Are we seriously asking this question?Unless your favorite website is Everygame Red Casino and you’re a high risk gambler, the answer is no, deflating the tires of SUV in “rich” neighborhoods will not save the environment.
There are several quotes that I can say …
“You attract more bees with honey than with vinegar.”
“Don’t judge another person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.”
“Do to others as you would want them to do to you.”
Most people, with a brain in their head, and a general senses of “being good”, don’t want to destroy the Earth, because they know that the Earth has to exist for future generations.
Where did the idea of deflating tires come from?
Environmental actavists have been deflating tires for SUV’s since September 2005 in Paris, France.
It started with a group called group called Les Dégonflés using bicycle pumps, so it does not cause lasting damage.The believe that owning an SUV is a sign of wealth, so by doing this, they are hoping to instead instill the message that a person is an imbicile (their term, not mine).Since, at least in France, there are no laws against a person deflating tires, the most a person would get would be a civil suit against them.
The group’s message has not been universally endorsed by environmental actavists, because groups like Greenpeace still consider it destruction of property, even if the destruction of property is only temporary.Plus, it is not just SUV drivers who are polluting (for example, flying private jets to the Paris Accords).
And the websites that were proposing this original idea are now defunct.One no longer exists, and the other is a generic automotive website.
In June 2021, this idea first appeared in Arlington, VA.The views at that time were that inconveniencing people is not going to convince people to give up their SUV, and buy a prius (or use public transportation, as the leaflet suggested.
April, 2022, the same idea is again being tried.I guess they never heard of the saying “What is the definition of insanity?Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
But this new group is going by the name “Tyre Extinguishers”, and they are doing their activities in London.They are hoping to get everybody to do it everywhere, but the response has not been positive.
What will happen after you deflate a person’s tires?
So you went on a spree with your buddies deflating every single SUV in the local mall parking lot.You did 100 vehicles in an hour, and you guys feel all proud of yourself for “saving the environment”, so you go inside the mall, buy yourself a Big Mac sandwich and celebrate.A few minutes later, the mall security comes by and arrests you vandalizing property.Most likely the police will just let you “help” the people reinflate their tires and no charges will be pressed.
But you say, “I will only do it on cars in driveways”.A lot of people have doorbell cameras, especially in “rich” neighborhoods.Cameras today are so small,that you may not even know that they are there.Not to mention that the cars themselves have cameras in them.Having a camera and an tablet in your car is now a standard optionthat helps with parking, backing up, and just general safety (your child forgot the put their bicycle away for the upteenthmillion time), not to mention the child running behind the car to get their favorite doll that was sleeping.
Bottom line is that in a “rich neighborhood”, you are most likely going to get caught on camera, the police will be called, and you will get a visit from the police.You vandalized property, so you can go before a judge and try to explain to the judge that vandalizing property, when done for the “greater good” is okay.Maybe you will end up with a liberal judge who will agree with you, but most likely you will not.
And how exactly are you getting to and from the neighborhood that you do not live in?Did you take public transportation?Ride a bicycle?Walk?Or drive by yourself in your parent’s car?If it is the last, somebody might just follow you home and return the favor.
If I can’t deflate somebody’s tires, what can I do to help the environment?
There are a lot of other things that you can do to help the environment than vandalizing property.
Build bicycle and walking paths
Participate in the local city council meetings.Work with them to get bicycle paths and walking paths built.In many places, they are converting old abandoned train tracks into bicycle and walking paths.You can never go wrong with supporting bicycle paths and walking paths, but make sure that the two ends actually go someplace.Starting locations (or major exits from the paths) should be at shopping malls, large grocery stores, train stations, large office parks, etc.A bicycle path that does not go anywhere is an useless as a bridge to nowhere.
Another option is to get bicycle paths created along side expressways.Especially in areas where they are already expanding expressways, adding on a bicycle path will not add much cost to the project.
Build commuter trains along the path of highways
As with bicycle paths, adding on a train to a highway project does not cost as much as doing two separate projects.
The problem that exists in most cities is that commuter trains go from the suburbs to the city center.Highways, on the other hand, usually encircle a city to connect to suburb to suburb.So unless you work in the center of a city, or you can a reverse commute, taking a train is not a realistic option.Reverse commute is when a person lives in a city center, and then works in the suburbs, so they are commuting in the reverse direction of most of the commuters.
