View Single Post
Old 04-27-2010, 07:20 PM   #43 (permalink)
jamesqf
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Earth
Posts: 5,209
Thanks: 225
Thanked 811 Times in 594 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lazarus View Post
They have studies that prove this very fact. If one gets a more econonical car they just drive more miles.
But if you think about it, it's obviously not linear. If someone buys a car that gets twice the mpg as their old one, they may drive 10% or 20% more, but they won't double their driving, because that takes time away from things they'd rather be doing. And of course there's an upper limit: there are only so many hours in a day.

The other thing is that this country needs to get away from the idea that people need to commute to work every day. A lot of jobs, like mine, can be done without leaving home, so that it's perfectly possible to live in a rural area while holding down a job, or jobs, in a city hundreds of miles away, or even (and I've done this) on a different continent. Sending a few electrons or photons that distance is a lot more energy-efficient, and much quicker, than shipping a body.
  Reply With Quote