Simple, right? ( lemmy.world )

danielquinn , 8 months ago (edited 8 months ago)

There are alternatives to driving your car everywhere and there are objective environmental benefits to centralising human efforts for around 8hrs/day.

I’m not a fan of demanding people go back to the office, but this meme is idiotic. Get out of your fucking car.

Edit: the responses to this are exactly what I expected: pleas of helplessness rooted in a lack of imagination.

Nearly every city (yes, even those in the US) where you see these ridiculous commutes has options for transit and even cycling. The trick is that you have to live closer to the centre. You can’t live in a suburb 2hrs away. You sell your car and you move closer to work.

This “oh everything is built for cars!” refrain is true enough, but only because so many people have chosen to live under that system.

“I can’t afford rent in the city!” is what comes next. Have you considered how much money you save not having a car?. I’ve read estimates of roughly $10,000 every year. Living in Ottawa, I did the math and ditched my car in 2001. I later lived in Toronto, Vancouver, Amsterdam, London, and Cambridge, all car-free.

Sure for some it’s just not possible, but for most it’s a refusal to imagine a world where you don’t own a car… and that’s on you.

PizzaMan , 8 months ago

If we weren’t de facto forced into owning and using a car due to our car centric city planning, maybe you’d have a point.

But as it stands bike infrastructure is non existent in most cities, public transportation is a joke, there is no mixed use zoning, etc.

TheColonel , 8 months ago

Try “getting out of your fucking car” in the majority of the US.