tjj wrote:
Mustard, you have made some articulate and well argued posts for the car - some of which are irrefutable. Thesweetcheat is a bit of a hero in my book, constantly working out his bus and train routes, always willing to enter into good natured dialogue on a subject he clearly feels passionate about. You summed it up, however, with these words "The car is simply too comfortable, cheap and convenient to be easily displaced."
I haven't really got anything to add without the risk of tailing off into gloom and/or grumpiness. For inspiration I recommend Robert MacFarlane's "The Old Ways - a journey on foot" also his "The Wild Places" - reading about ancient routes across and around the British Isles is inspiring and I suspect some (who are fit enough) would be tempted to walk the same 'old ways' at least some of the time.
Which would be a step in the right direction.
Oh, my posts aren't intended to be "for" the car. Obviously cars offer huge advantages, but it's pretty clear that we can't carry on increasing their use without significant detrimental impact. I just don't think that we're going to get any alternative in place until something forces us to - be that environmental or economic factors. I would dearly love to see a massive investment in our public transport infrastructure (although I think the impact of such investment upon car use wouldn't be game-changing), and I'd dearly love to have the time to amble around the country on public transport. I could spend months just exploring the railways, given the chance. I haven't really got anything to add without the risk of tailing off into gloom and/or grumpiness. For inspiration I recommend Robert MacFarlane's "The Old Ways - a journey on foot" also his "The Wild Places" - reading about ancient routes across and around the British Isles is inspiring and I suspect some (who are fit enough) would be tempted to walk the same 'old ways' at least some of the time.
Which would be a step in the right direction.
