Bret AncowitzNational Geographic Magazine has started a worldwide survey called the “Greendex” (click here to learn more) which has the Earth-shattering conclusion that the United States comes in dead last in planet-friendly transportation patterns. These metrics include the “Frequency of Walking or Biking to Work” and “Frequency of Use of Public Transportation.”
While not surprising, the graphs of these elements (both below) drive home how far behind we really are on these transit measures.
“Frequency of Walking or Biking to Work”
“Frequency of Use of Public Transportation”
Greater City Providence
Jef Nickerson
While 57% of people NEVER taking transit to work is sad, I’m actually slightly surprised that it’s not higher. I wonder what is up with the people who take transit once or less a year. Do they randomly decide one day to ride the bus, for fun or something? To see how the other 27% live?
Oh, I see. It’s not to work, it’s just straight up use. So the people who take it once a year or less are using the monorail at Disney.
My Greendex was a 52, which I guess makes me a German. But I had trouble with a few of the questions.
The first two, I have no idea really where my food comes from. I don’t know if it is imported, I don’t shop at the farmers markets, but I think a lot of the places I eat out at use local ingredients, but honestly, I have no idea where my food comes from. Is the stuff at Venda locally sourced?
It asks if I take public transport, and I said at least once a week, because though I don’t own a car, I walk most everywhere. I don’t know how not taking public transit more often affected my score, does it assume I drive the rest of the time?
It asks if I plan to buy a hybrid or alternative fuel or fuel efficient car, or if I already own one. The answer is no, I don’t have one and don’t plan to buy one. I have no car at all and don’t plan to buy one, but does it think I have an inefficient car and am just resistant to changing that? No where did it ask me if I owned a car.
This question; “People in all countries should have the same standard of living as people in the most wealthy countries.” Well… I do think everyone should have the same standard of living as those in the west, but I don’t think the current standard of living in the west is sustainable. So I want the whole world to have lives as good as ours, but not in our current model. It is kind of a wonky question and hard to answer, I marked it as neutral.
Dude, you need to just buy a car. Maybe two.
Baruch and I were gonna get Hummers so we could go off roading in some of the city’s many wonderful parks.
Run over the street trees! They are bad for the economy because they encourage gentrification, and robbers hide behind them.
We were gonna walk our dogs in Dexter Park:
I don’t think that dog is neutered.