Now we know where it all went. 6

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1. 

   amazingdrx Posted 5:20 am
   09 May 2005

   Obvious answer..not so obvious?Plugin hybrids and hybrids do not use gas while stuck in traffic, the gas motor shuts down and they run on the batteries.
   Another huge waste of oil is the use of oil products as a source of refinery heat energy.
   Were this refinerey use of oil converted to wind or solar power..or even to coal (the cheap, dirty alternative) up to 20% of oil consumption could be curtailed!
   http://blogdrx.blogspot.com/2005/05/refineries-heated-by-burning-oil-huge.html

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2. 

   Brian Hosey Posted 6:36 am
   09 May 2005

   Mind like a steel trap--difficult to open.You've really got to respect the discipline it takes to maintain this level of closed-mindedness:
   "Only job loss or major commitments to expand capacity will decrease congestion dramatically"
   
   Tim Lomax, a co-author of the Urban Mobility Report
   That carpooling/ridesharing could significantly reduce the number of cars on the road I guess is just some crazy pipedream.  Obviously we simply must build more roads. More roads, which will lead to more cars.  Which will lead to demands for even more roads.
   At least Lomax has been consistent.  Here he is pushing the same blindered logic back in 1996 on Newshour: "The flip side of bad traffic congestion is that it's usually accompanied by economic prosperity. We facetiously say that the easiest way to deal with traffic congestion is to let 10 or 20 percent of your jobs go somewhere else."  Way to stay on message Tim!
   Small wonder then that the Texas Good Roads and Transportation Association (roadbuilding industry association including the largest highway contractors in the nation) annointed Lomax as a "TGR friend".  Who knew contractors could have such a knack for understatement?
   
   

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3. 

   kduble Posted 2:02 pm
   09 May 2005

   Right-turn-on-redOkay, here's one of my pet peeves.  Congress passed a law mandating states to have right-turn-on-red laws, yet no state has ever designated far-right lanes for right turns.  We seldom take advantage of this fuel-saving concept because some nimrod planning to continue straight always blocks the lane.  If we have three lanes going in one direction, why not reduce them to two following an intersection, then flare back to three before the next.  Presto: We increase the carrying capacity of the road by using LESS asphalt.  Why are no states doing this?
   Another pet peeve:  Traffic lights going from green to red in the dead of night, with cars senselessly idling without another car in sight.  Why not put these on flashing red late at night?
   
   Ken Duble

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4. 

   jdhlax Posted 2:13 pm
   09 May 2005

   Real SolutionsThe only solutions that will help the planet are for us to drastically lower our numbers (DUH!, too many people causes congestion of all types) and to live more simply, such as living close to work and shopping, and to give up driving altogether where possible.  The latter must be accomplished not only by personal choice, which is important, but by electing only politicians who will not stand for ecologically harmful developments like suburbs.

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5. 

   Shalini Ramanathan Posted 7:59 pm
   09 May 2005

   baby you can waste my gasI was late to work this morning because of a traffic jam created by collard greens. Or rather, by a terrible driver who upended his load of produce going over a bump, then chose to block both lanes of traffic while picking up his precious green cargo. My point is not that sensitive souls shouldn't move to Nairobi (though they shouldn't), but that the explosion of cars in the developing world does not, alas, necessarily imply an increase in competent drivers. Inept driving creates traffic jams, which lead to wasted fuel and avoidable air pollutant and GHG emissions. I bet driver's ed, along with the traffic calming measures someone mentioned earlier, could make a big difference in traffic flow and so in transport emissions.  
    

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6. 

   amazingdrx Posted 1:46 pm
   13 May 2005

   A wild solution to local transportation.http://blogdrx.blogspot.com/2005/04/ski-lift-like-scheme-to-green-urban.html
   "In cities with hilly terrain a system of escalators that people can ride uphill with their bicycles, roller blades, skateboards..would provide green transportation similar to the way a downhill ski resort works."
   This is inevitable. Think of all the low tech bicycles, roller blades, skate boards...all powerred by gravity, the same way a ski resort works.
   Only with wind and solar electric power to operate escalators up hills in strategic locations.  You ride up and glide down and around through the city to your destination.
   Mostly downhill, with less hard pedaling or skating uphill.  If mass transportation like buses and commuter trains then took bicycles onboard, people living even an hour away from a job in the city could commute to and from train or bus stops through the urban or suburban area using the escalator system.
   It would make commuting a sport, just like skiing is.  If people get a thrill out of exersize they will be more likely to do it.  The health benefits are also obvious.
   
   

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