Have you noticed people driving less since the oil spill?

Me neither.

:shrug:

the shame.

PS, may is bike-to-work month, you can assuage your guilt.

What if it rains?

maybe this is just in Seattle.

but no job.

So, 5x in a circle for the month should do it, right? ;)

Of course, my bike was made, shipped to a local retailer, I buy polymer based tyres, tubes, lubricants, etc, so not perfect, but I'm not burning gallons a day, so it's better at least.

Are the supermarkets and jobs nearer? Is public transportation equipped to handle people with four or five bags of groceries?

Our communities are organized for more driving not less.

Most of the people in my neighborhood live within 3 miles of where they work.

And the weather has been quite nice so far this month.

but where I live, they drive SUV's while on cell phones, and if I took a bike anywhere, I'm asking to become street pizza. I need my little Hyundai Elantra around me to even have a fighting chance of survival.

I do all of my errands on the way home from work, so I minimize my gasoline usage, when prices are high or when they are low.

Sorry, I don't have much sympathy for the "it's too dangerous" excuse.

I deal with all sorts of crap on commute.

What do I do about it?

I bitch about it on DU, that's what!

and tell me if you'd ride a bike here! I don't see anybody else trying it. Not even in my little condo neighborhood.

Hell no!

Being afraid of living is just another way of dying before your time.

I rarely see cyclists on the roads where I bike.

That doesn't stop me from doing it.

And no, I don't have knowledge of biking conditions in Rockland, but I seriously doubt that they're worse than cycling conditions in the heart of NASCAR Nation.

But more power to you, if you have that sort of drive.

I used to have a motorcycle years ago, and the thing we all feared was that the drivers of cars and trucks couldn't "see" us. Now, with their damned cell phones, they can't even "see" other cars. I just wouldn't ride a motorcycle again under the circumstances where I live today. If you've examined your circumstances and decide you want to ride your bike, that's your decision.

I'm just going to live by my decision, too.

to his family that you PUSHED him to be on that bike, even when he told you it was unsafe?

YOU going to take the responsibility for your judgements?

"I bitch about it on DU, that's what!"

No, you bitch about PEOPLE. Those who are on the same side as YOU.

Are you going to explain to the families of those slaughtered in oil wars that their sacrifice was needed so we could all be "safe"?

Go blame the RW instead of those who are on your side.

If that is the side that you are on.

Welcome to my ignore list. People who come here to tell others that their lives mean nothing are not the ones I want to hear from. I hope your mood improves.

ta-ta

So much for that hopey thing.

My mood is fine.

There are just some things I have a problem with.

I constantly see cars used for short trips.

Hell, I do it myself when I don't want my fries getting cold or my beer getting hot.

people can also drive less by not going out unnecessarily and combining trips, carpooling, etc.

is really not doable.

Then you only have to carry milk and eggs

if I wanted something I had to take outside whenever it wanted to poop I would've gotten a dog.

Two tote bags' full is my maximum. So I have to plan my shopping more, and I plan menus rather than buying whatever my mood urges me to.

I make a list of what I'm going to need for the week and get it all at once.

Unless it's some kind of stocking up trip. You can supplement one or two of those a month with many smaller trips.

Closest grocery store-5.5 miles
Mass transit- NONE w/in 20 miles
Gas cost (once a week for family of 3) Less than $1.00

I hardly mean you should walk 11 miles each day with two bags of groceries.

Our gas costs very little too, but on the other hand, we can walk to the store for smaller trips if we need to, and I can get there and home on the bus.

Only as much as I can carry in two hands.

Of course I have to shop more often but I get fresher produce that way, and have cut out virtually all processed foods (though I did pick up two boxes of Kraft mac-n-cheese for $1 each on sale.).

or there are long lines to get gas. Right now it's not hitting people in their wallet enough.

How sad.

I'm a weird exception.

How and why people want huge suv's and trucks is beyond me. Most of the time I see one person, the driver and thats it.

I live in a rural area of western Colorado. We drive a lot. 20 miles and more to near by towns.
Since the economy bit the dust, about 9 months ago around here, half the gas stations have closed.
I and most everyone I know is driving way far less.
I believe this is a national trend with so many people unemployed.
Why are the prices not dropping due to lower demand?

but then again I'm not working at the moment. Grocery runs only.

It might because of the weather, but I see many more people taking the VRE, (light rail), or slugging, (organized carpooling) to work.

people using less/fewer of the following, some of the more than 4000 products made from petroleum:


* Artificial Limbs

* Bags (garbage bags, shopping bags)

* Balloons

* Bandaids

* Candles

* Clothing (polyester, nylon)

* Combs

* Computers, calculators

* Crayons

* Credit Cards

* Dishwashing Liquids

* Disposable Diapers

* Eye Glasses, Sunglasses

* Fertilizers

* Fishing Rods

* Flooring (linoleum, tiles, carpets)

* Garden Hose

* Hand Lotion, Cream, Petroleum Jelly

* Helmets (bicycle, hockey, etc.)

* Heart Valves

* Helmets (bicycle, hockey, etc.)

* Insect Repellent

* Insecticides

* Life Jackets

* Milk Jugs

* Paint Brushes

* Panty Hose

* Parachutes

* Patio Furniture

* Pens

* Perfume

* Rope (nylon)

* Safety Glass

* Shampoo

* Shower Curtains, Shower Doors

* Soft Contact Lenses

* Soft Drink Bottles, Plastic Bottles

* Tape (clear, masking, etc.)

* Tapes - (cassettes, vcr tapes)

* Telephones

* Tennis rackets

* Tents

* Toys, Dolls, Model Cars

* Tires (synthetic rubber)

* Toothbrushes, Toothpaste Tubes

* Trash Bags

* TV Cabinets

* Umbrellas

* Unbreakable Dishes

* Waterproof Jackets, Boots, Pants



http://thomko.squarespace.com/petrochemical-petroleum-produc/




Driving less and pretending it's really making a difference or a "statement" is pretty much meaningless, isn't it?

Just a way to feel superior, IMO.


:shrug:

What you said.

Ok

about not wanting/not being able to drive less, that's what's going to happen.


So... what if someone had said above, look, I can't drive less, but I have decided to cut down on my usage of XXX product, which is made from petroleum. I suspect that person would have been ridiculed for not wanting or being able to cut down on using petroleum-based products your way.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so.

There are people, like myself, who live at least 20 miles from any major city. We absolutely cannot "drive less". I almost expected to see suggestions in this thread that they move closer to the city so they can take advantage of bicycle/mass transport. I've seen it in other places from other people who thought they had all the answers for everybody.


Nobody has to "do it all or do nothing". But neither should people be subjected to this high-horsed self-congratulatory, "Look at what I do!!!" bullshit.

It's about a simple observation I made when I was on my way home from work one day.

PS: 20 miles is barely a warm-up ride if you're in halfway decent shape.
:evilgrin:

.

I go to work at about the same time every day.

I notice how many cars are on the road.

A tank of gas lasts me about a month.

upward, only then might we see a decrease in driving.

I average around 3100 miles a week, week in, week out.