Those of us who recycle every possible scrap, buy organic food, drive an electric car, use a bicycle transit or Lyft, live in the City and practice mindfulness are depressed by the once again increasing global CO2 emissions and that even an environmentally conscious countries like Germany are failing miserably in meeting reduction goals. They grouse over the state of the planet and how life will be for our children and grandchildren.
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Rural service: Gas and "steak with gravy" at the roadside: Sunoco in Prices Fork, VA |
Those of us who eat canned food, Ramen noodles or a quick meal from a styrofoam halfshell because that is all the store at the nearest gas station offers, live far out in the country because that's where housing is still affordable, drive and old gas guzzler because that was the most affordable car with enough space to fit the family, can't ride a bike because the roads neither have a sidewalk nor a bike-lane and the job is way to far to walk or bike anyway are depressed because the money may not last to the end the month. Is there going to be enough to pay the utility bill, fill the prescription and still feed the kids? The end of our world seems always right around the corner, regardless of what is decided in a far away climate conference.
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Electric cars: Not yet a solution for rural driving |
Both of these sets and worries are real, both life-styles co-exist in many countries. They are so different from each other that what is expected from politicians and leaders is radically different in each scenario. What is a solution for the one is peril for the other. For example, making the use of the car through less attractive through higher fuel taxes may be desirable for those in metropolitan centers but is real punishment for those in rural areas where there is no plausible alternative to driving, because everything, the post office, the grocery store, the doctor, the church, the school and the job is miles away. The main streets of villages and small towns centers have long become ghost towns and all the is left for shopping are the the gas station convenience stores on outlying intersections. Progressive solutions, such as a
new agreement between many eastern seaboard states to curb transportation emissions, have therefore very different effects on residents, depending on where they live.
Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects