Whether or not some sort of geo-political upheaval deprives Minneapolis of oil and gasoline, it certainly makes sense to design our lives for "active" rather than "passive" urban transportation. To that end, my family and I have three load-carrying HPVs (humanpowered vehicles) for those many trips around town under three miles.
We have two differnetly-configured OrganicEngines SUVs (Sensible Utility Vehicles) and one LightfootCycles Pedicab. I welcome all list members to contact me off-list if you are interested in trying these vehicles out. They are fun, they promote physical fitness and health, they are more economical than cars, and they take less space and are far better for the environment as well.
I continue to work to develop a "sustainable transportation co-op" here in Minneapolis. I invite list members to contact me on or off-list if interested in this project.
While not everyone can walk or pedal all the time, we can make a huge positive impact of environment, health, economy and urban aesthetics by walking or pedaling for as many of our urban trips as possible, and by using public transport or efficient and alternative-fuel vehicles as well.
I encourage list-members to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Maybe you can't pedal and walk always, but perhaps there are certain "steps" you can take -- and share with the rest of us -- to increase your "active" transportation around town, and reduce the "passive".
The CDC's "Active Community Environments" program, the "Safe Routes To School" and similiar efforts can reduce our everyday dependance on oil, improve health, safety, and all-around beauty and livability of our city.
Will there be an oil shortage? Global geopolitics may actually intrude upon our everyday lives in ways we do not expect. Whether or not that is so, we need to live locally with global awareness. Sustainable tranportation makes sense.
Come one and all -- ride a trike with me! They are fun, you will be enviably fit, and you will save money too!
(PS - these HPVs can haul 500 to 700 pounds plus the driver -- and would make great, economical, ecologically sound park maintenance vehicles...)
-Gary Hoover
King Field
In a message dated 8/9/02 8:58:47 AM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Something to think about....The Federal Government is preparing for war
in the Persian Gulf. It has been announced that they are stockpiling oil
in the event of a shortage...A stockpile of 700 million barrels of oil
sounds like a lot , but the U.S. uses something like14 million barrels
of oil a day, and half of that comes from overseas...even a partial
disruption of the supply could mean at the least, price increases which
will make a mess of the budget.
What plans does this city have in the event of an oil shortage?...nearly
all the transport in this city runs on petroleum-police cars, fire
trucks, MTC Buses, school buses etc.
Ken Avidor
Kingfield
