tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post9112821370530856819..comments2024-03-27T20:04:53.585-06:00Comments on Illinois Transportation Issues: Slugfest Over Sprawl and Transit-Oriented DevelopmentTom Bamontehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257129333713108323noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-83317620363831554732007-07-06T02:59:00.000-06:002007-07-06T02:59:00.000-06:00Bruegmann doesn't know transportation because he's...Bruegmann doesn't know transportation because he's an art historian. Ohland is right: demographic trends point towards a nation where more people will be at the phases in their lives when they will *want* to live around strangers.<BR/><BR/>As for energy efficiency, anyone with an ounce of sense can see that Americans use energy tremendously inefficiently. Ethanol, biodiesel, photovoltaics, fuel cells -- all these are glorious technologies, but they'll never be as cheap as gasoline circa 1970. Suburban sprawl consumes prodigious amounts of energy (and water), not just in transportation but in operations; in a forthcoming era when energy and water will both be scarce, the cost of living/driving in sprawl will necessarily rise. Whether our society chooses to pay those higher costs or to invest our income in potentially more productive endeavors is up to us.<BR/><BR/>Anonymous June 25 is correct: batteries are not a way of creating energy, they're a way of storing energy. The base price of that energy is still going to be high.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09283122571671344629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-35808651503552854852007-06-25T12:31:00.000-06:002007-06-25T12:31:00.000-06:00The technology of electric cars is improving, but ...The technology of electric cars is improving, but is still much farther off from being a mainstream alternative than 5-10 years. I'm no expert, but when no electric car is anywhere near available here on a mass, affordable scale, it is safe to say that the horizon is more like 20-30 years. <BR/><BR/>Secondly, electric cars still require energy. Where will this energy come from? Our electrical network is almost at capacity right now, so how long would it take to upgrade that capacity to produce enough energy to power electric cars? It takes years and years to build just a single plant, preceded by many more years of impact studies and politcal battles. If we were to continue our free-motoring way of life, but with electric cars, we are talking about perhaps a doubling of our nation's power generating capacity.<BR/><BR/>The largest solar power development in the world is right now in Germany. It generates enough electricity to power 9000 homes. Imagine generating enough electricity to power 250 million automobiles. You can't do it without oil or coal.<BR/><BR/>Per capita, Americans consume almost twice as much energy as in Germany, Japan, or the UK. I don't think our lifestyle is twice as better as theirs. Perhaps we should follow their example first before we bet the farm on switchgrass and solar cells to power our wasteful economy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-20099821168890823822007-06-24T21:45:00.000-06:002007-06-24T21:45:00.000-06:00Anonymous #2--How will the advent of viable electr...Anonymous #2--<BR/><BR/>How will the advent of viable electric vehicle technology affect the comparative advantages of dense urban development versus suburban development?<BR/><BR/>Are electric cars the real-life equivalent of the banana peels and bean sprouts refered by Anonymous #1 that will render suburbia as energy efficient as the urban core?<BR/><BR/>Will small, low-priced electric vehicles cut into public transit's market share? Will people switch from transit (and bikes) to such vehicles if and when they become available.<BR/><BR/>BTW, check out the Electric Avenue Auto Mall in Oak Forest. (http://www.evautomall.com/index.cfm) They have electric cars ready for use today.Tom Bamontehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08257129333713108323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-1771997008644344562007-06-24T21:37:00.000-06:002007-06-24T21:37:00.000-06:00Anonymous #1--Can you conceive of a future where t...Anonymous #1--Can you conceive of a future where the "suburban way of life" is approximately as energy efficient as urban living. Let's say, for example, that that the McMansions start getting built with wind turbines and solar panels. If overall energy use were then roughly comparable, are their other environmental considerations that favor one form of development over another?Tom Bamontehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08257129333713108323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-34266454442487210442007-06-24T19:37:00.000-06:002007-06-24T19:37:00.000-06:00Fully electric cars are not far off(5-10yrs)--held...Fully electric cars are not far off(5-10yrs)--held back only by storage (batteries) technology. When the conversion occurs it will change everything about the surface transportation system.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-41202444663110508762007-06-21T23:04:00.000-06:002007-06-21T23:04:00.000-06:00We can certainly build more enviornmentally effice...We can certainly build more enviornmentally efficeint cities if we promote more transit-oriented development. It is evident when we compare ourselves to other major cities around the globe. If people walk more and drive less, they consume less energy. Per Capita, Americans consume much more oil than Europeans.<BR/><BR/>Bruegmann's argument assumes that if we simply "invest" our money in new technologies, somehow and someday we might be able to create a "green" suburbia. How exactly will this happen? Will all of our cars run on banana peels? <BR/><BR/>No amount of investment will guarantee an eco-friendly, motor-happy utopia. We know we can start to conserve resources and reduce carbon emmisions by using less energy. So let's start doing that first. Drive less, and walk, bike and take the train more. Build cities where this is possible. And later, when cars can fly and are powered by bean-sprouts, we can go back to our suburban way of life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com