US uses 25% of world oil thanks to Suburban Sprawl; TV Documentary tonight.

[ErikJ]

The US uses 25% of the world's oil primarily because of our very extensive farm-land gobbling suburban sprawl.
This is a very serious topic I wish that the Progressives talk shows would talk more about, in fact I NEVER hear any Progressive talk show hosts addressing this serious problem at all.

CNBC is going to show "SPRAWLING FROM GRACE" tonight at 10pm. It has one of my idols the great Jim Kunstler being interviewed as well.

"The unintended consequences of suburban sprawl inform David M. Edwards' documentary detailing the dangers Americans face should we fail to reevaluate our approach to urban development. The suburban way of life isn't simply at risk; it's in absolute peril. How can a country support such inefficient horizontal growth patterns when the very existence of such patterns threatens to bankrupt the entire nation? By interviewing close to thirty experts on the subject, Edwards discovers that we can no longer continue building our cities as we did in the past. While the suburbs once seemed an essential part of out maturation as a society, it now contributes to pollution, increased health risks, and a decreasing quality of life. But as non-renewable fossil fuels are being slowly depleted, Americans remain trapped behind the wheels of their own cars. With each new subdivision, strip mall, and corporate office block, the promise of a better tomorrow slips further away. So is there a solution to making our society sustainable in a post-fossil-fuel world? By exploring the efforts of state and city governments to invest in such viable alternatives as BRT (Bus Rapid Transit, commuter rail, and light rail, Edwards reveals why innovative thinking regarding land use and transportation is essential to keeping our society functional.way in which we build our cities."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPS1y81b1Bw

[arcane1]

1. Another good documentary on this topic is "The End of Suburbia"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446320/

[geardaddy]

13. I'll second that.

Awesome film.

[marmar]

36. Thirded.....I've got the DVD and watch it regularly.

nt

[EFerrari]

24. Thanks. I'm writing about suburbia and haven't seen that. n/t

[GKirk]

2. Screw them...

...what do they want us to do, abandon the suburbs and all move back to the city centers?

[fascisthunter]

4. no... they want you to be aware of the consequences of suburbia

just as there have been studies on urban environments. It's good to be aware, even if the info is disagreeable to our own senses.

[slackmaster]

16. OK, I'm aware now and I don't care

:shrug:

This "problem" can be fixed by improved public transportation and encouraging telecommuting. Also development of alternative energy sources like rooftop solar.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. The environmentally friendly pattern would be the way humans lived for

5,000 years--if not in cities, then in small towns with everything in walking distance and lots of green space/farmland in between. In other words, the pattern that is still most common in Europe, Asia, and Latin America and was in the U.S. till World War II.

Suburbs combine the worst of both worlds--the congestion and potential anonymity of the city and the inconvenience of the country.

[XemaSab]

8. It also creates a situation where public transportation

is totally impractical. :(

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. The typical postwar suburb does, yes

Some of the prewar suburbs were built around streetcar or commuter train lines and actually have the remnants of downtowns.

During the time I was living in Portland car-free, I visited my mother and stepfather for Christmas in their suburb of Minneapolis. I had some last-minute shopping to do for my nieces and nephews (then grade school age), so I borrowed their car and headed out. After buying a present for one nephew at one big box store, I got an idea for a present for the other nephew and figured that I could get it at a different store. Now that other store was literally just a few hundred feet from where I was, but I couldn't walk to it because of the road and traffic patterns and the lack of pedestrian bridges.

I wonder how much gas is wasted going from one suburban parking lot to another. Repeat millions of times per day.

[GKirk]

23. And yet...

...I'm happy right where I am.

[Lorien]

26. Not surprising.

:eyes:

[Thunderstruck]

11. YEA! LET'S ALL JUST SAY "SCREW THEM!"

Let's just destroy the whole goddamned planet!

[GKirk]

29. Come on...

...as far as people moving to suburbia...that ship has sailed... and we're not coming back. :)

[Thunderstruck]

33. With gas now over $4 in some places

you think we're never coming back from suburbia?

Post bookmarked for future reference.

[GKirk]

35. What's your prediction

as to how soon you will come back to tell me "I told you so!"?

[Thunderstruck]

38. About 26 years.

Series!1!!

[LanternWaste]

15. You perceive an observation as a dictum?

You perceive an observation as a dictum? Odd that... :shrug:

[Odin2005]

21. That's how Europeans live.

[fascisthunter]

3. living in densely populated areas can be tough for those who are anti-social

funny thing is there are folks in Western Massachusetts who are afraid of going to Boston. I don't know what type of shit they hear in the boonies, but jesus christ get a fucking grip, go to a city and open your goddamn eyes.

