There is a certain happiness sighted when your bus comes along. It is of course a small specialized form of happiness and will never be a great thing.

-Richard Brautigan, The Old Bus

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Be Green: Ride the bus

Fox has a series of promotional "Green It; Mean It" spots in honor of Earth Day. This is excellent:


The American Public Transit Association has posted its annual "Save the Planet: Use Public Transportation" fact sheet.
An individual switching to public transit can reduce his or her daily carbon emissions by 20 pounds; that’s more than 4,800 pounds a year. This is more than the combined carbon emissions reduction that comes from using energy-efficient light bulbs, adjusting thermostats, weatherizing one’s home, and replacing an older refrigerator with a high efficient refrigerator.
If only people really cared. Altruism only goes so far. That's one reason why I think a carbon tax or series of taxes -- household energy use, automobile weight/fuel efficiency -- make a lot of sense. Pinch people in their pocketbook and it focuses the mind wonderfully. With that money, we could build a transit system that really works, something maybe even as grand as Tier Three of Sacramento Regional 30-year Transit's TransitAction Plan.

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