by Simon 60 Replies latest social current
In the States they have strict car seat laws for kids.. those seats are very wide and you can not fit 3 car seats in the back seat of a full size car.
Juni ...
That is technically correct.
But don't forget that you can purchase a roof rack for the third, smaller child.
Rub a Dub
yeah Rub..... why not, hey? Naughty kid goes on top...
On a positive note this high increase in the price of gas will persuade people to start purchasing more fuel efficient vehicles which translates to less
air pollution in are urban cities and elsewhere , I'm thinking of buying a Toyota Prius or another Hybrid just to save on fuel costs, may just pay for its self
in the long run
In the Midwest, drive 20 minutes from most city centers and you may well be out in the boonies.
So true. I live in the far west suburbs of Chicago - an area that's the second or third fastest area in the country - and it amazes me that there isn't one train / bus running toward Chicago. Instead billions are spent to fix and expand the interstates. Huh? Why?
I would take a train or bus to work in a heartbeat. Seems to me that our government speaks out of both corners of its mouth.
Canada barrels per capita per year: 69.85
United States barrels per capita per year: 68.81
Yeah, but the "ugly American" sounds sooo much better then the "ugly Canadian."
So true. I live in the far west suburbs of Chicago - an area that's the second or third fastest area in the country - and it amazes me that there isn't one train / bus running toward Chicago. Instead billions are spent to fix and expand the interstates. Huh? Why?
Were does the train stop heading west? I thought you could ride from Elgin or Carpentersville back in to the Loop? I used to visit kin and do some work in Chicago... "Expressway" is a theoretical word.
for those who think I am kidding about the 20 minutes.... drive 20 minutes north out of Lansing MI and they will loan you a compass and a rifle I you dont have your own. When I lived up there I could go from Midland/Saginaw through Lansing and head any direction to the state line and never leave a county road if I did not want too.
Hill
In last three years...one year we sent our daughter to Europe. She said that the cars were small and trains and buses were the way to go. Last year we were host to a foriegn exhange student from Europe. She could not get over the fact that we drove such a large car.....a Dodge mini-van! We have been involved with two other students from Europe and same thing....they don't know why we drive such big cars!
So true. I live in the far west suburbs of Chicago - an area that's the second or third fastest area in the country - and it amazes me that there isn't one train / bus running toward Chicago. Instead billions are spent to fix and expand the interstates. Huh? Why?
Were does the train stop heading west? I thought you could ride from Elgin or Carpentersville back in to the Loop? I used to visit kin and do some work in Chicago... "Expressway" is a theoretical word.
Metra stops in the city of Aurora (population 100k) but the next town(s) further west make up Kendell county - one of the fastest growing areas in the U.S. - where there isn't a single bus stop or train station. Ironic thing is Amtrak runs through the area so the rails and stations are in the area. Just need a politician to step up and say "hey, let's extend Metra's service a little further west." Instead we have yet another I-88 repair project and thousands of cars (with one occupant) stuck in traffic.
American's have been wasteful because they could be. 200-100 years ago this place was an unspoiled wilderness. Since then we've clearcut most the forests, strip mined and burned millions of tons of coal, damned most the rivers, turned untold numbers of acres of riparian woodlands into farms or pastures. Pumped and consumed most of our oil plus any other we could get our hands on, killed off most the wildlife..etc. In California I think we are down to 3% left of the old growth redwood trees. The Colorado river no longer reaches the sea, there is nothing..left..there..to damn. We've hydraulically blasted away mountainsides for the gold, dredged entire rivers. We haven't been very good stewards to put it bluntly. Not much left to rape and pillage, so we'll change.
We'll change because there is no alternative. And then we'll go out kicking and screaming selling carbon credits to the wealthiest Americans so they can continue to lead an unsustainable lifestyle and convince ourselves that it's only fair that the rich be allowed this luxury.
On a more positive note GM is suggesting that they might stop production of the Hummer. It's kind of funny that this is just NOW occuring. We've know for a few years that we were approaching the point in which the demand for oil was going to outstrip supply. There is no reason why the homes around me are still on the grid, this area has enough sunshine that we should be spinning the meters the other way. Most families with a minimum of effort could grow a good portion of the food that they eat, useing less water than they do on their lawns.
One of the next California crisis will be mass transportation. The only city in CA that has any to speak of is SF and it's so-so. Most people would gladly take mass transit if it existed rather than sit in the gridlock that I've seen in CA my sweet short life. It will take YEARS to build up the CA infrastructure and so far the Politicians really aren't even talking about it.
In the States they have strict car seat laws for kids.. those seats are very wide and you can not fit 3 car seats in the back seat of a full size car
I blame fat American kids then ...