[One_Life_To_Give]

7. People get shot in Springfield

Boston's like Springfield on Steroids.

Wasn't many years ago that western MA gas station left it's pumps on overnight, with a cigar box to leave your payment in.
If you grew up in a place where people never lock their doors. Urban area's can seem frightening.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. People get shot in out-of-the-way little rural towns, too

Just read your state's largest newspaper.

I've lived in cities (New Haven, Portland, Minneapolis) most of my life, and I've never even heard gunfire, much less gotten shot.

I've even visited Boston and New York, riding the subway and everything, and never felt threatened.

Thanks to the drug culture, especially meth, and economic troubles and the "me first" culture, those small towns aren't as safe as they used to be.

[ErikJ]

17. Ed Schultz

I heard Ed Schultz say the same thing about moving to New York City. He was afraid of NYC before he moved there but says he's glad he did because its so exciting.

[fascisthunter]

22. It's Understandable I Guess

If you live in an environment for so long, the change can be frightening I suppose. We do have more crime in the city, but that is due to a higher density in population, so it is a given. But too many have a really distorted and exagerated view of urban areas and the people who live there... tv doesn't help of course.

Also, I have seen some urbanites from poorer communities show a fear of rural areas, so it does go both ways.

[and-justice-for-all]

6. Most Aermicans are clueless as to what consequences their

decisions have and some who do just do not care, because they a worthless pukes who have theirs so fuck the rest of us.

Building that big ass house, which uses a fuck load of resources and energy build and to run, should be smacked with an energy tax based on its square footage. But if say solar power and wind are implemented to off set the homes energy usage, then that tax would be reduced based on how much those alternative power sources off set the homes use of coal and other dirty energy producers.

[ErikJ]

12. In Germany you can SELL your surplus back to the grid.

If you are making more solar than currently using it will reverse your meter and the utility will buy back you electricity! I think a few places in the US has this program in place too.

[slackmaster]

19. Yes, many places have that in the USA

My rooftop solar system went live on Friday.

[and-justice-for-all]

40. congrats!!

now lets make malls and mega-stores and other buildings but up solar power grids on their roofs as well.

[and-justice-for-all]

39. Ich leibe Deutschland....

That is a great idea, but our urban sprawl needs to be taxed do to the square footage of the house and amount of energy used. If energy alternatives are implemented, then that tax can be reduced but it should not be eliminated.

[slackmaster]

18. Happy 4/20 to you too

[county worker]

14. Good, how are you going to move my job closer to my house or how are you going to find an

affordable house for me in Santa Barbara?

People who write this stuff never have a good alternative solution that is practical and doable.

I can name hundreds of problems with out giving a practical solution too.

We need to live like we have to and not use the oil. That is the solution!

On edit, guilt tripping people is fun isn't it?

[Lorien]

25. There is a simple alternative: demand high speed rail with light rail connectors

and design developments that are eco friendly close to the stations. The current model isn't sustainable.

[county worker]

31. I agree that we need alternatives to oil but I think it is near impossible to

have people live near the work. If you buy a house you expect to gain some equity and stay there for more years than you stay in a job. If you job opportunity is further from your home than you like, that is probably is not the deciding factor in whether you take the job.

I can ride a clear air bus to work if I want but I would like to have high speed rail. The problem then is how to get to work from the station.

[catzies]

27. You're lucky if you can live & work in Santa Barbara...I'm in Ventura County, I understand

Matter of fact I used to commute from Camarillo to Carpinteria. Hated it.

[county worker]

30. I live in Lompoc - Vandenberg Village.

My house payment would double if I lived in Santa Barbara.

[Odin2005]

20. K&R

[houstonintc]

28. Some solutions might be simple

Economies could be more localized into these suburbs. For example it might help to have groceries, clothing and other essential needs all be for sale within walking distance. The documentary does note that about 80% of our trips are for non-work related things.

[Modern_Matthew]

32. Small town America is miserable. nt

[bhikkhu]

34. It all depends

I'm pretty happy with my "small town america" experience - its been a great place to live and a great place to raise kids...but then I did spend my first 30 years traveling around the country and living in miscellaneous cities on both coasts.

[Liberal_in_LA]

37. k&r... I'll look for it. Not that we'll stop driving in Los Angeles