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If speed limits are reduced...
If petroleum consumption is reduced...
If more people cycle...
If more people walk...
If more people travel by train...
If fewer people drive...
If air pollution is reduced...
If traffic congestion is reduced...If driving is less stressful...
If pedestrians are safer...
If cyclists are safer...
If Western nations are less reliant on imported petroleum...
If a nation interferes less with the affairs of other nations...
If obesity is reduced...
If people are healthier...
If fewer people are injured...
If people are happier...
If people save money...
If less greenhouse gas is produced...
If we can't travel quite so far as we used to...
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DreamingI read once that people have always tended to live about 20 minutes travel from where they work. A hundred and fifty years ago they lived much closer to their work-place but they took just as long to get there because they walked, rode a horse or used a horse-drawn buggy to get there. And they did their shopping and socialising much closer to home, not in a shopping centre several kilometres from home; they would have gone to the corner store and the local pub for example.So have we achieved a lot if we still have to travel about the same amount of time to do what we want to do? If we are to reduce our emissions to sustainable levels will we have to go back to living closer to our work, socialising and shopping places? Driving less? Cycling and walking more? Using public transport more? The transition would be a very hard one. Our modern cities would have to be totally redesigned. You might say I'm dreaming, but by definition we will eventually have to live sustainably if we are to live at all. (Electric vehicles are more environmentally friendly than ICE powered vehicles, but for them to be part of a fully sustainable future all their parts must be fully recyclable: they are not there yet.) |
Concluding remarksOf course many of the links on this page are arguable to some degree; in the first place many would argue that lower speed limits would lead to frustrated drivers and more road rage, and there is probably some truth in this. But most of the links rely on very simple and indisputable logic and I believe that travelling more slowly would, in sum, increase the general quality of life and the health of our shared environment.In a few years it is likely that we will have to reduce our speeds because we will have to take serious action over climate change. Some remarks on driving at lower speeds are also on my page Toward a more sustainable world. |
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Related pagesRelated pages, external...Wikipedia: Energy-efficient driving, maintaining an efficient speed. "The optimal speed varies with the type of vehicle, although it is usually reported to be between 56 km/h and 80 km/h."Distracted driving; information and guidance Aimeeās guide to distracted driving Related pages, on this site...Climate changeSelf or all? Selfishness or altruism? What should we do to reduce emissions? |