Banning Cars in London? Blimey! - September 22nd, 2007
We spend so much time talking about car tech when I wonder if we shouldn’t be spending an equal amount on car ethics. There are those folks who think that Henry Ford’s development of the moving assembly line (that’s right, not the car, the thing that made mass production possible) was the beginning of the end. Whereas a means of personal transportation other than your own two feet was once regarded as a privilege, it’s now seen as a right. The result is over-crowded roadways, road rage, and emissions that are killing our planet.
I think the real test for future car tech is to achieve a degree of balance. The Greater London Authority is grappling with this issue right now, having pledged to lower carbon dioxide emissions in the city some sixty percent by 2025. One of the ideas on the table — and it’s a drastic one — is actually banning automobiles from London. That would reduce emissions 72 percent by 2030. And really, really, really tick off a lot of people.
The report produced by the GLA says, “Much of the reason that London’s emissions are too high to begin with is that very few people walk, ride their bicycle, or take public transportation.” Now, understand that I don’t think they’re going to ban cars in London, the interesting thing is that it even came up in the first place.
There’s a wonderful line in Jurassic Park when Jeff Goldblum’s character points out that the scientists spent so much time working on whether or not they could clone dinosaurs they didn’t stop to ask if they should. Maybe the same can be said of our desire to begin dialing back some of the impact we have on the environment with our automobiles. Isn’t there room in this world for personal and public transportation? Where’s the real problem? In our technology or in our personal habits?
Posted on September 22nd, 2007 by Shorty
Filed under: lifestyle |
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