I was reading various news stories this morning, when I ran across this article on FoxNews. Apparently, the President is considering a "radical" approach to global warming. His thoughts seem eerily familiar to an old Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns builds a giant sun blocker to take over the world and make more money.
All joking aside, we need to do something about the environment. Too much is happening to ignore these issues. I won’t ever tell you to go and purchase a hybrid, but we need to reconsider our habits. I was talking with a friend about this issue, and he noted it’s just going to get worse (BTW, he’s an anti-environment type). He noted that cities like OKC aren’t willing to make the changes necessary to do it.
Quite simply, we love our cars. The sad fact is that it’s probably true. Cities implement rail, bus, and other mass-transit systems that rarely get used. Honestly, when was the last time you rode the bus here in OKC? Me, NEVER. The transit systems are so heavily subsidized by local, state, and federal governments that they can’t sustain themselves without the support. Moreover, if rate hikes occur, there’s angst from everyone that it’s cheaper to drive. I think the 2 years I spent driving a bus in California gave me some knowledge.
If you think I’m wrong, show me. I’ll exclude cities like New York, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco for obvious reasons. Those are cities with massive congestion problems and fairly decent transit system. Note though, they’re still heavily subsidized, and a large majority of people still prefer taxis as a quick and reliable solution.
I like what a lot of cities, including OKC, are doing by trying to move some of the residential areas downtown and creating "walkable cities." I think this will be a strong move into the future, but we’re still going to have to deal with some of the basic issues.
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