"Everyone needs to drive a Honda (or equivalent)"

[jeffreyab]

A nice essay on the state of oil by Jad Mouawad a staff reporter for The New York Times:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/jad_mouawad/index.html?inline=nyt-per

Via john_of_arabia

I also think we need to get used to living closer to our jobs and stores, get used to riding the bus and train and ships, which are the easiest forms of travel to convert from oil to alternate sources of energy and higher prices for everything.

The future will look more like Japan and Europe and less like June and Ward Cleaver.

Oddly the lifestyle of Lucy and Ricky is more sustainable, at least in the early years in NYC.

Comments

[avt-tor.livejournal.com]

On the subject of staying closer to their jobs, Lucille Ball pioneered a sort of precursor of teleconferencing by building a replica of her upstate New York house on the Paramount production lot. In a different age, she had to maintain a public persona of being a suburban housewife, while in reality she was an important studio executive. She would give interviews on the porch of her "house" without the bother of having to fly east.

Of course we are all indebted to Lucy for financing the pilot of Star Trek and selling it to the NBC network.

[marahsk.livejournal.com]

I also think we need to get used to living closer to our jobs and stores,

That sounds good in theory. In reality I usually take the job that's offered, and haven't had the luxury of being fussy. And few jobs are permanent any more; I've been laid off too often to consider the expense and upheaval of moving every time I change jobs.

get used to riding the bus and train and ships,

People will ride the bus when it takes people where they want to go when they want to get there. I took transit when I worked downtown; it sucked, but it was feasible (ie, it took only twice as long as driving). Currently I have a 40 minute commute if I drive. Or I could take the bus to the subway (18 minutes), the subway (30 minutes), transfer to the other subway line (30 minutes), and take another bus (15 minutes), which drops me off a 15-minute walk from work. That doesn't include having to take an earlier bus because their schedule wouldn't match mine exactly, or waiting for the second bus.

The thing we're missing is how many people could work from home, but their bosses won't believe they're working unless they see them.