Seeking Sustainable Transportation

We all "see" what we're looking for. My photos from Switzerland are heavily slanted toward transportation and energy. I forgot, however, to take the photo of the Esso station price sign, with its $1.80 (or thereabouts) price PER LITER. Think of the two-liter bottles of soda we buy and try to figure out the per gallon price. That bloated figure is a prime motivator for Europeans to be energy conscious.

I do have a photo at the Basel Hilton of its own solar electric pump set up to fuel the hotel's small car. Other photos include a covered adult tricycle and the convenient trolley system.

And, don't get me started on the ease of the train system throughout the country. To get to the top of Jungfrau Mountain in the Alps, we took a train, a cable car, a smaller train, and two gondolas. Seeing the gorgeous views or skiing didn't require us to rent a car and drive up snow-covered mountains to get where we wanted to go.

State senators might want to join the Ohio House and open their minds to the 3C rail proposal. At the moment, they seem stuck on the Eisenhower-era automobile-based transportation system that serves this state. Progressing in terms of jobs and our economic future requires more than what we've grown used to.

David Beach at Green City Blue Lake gives us some backgrounding on the regional agenda for what we might consider here.

Our current transportation system is not at all sustainable. It forces us to spend more and more time moving around instead of providing convenient access to what we need. It is increasingly unaffordable, as the high cost of cars and fuel consumes a larger proportion of household budgets. It is not maintainable, as hard-pressed governments can't afford to maintain the far-flung transportation infrastructure built in the past 50 years. It is damaging the natural systems that support life. And it is incredibly destructive to the cities and towns where most people live.

What is the "sustainable" alternative?

Answers at Green City Blue Lake.