]

10. The neighborhood based community structure is virtually gone;

killed by the convenience of private transportation, and the economies of scale granted to malls, megamarts and medical campuses. While some model communities can be thrown up as examples to the contrary, most of America is no longer neighborhood based.

Living within walking distance (say a mile) to everything you need is a great solution to reduce auto use and fuel consumption. But it is a solution that can't be said to be broadly available. This is a reality that must be confronted for all communities whether sprawling metro areas, little suburbs, or small towns.

Cars enabled business to gain economies of scale which doomed much of neighborhood focused business (or the post WWII creation of communities that completely lack them). The emergent dominance of supermarkets and strip malls in the 50's has only been amplified and repeated across America.

Now most of the businesses and services a family needs are housed in things like MegaMalls, Superstores, HMO medical campuses, and school complexes outside of neighborhoods. The profit incentives available thru the economy of scale demanded parking lots, encouraged new construction and required space. Cost effective space was typically found on the _edges_ of towns, beyond reasonable walking distance (as evidenced by the utter lack of sidewalks to such locations). That's as true in rural Storm Lake IA as it is in suburban Aurora IL.

Returning to a neighborhood community model similar to the one I knew as a grade school kid during the late 1950's would be very expensive. It will be resisted and undertaken only under duress.

[IrateCitizen]

11. I'm certainly not disagreeing on the lack of community...

Because I see it all the time as well. I'm just lucky to live in an area that still has a semblance of community -- my wife and I live in a town in which we can walk to just about everything and it's only a mile away or less.

However, note that I said "bike" as well. You can easily bike distances (4-5 miles) that would have been much more onerous by walking. Of course, right now, there are many areas that are neither safe to walk nor bike (NJ suburban sprawl springs immediately to mind) -- but they will be much more bikable when there are suddenly far less cars on the road.

Returning to a neighborhood community model similar to the one I knew as a grade school kid during the late 1950's would be very expensive. It will be resisted and undertaken only under duress.

That's completely true. It's also why all of us who see the dangers coming must stop lamenting this fact, however true it is, and start agitating for incremental changes NOW.

[cthrumatrix]

7. Europe is focused more on energy conservation and their way of

life "town centric with transportation" certainly helps


the US is spread out and drives drives drives

[DinahMoeHum]

9. This is why I like to take vacations where once I get there

by plane, car, train, whatever, I don't need a car for several days straight - I can take public transport, walk, or rent a bike instead.

I also divest myself of electronic shit like e-mails, faxes, cellphone, etc. while I'm at it. Nothing is more pathetic to me than seeing someone on a sailboat or the slopes talking on a cellphone or punching on a Blackberry - they don't know how to relax, recreate, and let it go.


:bounce:

[cthrumatrix]

12. kick

[Theres-a]

13. kick