A couple of days ago, I was in a "knot" as one friend on Twitter proclaimed.
If I sell my car, and increase usage of planes, am I car-lite?
I am going to sell my cars and buy one bus. Will that make me car-lite?
Another friend on Twitter replied that "Yes" I would be be car free but I would not be "responsible."
Here was the tweet: I'm going to sell my car and then buy and burn plastic; does that make me car free?
Look me up if you want to see the whole tweetersation, and by all means, share your thoughts.
I often think in terms of exaggeration or extremes because it helps me to find the edges of the concept. From there, I can work my way around. This type of thinking also allows me to see the inconsistencies in the logic.
I think @TacomaBikeRanch hit on it with his use of the word "slippery." Slippery is the word I would use with questionable preachers--you know, the kind that show up for a tent revival and then leave with your grandmother's savings and silver dinnerware.
I have been pondering this issue lately. There are many opinions on the matter. I find the breadth of opinions hopeful--a great amount of discussion creates a great amount of thought. Thoughts are what are used to push to action.
However, I have to admit, I find the "bike usage as all encompassing panacea" idea tiresome, even troublesome. For some reason, bike usage and car usage seem impossible to balance. They are at odds. Diametrically opposed, as my high school English teacher would say.
Bike usage and car usage are not two streams that cannot be crossed. So why is the situation such that the emotional baggage is Bikes vs Cars in the ultimate battle?
I do not think the ignorant pursuit of "bike usage as all encompassing panacea" will serve our urban future well. I think we should be looking along the lines of What is my overall footprint? Which is why I wrote the tongue-and-cheek statement about selling my car to be "car free," but burning plastic along the way.
If I rode a bike, solely, but burnt plastic, consumed exported beers, purchased lots of clothes, and took luxurious trips all of the time, I think my bike usage would be negated by my other actions. Agreed?
If in agreement, then the idea of "bike usage as all encompassing panacea" cannot exist.
This is not some does-global-warming-exist scenario. This is an honest question to what is presumed to be obvious. What effect does singularly focused bike growth have on the overall goal? I tried hard to word this without bias. I want to know the answer to this question. I want to do research. Do cultures and countries where bike use is high have a Bike vs Car mentality? Or are all modes of transportation balanced within the larger scheme?
This last September, I played around with this topic as my Freshman students drafted their own research questions. Over the few weeks that followed, I drafted an essay to show basic essay structure as we started the school year. This allowed me to think through some thoughts, but I found that I had more thoughts than opinions. I also found writing the essay to be quite a humorous proposition because I was writing it with my students, but did not fully use my opinions. I found some of my angles quite humorous.
I will likely pursue the idea more as it tends to crop up every few years for me. This is not the first time I have dealt with this issue.
In March of 2009, Dave Feucht of Portlandize and I sent several emails back and forth on this slippery idea. I posted a draft of my ideas, Some Thoughts on Bike Culture, and so did Dave, but for the life of me, I cannot seem to find his post. His post, as always, was well written and insightful.
I wrote this post without revision and reservation. I did not stop to think about who I may have pissed off, or how I may have come across. My thoughts and words are just out there. Hopefully, those who know me (or know of me) can put these thoughts and words together in the manner in which I intended--an open and polite discourse because, ultimately, I do want to pursue this idea in a more researchable way; something that would add value and direction for our urban life.
**** Added after initial posting ****
I fixed the post-date on this post. I started writing it, title only, in August I 2011, but did not complete it until tonight, 23 January 2012.
Also, the Portlandize post written by Dave Feucht that I reference in this post can be found here, http://portlandize.com/author/davidf/
6 comments:
This certainly was written at a time when we are trying to sell our last remaining vehicle, but our motivation is entirely financial. We have no intention of being car-free for eternity, just till we can make some much needed debt adjustments. Then we expect to have a vehicles that is what we need it to be and no more. So yes, it's personal and global. Best wishes.
Stacy, finances are as good a reason as any. It is a reason, it fits your family's need, and you have perspective.
Plus, it looks like you are rolling a Yuba!
For us, there are several reasons that car-free works better.
The most obvious one is finances: there are lots of other places I'd like to spend money than on owning, maintaining, and fueling a car.
Second is willpower: I often lack it. My health and happiness are served by walking and biking as often as possible, but I know that if I had a car sitting on the curb there are lots of small trips, especially in foul weather, that I'd be taking by car instead, convincing myself that it's "easier." Since I pay for car trips on a per-trip basis AND need to plan those trips somewhat in advance (via Zipcar) I have a higher bar for what it means to REALLY need a car.
Third is being an example. I'm entirely comfortable being the "extreme" case among my non-bikey friends: "Well Katie manages fine and she doesn't even have one car..." has actually helped keep neighbors from buying a second auto, which I feel good about. I know that my mommy friends take the train to the zoo more than they used to, because there is this example in their lives that says they can. I don't think that role would be as clear if I had a car but didn't use it often-- nobody thinks they use their car except for "when they need it," so the comparison isn't as stark.
I don't think car-free living is the only path to an ecologically ethical life. But it works for me. It makes many choices more straightforward, and I like that.
Katie (and David) you do live a good life and I have not heard you ever profess the Bike vs Car mentality. Rental of a Zip car on occasion shows your understanding of Consider Appropriate Transportation. I know some who would say that even Zip car rental plays into the ills.
I will have to say that, despite being an avid outdoorsperson for years, that until I committed to a car-lite lifestyle (for economic reasons) that I didn't begin to consider my overall footprint.
Being a cyclist, and reading cyclo-centric literature I was exposed to a lot of concepts I might otherwise have avoided, but imbedded within different articles, books (Hurst's Cyclist Manifesto comes to mind) and blogs I may not have started seriously working to reduce my overall footprint if not for the impetus of the bike.
Perhaps in my rant, it did not come across as such: I have nothing against car-lite-ness or car free living. I think it is great. I would like to go back to that. I was without a car for a few years and loved it. I do not demonize cars; I do not have a Bike vs Car mentality, but I can save money and slow my life down without a car. When I had a teaching job just over the I-5 bridge (I live in NE PDX), I was able to bike there. It was great. And when I took my kids to the beach for that one big summer trip, I took them in a car I borrowed.
My concern comes from Bike vs Car mentality as it applies to narrow thinking and it raises a concern: is this mentality detrimental to the goal of furthering bike usage? My hypothesis is yes because I creates an Us/Them mentality, and most people who use bikes, or will use bikes, will be occasional users. We do not want to deter the occasional because they, in great numbers, wi be the largest segment of users and as such will promote biking. This large, occasional segment will also hold a great deal of clout and voice and voting power. I would like for this group to be part of the OUR, not Us or Them.
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