Transporting the public to a new way of thinking
We seem to have reached a crossroads: our automakers, our economy, and our environment have come to the intersection of "Help" and "Crisis". How do we get traffic flowing again and avoid a fatal accident? The answer is that the “US Auto Industry” needs to become the “US Transportation Industry” by building more than just cars and making cars that burn more than just gasoline.
Michael Moore said it best: “Congress must do what Franklin Roosevelt did when he was faced with a crisis (and ordered the auto industry to stop building cars and instead build tanks and planes): The Big 3 are, from this point forward, to build only cars that are not primarily dependent on oil and, more importantly, to build trains, buses, subways, and light rail (a corresponding public works project across the country will build the rail lines and tracks). This will not only save jobs, but create millions of new ones.”
Sounds good, but what can we do? (#1) Start with using the public transportation options available where you live; visit sites like Hopstop and Google Maps that provide public transit “driving directions” that take the guesswork out of navigating the system. Figuring out a new city’s subway is not only empowering, as we recently discovered at the D.C. Green festival, it’s cheaper than cabs and better for the environment. (#2) Find a way to decrease your dependence of individualized transportation by joining a car sharing service. (#3) Visit Obama's new website, Environmentalists for Obama, where you can read his Energy and Environment Plan.