So by create train lines that follow the express way lines, the trains will them be going in the direction that the people want and need to go.
Create city centers in new developments and encourge walking
Not everybody who wants to live in the suburbs wants to live a car bound life.A new development is being built.So in a central location, create a city center with stores for grocery shopping, phamarcy, doctor’s offices, dentist’s offices, barbers, gyms, and other things that can your community, your community.
Make sure that a person can get from the local city center to a major transportation hub (mall, train station, univeristy, etc.)
Even better, make sure that a person can get to these other major transportation hubs through safe bicycle or walking trails.
Will people volunteer to use public transportation, if we don’t force them?
In terms of the mother who has the shlep around a bunch of children, probably not.Trying to keep track of a group of kids, especially toddlers, on public transportation is difficult.
But, in terms of the main working parent, who is mostly using the car to go to and from work, if public transportation is clean, safe, and not a major hassle, then it becomes an option.
Why don’t people just change to electric cars?How much does an electric car cost?
A ford taurus costs $29,000.The cost of a Ford F-150 truck costs between $39,000 – $95,000.The Ford Edge SUV costs $35,000.
So, in terms of cost, the cost of an electric car is getting within the range of a electric car when comparing tracks and SUVS.
The cost of a Prius is $26,000.
Where can I get my electric car charged on the road?
Currently, there are 150,000 fueling stations in the US.As of February 16, 2022, there are 47,142 charging stations.The Biden Administration wants a network of 500,000 charging stations.But they don’t say how many of those will be fast charging stations.
According to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, he wants to first make sure that charging stations are along highways and expressways every 50 miles, so a person does not have the fear that they are going to need to recharge before getting to the next charging station.Money will be disbursed to states that have a plan on how they are going to spend the money.According to Biuttigieg, “It will not be a blank check.”
Where do I get my electric car fixed?
Another major concern is who is going to fix the electric car.Buttigieg is also making sure that community colleges are training students to become technicians who can fix these cars.
But I have not read anything about how the government is going to handle the retraining of traditional auto repair people to electric car repair people.Are the mechanics themselves going to have to pay for this retraining or is the government going to provide grants, considering that the government is trying to force the maket into that industry.
I want everybody to use electric cars today!When can I realistically expect everybody to change to electric cars?
There are several components to this issue.
First there is the charging stations.Realistically, it will probably take 5 years (at a minimum) to create a base infostructure for charging stations.
Second, there is car replacement.Nobody is going to buy a car any sooner than they originally planned, and if the economy is not good, unless the car physically no longer runs, it will continue to get repaired until it can no longer be repaired.The full lifetime of a car is on average 10 years.
Third, there is the time to charge a car.It takes 10 to 15 minutes to fill up a traditional gas powered car.It takes an hour to charge a battery operated car.So, yes, you can sit down and eat while the car is charging, but did you ever take a look at the rest center on a holiday weekend?The parking lot is filled.So unless, every single parking spot is a charging station, what happens – assuming most people want to “fill up” while they rest their bodies.And what about the long line in the gas station?The ones who traditionally just need to recharge and continue on their path?That option is no longer available?
And what about the “poor person” who just fills up with $5 dollars of gas to “just get home”?Will a battery charge be able to handle that or would a person indirectly destroy their battery over the long term?
Electric cars were first invented in the early 1900s.They were great for city driving.But once people wanted to travel outside of the cities, those electric cars were not so great.I do not get the feeling that given the technology that exists today, that the city vs. out of city driving issue is going to go away.
City driving vs. other driving
Do I think that electic cars, or better public transportation or better bicycle paths will make a huge dent in the city daily commute driver?Of course it will, and that is a good thing.
But once you start entering into long distance driving or rural driving, I am not as convinced.
If you driving on major highways, especially expressways, then given that routes on the top of the list for charging station installations, that might not be an issue.But once you get off the expressways and start driving around in rural farm country, I am not so sure electric cars are going to work.These are people who are so used to be out in the middle of nowhere, that is standard to driving around will extra gas in a can in the trunk of their car.
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