phantomcow2

Okay this has to stop. If you have a problem with another member, handle it in PM. If this does not cease, this thread will be locked.
Phantomcow2
Forum mod

phantomcow2

Thread reopened. Hoping that some posts relavent to the topic will come from this

quintessence22

I totally agree with jamesdenver. Most people who own a car are terrible at planning and the way jamesdenver describes it is so true, burning gas for fun in big box parking lots. That includes me, it's one of the biggest obstacles for me to going more car-lite.


I am still a car enthusiast. I have been a local Nissan Enthusiasts Car Club member for awhile now and the web forum that I have been most active on was specific to my model of car. I've modded my car, know how to perform pretty complex maintenance on my car, and I still love cars. But I have realized something, as the Asian economies grow and their energy demands and material demands grow, neither the environment nor our fossil fuels will be able to support them and the current developed countries with a high standard of living. I truly belive that we're all gonna be forced to start "simple living" soon. I live in Alberta, the most oil rich region in North America, we have as many barrels of oil locked up in our oilsands as Saudi Arabia has in their underground reserves. However, there's is easily extracted and refined. I'm certain with near future demands that we'll go through my provinces reserves in no time as well, regardless of expense. Though the world economy may grow for a while yet, I believe living standards will average out among the nations of the world and eventually worldwide economic productivity will fall. That is, North America is goin' DOWN and you'd better like it. Excessive car culture only contributes to the rate at which this is going to happen. I hope you enjoy paying $5/gallon for gas in 3-5 years, chump. Your wages will not keep up with energy inflation since the U.S economy just won't grow that quick and will soon be declining. Things are bleak and your outlook, shokhead, is not good; technology will only do so much. No I'm not threatening you, but I'm pessimistic and I'm afraid I'm right.

In fact, I hope we more rapidly consume our nonrenewable energy reserves, because humans are idiots and most of us are unable to conceive any forethought and truly act on conservation to give future generations a chance. If we can run out of resources within one lifetime, then perhaps necessity will lead to real changes.

Alright, that's enough ranting for me for now. lol.... although I do enjoy painting doomsday pictures.

Edit: oops, I didn't read that last post from the mod and stayed offtopic. So as a response to the OP; I'll reply: in the future, we're all gonna be overwhelmed even if your car is paid for.

velotimbe

Rent a car for national parks? Are you insane? Cant even begin to experience them until you can smell and feel them. Havent you read Edward Abbey?

Roody

I started to ask why but i guess that would qualify as "stupid question."

nausea95

ummm.. parking tickets, i mean, when i park at a meter that i don't happen to have enough change to pay for the time i know i'm going to take, i take the chance that a parking maid will ticket me. I mean, it's pretty up front, it's not like any cities I know of are going around giving people parking tickets when they aren't deserving of it?!

pedex

parking tickets are a $12,000/day business for the city of columbus

jamesdenver

to drive TO them, not IN them. my local bus doesn't go to the trailheads of Rky Mtn nat'l park, or Arches in moab utah, or Mesa Verda -- and although it would be a great bike ride, it wouldn't leave much time for hiking, (i'm alreay giving my low-altitude visiting relatives a workout)

i find it laughable when I'm at a park and I see these gigantic tour buses cruising the park roads. "experience nature from an air conditioned coach". actually the same applies for touring a city too. how much of Paris or Denver are you really going to experience snapping pictures through glass?

on that note i like how Zion Nat'l Park in Utah bans cars from the inside of the park, I wish more parks had the "shuttle" concept.

https://www.nps.gov/zion/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...100998_pf.html

misteralz

If I lived in a huge city or in the middle of nowhere with nothing but straight, flat roads, I'd completely agree with you.
Luckily, I live in Scotland, drive a '91 Golf GTI and have some of the best twisty roads on earth not five minutes from me. Exercise and fun? Yes - if you count mental exercise - road conditions are changing all the time - and fun? Trust me, giving it ultimate death on the Lecht road at 3am with the sun coming up is ******** amazing...and an experience that will stay with you forever.