[Greenbuilding] OT What car?

[Reuben Deumling]

Interesting question. Ten years ago I would have taken an hour or two
to calculate various break even points depending on whether we're
using energy or materials or land area as our unit of comparison.
Today, though, I'd have to pass. Instead I think we all need to figure
out post haste how to wean ourselves from cars, pickups, trucks, and
from fossil fuels entirely. Within five or ten years I'm afraid we are
going to wish we had started this weaning much sooner.
I'm experimenting with running a remodeling business without owning a
vehicle. In our day-to-day lives we (my three person family) manage
without a car, and haven't had one for all but a few months of the
last eleven years. Construction without a vehicle is going to be a new
challenge, but I have no doubt that I can make it work. The extra cost
of having large quantities of materials delivered or perhaps
renting/borrowing a truck for the occasional load of gravel, say, will
be minimal compared to the savings, even with today's prices. Hauling
tools and small to medium quantities of stuff I've done for several
years now with my cargo bicycle trailers. I can haul up to 500 lbs on
the flat, and a few hundred on hills. I have hauled appliances,
furniture, ladders, 4x8 sheets of you name it, bulky rented tools,
lumber, bricks, pipe up to about 14' in length, metal roofing, doors,
wheelbarrows, and everything in between.

Reuben Deumling

On Sat, May 3, 2008 at 11:31 AM, MKL <mkl18 at pobox.com> wrote:

>  If someone drove under 12,000 kms per year (suburban
>  or rural retiree perhaps) should they drive an old gas
>  guzzler (or just a gas fueled car) perhaps with a
>  bigger engine thereby reducing the need for new car