CommieChipmunk
Member
+488|6540|Portland, OR, USA
If you haven't seen this documentary (Taken for a ride), you should. I know the beginning's a little cheesy and the music's kinda swanky, but the information is so incredibly eye opening and even though it's not the newest video, the relevance to today is still very much there.

I'd always taken it for granted that the development of the automotive industry was a natural move in the ordered advancement of our society.  After watching that movie in my college economics class today, I realize how incredibly wrong I was.  The traffic system that now exists works decently well today because a select few individuals have decided that it would be beneficial ($$$$$) to them to make it work.  When you actually think about how we get around today compared to alternatives that could have won out over cars, it's so incredibly inefficient (each person drives them self around in a +1 ton vehicle burning gallons of volatile liquid and pumping tons and tons and tons of noxious fumes into the atmosphere).

If the recent bailouts and inevitable failing of our automotive industry doesn't have you mad enough, I strongly urge you to watch this video.  I'd try to go through and highlight the main points but without all of the context I feel that I would be doing you a disservice.  It's terrifying how the greed and ignorance of the fat cats of industry whose lobby basically runs this country can have such profound effects on the way we live.

Here's a couple of short summaries that kinda give you an idea of what it's about:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0236785/
http://www.culturechange.org/issue10/ta … a-ride.htm
Turquoise
O Canada
+1,596|6376|North Carolina
Great documentary.

And yes, GM can die for all I care.
chittydog
less busy
+586|6806|Kubra, Damn it!

I don't think you can make a blanket statement that our transportation system is all wrong. I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and everywhere you go is a 30 minute drive. Relying on public transportation would probably triple my commute to work each day. That's two hours a day I don't have to spend on a train or bus or whatever. Considering that's about all the time I get to spend with my daughter, I'm not willing to sacrifice that.
CommieChipmunk
Member
+488|6540|Portland, OR, USA

chittydog wrote:

I don't think you can make a blanket statement that our transportation system is all wrong. I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and everywhere you go is a 30 minute drive. Relying on public transportation would probably triple my commute to work each day. That's two hours a day I don't have to spend on a train or bus or whatever. Considering that's about all the time I get to spend with my daughter, I'm not willing to sacrifice that.
That's the point of the documentary... It's set up in a way that cars are the only way to go.  'GM' would come into cities under the alias of another company (National Transit Lines), buy out all of the electric rail lines and slowly start shutting down service/make it incontinent for people to ride.  Then less people would ride the lines, they could jack up price to compensate and then switch to buses because it would be more 'cost effective'.  Once they ripped the rail lines out and replaced it with an inefficient bus system, it left the road open for cars...  That was super generalized, but that's basically the gist of it. You have to have a car because they made public transportation suck..
Turquoise
O Canada
+1,596|6376|North Carolina
Yep.  The sad part is...  it's too late.

Urban sprawl has rendered us dependent on cars.
usmarine
Banned
+2,785|6732

Turquoise wrote:

Yep.  The sad part is...  it's too late.

Urban sprawl has rendered us dependent on cars.
oh just be honest.  people fear the darkies.
Man With No Name
جندي
+148|5545|The Wild West

usmarine wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

Yep.  The sad part is...  it's too late.

Urban sprawl has rendered us dependent on cars.
oh just be honest.  people fear the darkies.
its 2009, we say colored or negroe






I hate public transportation in LA.  Thats why I drive.
CommieChipmunk
Member
+488|6540|Portland, OR, USA

Man With No Name wrote:

usmarine wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

Yep.  The sad part is...  it's too late.

Urban sprawl has rendered us dependent on cars.
oh just be honest.  people fear the darkies.
its 2009, we say colored or negroe






I hate public transportation in LA.  Thats why I drive.
lol.. that's the point
FEOS
Bellicose Yankee Air Pirate
+1,182|6381|'Murka

Turquoise wrote:

Yep.  The sad part is...  it's too late.

Urban sprawl has rendered us dependent on cars.
Read something about urban sprawl a while back...or at least the spread of suburbia. It came from the GIs when they came home from WW2. They saw major urban areas bombed to pavement while areas away from the cities were relatively untouched. Hence, the push to move away from the cities. Relatively inexpensive cars, gas, and good roads made that easier.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
Turquoise
O Canada
+1,596|6376|North Carolina

FEOS wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

Yep.  The sad part is...  it's too late.

Urban sprawl has rendered us dependent on cars.
Read something about urban sprawl a while back...or at least the spread of suburbia. It came from the GIs when they came home from WW2. They saw major urban areas bombed to pavement while areas away from the cities were relatively untouched. Hence, the push to move away from the cities. Relatively inexpensive cars, gas, and good roads made that easier.
Good points...  and admittedly, I like my car a lot.  I don't think I'd want to have to be dependent on public transit.

Last edited by Turquoise (2009-04-10 07:41:32)

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