First town in America to ban new gas stations
theguardian.com
First town in America to ban new gas stations
1–10 of 124 posts
Re: First town in America to ban new gas stations
#2We all know that to combat climate change sacrifices will need to be made like fewer cars and smaller houses (for compact, accessible cities).
I can't see the US ever being willing to make these sacrifices though. If you compare the $/sqft for housing in the US vs. Europe the difference is shocking (even in big cities like Seattle vs. London), same for gasoline prices, etc.
The US has become accustomed to unparalleled comfort and luxury, with central air conditioning and multiple cars practically the norm. If anything, I imagine they'll try to enforce strict emissions controls on developing nations to have the pretence of doing something.
Re: First town in America to ban new gas stations
#3Lots of towns have already done this. Berkeley did it years ago. It doesn't matter at all. The fact that Berkeley bans certain land uses means that the town next door, Emeryville, falls prey to fiscalization and simply makes their whole urban strategy be making money off of encouraging all the things Berkeley bans. The effect is that there are probably more gas stations than Emeryville than there would otherwise be in both Emeryville and Berkeley. The same goes for big box stores which Berkeley also banned. Emeryville is just a long endless chain of box stores and gas stations right next to Berkeley.
Re: First town in America to ban new gas stations
#4I drove a fully electric car over the weekend within 100 kilometres of Stockholm.
No. The tide is not turning. The vast majority of charging stations are inside the city. And the vast majority of places in those stations a slow, 3kW ones, with a sprinkle of 11kW in between. There are maybe ten 50kW ones in the entire Stockholm area.
If the only thing you do is commuting, and you have a place to charge your car overnight at/near your home, then you can drive an electric car. For anything else? Good luck.
Re: First town in America to ban new gas stations
#5We all know that to combat climate change sacrifices will need to be made like fewer cars and smaller houses (for compact, accessible cities). I can't see the US ever being willing to make these sacrifices though. If you compare the $/sqft for housing in the US vs. Europe the difference is shocking (even in big cities like Seattle vs. London), same for gasoline prices, etc. The US has become accustomed to unparallele…
We all know that to combat climate change sacrifices will need to be made like fewer cars and smaller houses (for compact, accessible cities).
Is this really a sacrifice?
I can't see the US ever being willing to make these sacrifices though. If you compare the $/sqft for housing in the US vs. Europe the difference is shocking (even in big cities like Seattle vs. London), same for gasoline prices, etc.
I would be more concerned with urban design and zoning than square footage. Bigger house means more maintenance, and bigger lot means more mowing. I for one, hate mowing.
The US has become accustomed to unparalleled comfort and luxury, with central air conditioning and multiple cars practically the norm. If anything, I imagine they'll try to enforce strict emissions controls on developing nations to have the pretence of doing something.
A car is not a luxury. It is an unfortunate and out of control necessity that helps increases the cost of living and make societies less egalitarian, because it is a requirement to use car to do anything of note.
Re: First town in America to ban new gas stations
#6Lots of towns have already done this. Berkeley did it years ago. It doesn't matter at all. The fact that Berkeley bans certain land uses means that the town next door, Emeryville, falls prey to fiscalization and simply makes their whole urban strategy be making money off of encouraging all the things Berkeley bans. The effect is that there are probably more gas stations than Emeryville than there would otherwise be i…
Ojai bans "fast food" though the definition of that is a bit slippery - and so there are fast food places just outside city limits.
Re: First town in America to ban new gas stations
#7I drove a fully electric car over the weekend within 100 kilometres of Stockholm. No. The tide is not turning. The vast majority of charging stations are inside the city. And the vast majority of places in those stations a slow, 3kW ones, with a sprinkle of 11kW in between. There are maybe ten 50kW ones in the entire Stockholm area. If the only thing you do is commuting, and you have a place to charge your car overni…
Charging station availability is a bit of a red herring though. Like you said, it's really dependent on charging overnight/when you're not using the vehicle. Obviously the viability will vary from person to person, but considering that a huge portion of car owners don't need more than 100 miles a day, just charging at home is a viable option. For those people, EVs provide a better overall experience.
I agree we need to improve charging station availability. With a few exceptions, EVs are generally not well-suited to long-distance travel.
Re: First town in America to ban new gas stations
#8We all know that to combat climate change sacrifices will need to be made like fewer cars and smaller houses (for compact, accessible cities). I can't see the US ever being willing to make these sacrifices though. If you compare the $/sqft for housing in the US vs. Europe the difference is shocking (even in big cities like Seattle vs. London), same for gasoline prices, etc. The US has become accustomed to unparallele…
> We all know that to combat climate change sacrifices will need to be made like fewer cars and smaller houses (for compact, accessible cities).
This statement is tinged with the idea of sacrifice and loss that is unfortunately one of the hallmarks of the environmental movement. How about this? We can have an emissions-free future that is much more awesome than now with the same size cars and homes. Rewiring America explains how (hint: electrify everything):
https://www.rewiringamerica.org/
Of course, it's also a good idea to reduce our overall consumption, but if you tell people they're going to have to live "worse" lives for the sake of the climate — well I don't think that's true or helpful.
Re: First town in America to ban new gas stations
#9Electric cars are expensive. You need to have money to buy one. By punishing petrol car owners, you are essentially rewarding rich people for having money.
Re: First town in America to ban new gas stations
#10Market distortions are waste.