"Oh, No! I Have to Carpool?!?"
The other night, we were watching "World News Tonight" and they were (as usual) doing another report on the soaring gas prices and how poor the economic is and that Americans are struggling, blah, blah, blah. The same complaining and bad news that we typical people already know about and can't do a thing to change. What got my attention, though, was the story that followed about how some people are "coping".
They started talking about how people were "having to result to carpooling, riding their bikes, and switching to more fuel efficient cars". Well, holy cow, what a concept!!! You mean driving my H2 two hours each way to work everyday isn't the best plan? Pardon my sarcasm, but I was honestly taken aback by that. They were actually making it sound like a bad thing. An added burden.
They said that carpool lots were full to bursting and that some were actually advertising the need for people who might want to carpool and share fuel costs with them. Well, I say good for them! I'm sorry, but wasn't that the whole idea behind places like Southern California putting in all those diamond/carpool lanes? Why else are there carpool lots? Haven't they been saying for years that we ought to be smart about commuting?
Then the fact that some were complaining about riding their bikes to work everyday. In my opinion, if you are close enough to your work that bike riding is an option, then why the heck weren't you doing it before? Oh yeah, it's cuz we are fat, lazy Americans that would rather, drive our gas-guzzling SUVs 10 blocks, just to park as close as possible to the office, pain-stakingly walk the few steps it takes to get to our cubicles and then sit there for eight exhausting hours. Boy, we've got it rough. While we were living in England, we witnessed first hand how bicycle riding and even...wait for it...walking were the preferences over using a car that would eat up gas while polluting the air. Heck, in Amsterdam, they actually have multi-level parking garages for bicycles. No joke.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that I find it fascinating and a bit frustrating that it's taking this fuel crisis to get people thinking about conservation and being smarter about their driving. Maybe now, we'll get thinking a bit smarter.
They started talking about how people were "having to result to carpooling, riding their bikes, and switching to more fuel efficient cars". Well, holy cow, what a concept!!! You mean driving my H2 two hours each way to work everyday isn't the best plan? Pardon my sarcasm, but I was honestly taken aback by that. They were actually making it sound like a bad thing. An added burden.
They said that carpool lots were full to bursting and that some were actually advertising the need for people who might want to carpool and share fuel costs with them. Well, I say good for them! I'm sorry, but wasn't that the whole idea behind places like Southern California putting in all those diamond/carpool lanes? Why else are there carpool lots? Haven't they been saying for years that we ought to be smart about commuting?
Then the fact that some were complaining about riding their bikes to work everyday. In my opinion, if you are close enough to your work that bike riding is an option, then why the heck weren't you doing it before? Oh yeah, it's cuz we are fat, lazy Americans that would rather, drive our gas-guzzling SUVs 10 blocks, just to park as close as possible to the office, pain-stakingly walk the few steps it takes to get to our cubicles and then sit there for eight exhausting hours. Boy, we've got it rough. While we were living in England, we witnessed first hand how bicycle riding and even...wait for it...walking were the preferences over using a car that would eat up gas while polluting the air. Heck, in Amsterdam, they actually have multi-level parking garages for bicycles. No joke.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that I find it fascinating and a bit frustrating that it's taking this fuel crisis to get people thinking about conservation and being smarter about their driving. Maybe now, we'll get thinking a bit smarter.
Comments
I love you Steph!
Thanks for you kind comments on my blog.