PopStar Obama announced that he will be investing $129 billion in renewable energy, focusing on solar and hybrid cars. This is a dramatic move after eight years of eco-resistance from that evil-spawn-puppet Dubya. Obama's move comes shortly after the EPA (enviro protection agency) announced global warming as a public health issue. WOW. How times have changed, how the tables have turned. At this point, the rainforest's are half gone, we have started wars over oil, made more enemies over friends because of oil and public transit is disintegrating across the nation, which begs the question: is this too little too late? Even further, are Obama's efforts misguided?
Investing in renewable energy is a start, but is only a band aid to the original problem: poor land use. Our addiction to oil is product of people living too far from their jobs, thus, forcing automobile dependency. Suburban sprawl does not account for or even acknowledge public transportation, and is too spread out to even accommodate a such a system. I just attended a meeting for the SFMTA, mother of MUNI, and that system is broke, forcing them to cut service and increase fares. This is happening all over the country, even though ridership is shooting through the roof. Even worse, suburban sprawl is still the development of choice. This country needs a severe shift towards transit oriented developments and walkable communities in order to eliminate the vehicle from the equation. If Obama wants to make headlines, he can throw money at renewable energy. If he wants to make history, he would require higher density in his cities.
Obama's efforts are a good start, but should be the catalyst for environmental investment. Renewable energy is not the ONLY way to support the environment or be 'eco.' Obama needs to start thinking out of the box, about ways to reduce the need for cars (public transit, TOD's), instead of just thinking of how to make emissions cleaner (hybrids). The renewable energy approach is like banking on the clean coal theory.
READ MORE BREEZIES!!!!
Van Jones doesn't believe in clean coal, and he just got hired by the White House. Hopefully he can have some influence, or maybe in the future, we will all have unicorns pulling our cars!
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1 comment:
If he wants to make history, he would require higher density in his cities.
what about the tipping point? an increased density would mean higher cost of living.
Are we ready for a cleaner city with fewer poor people?
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