| Re: "Humans 'very likely' making earth warmer" is wrong
In article <45c3bc7b$0$18924$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>, Wayne Pein wrote:
>John Thompson wrote:
>
>> As a bicycle commuter myself, I can commiserate with you. Automobiles in
>> general are a very energy-inefficient means of transporting people and
>> public transportation should be encouraged as a way (not the only way!)
>> to reduce overall energy consumption. A huge amount of resources are
>> dedicated to providing infrastructure to an automobile society. If we
>> can reduce dependence on automobiles not only will it become easier for
>> pedestrians and bicyclists, but money can be freed for other worthwhile
>> projects to make our urban areas safer for everybody.
>
>Public transportation generally requires approximately the same BTUs per
>passenger mile, about 3500, as do private motor vehicles on average.
>Short haul public transportation is also a bigger competitor to walking
>and biycling than it is to automobiles. That is, short haul public
>transportation reduces bicycling and walking to a greater extent than it
>does car use, turning low energy users into chauffered big energy users.
>If short haul public transportation didn't exist, how would those users
>get around? They'd walk, bike, drive alone, or carpool.
>
>Further, bus public transit is heavy and destroys the pavement,
>something that is very important to bicyclists. And when the bus pulls
>over to the curb, there is conflict with bicyclists.
>
>Frankly, public transportation and bicycling have nothing in common.
>Bicycling has much more in common with automobile travel.
I speak from experience in an urban area where a significant portion of
within-urban-area public transit passenger miles are on electric transit
vehicles. By a huge factor the single biggest transit route in
Philadelphia is the "Market Frankford Subway-Elevated" or "The El". I
think 2nd place is the "Broad St. Subway". In addition there are the
"Regional Rails" (electric trains), the three "Red Arrow Division" trolley
lines, two fairly distinct (but having a minor interconnection) sets of
"City Transit Division" trolley lines, and at least a couple "trackless
trolley" lines that I think of as "external wire powered electric buses".
NYC has a major subway network with an average day's ridership well into
6 figures, all electric powered, as well as regional electric trains
operated by New Jersey Transit.
Washington DC has its "Metro", a very popular set of electric rail
transit lines. San Francisco has the "BART", electric rail transit.
Toronto has some subway/rail lines, electric. Paris has their "Metro" and
London has major high ridership subway lines - electric. Chicago has
their "El" with at least two heavy ridership lines - electric. Tokyo
has electric commuting trains so popular that they get so densely
packed that at least some stations have "ushers", big guys with white
gloves, that sometimes to some extent push people into trains to pack
them! And I am sure I have not been thorough in naming specific electric
transit lines!
Given existence of nuclear power plants, hydropower, and wind farms and
to a lesser extent solar electricity generating stations, a significant
amount of electricity is made by means without generation of greenhouse
gases (other than by trucks bringing in supplies and cars carrying in some
workers).
- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)
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