Snail Mail

2 Responses to “Snail Mail”

1. jp on January 18th, 2009 2:11 pm

   hey
   the snail mail brought in some good questions.
   Just wanted to add my 2 cents’ worth (of commentary)
   If a fossil fuel = energy, then it’s important how much energy is expended
   for the amount derived from the fossil fuel acquired.
   It’s pretty amazing, that when the cost of a barrel of oil drops considerably,
   tar sands are not profitable.
   This is because of the highcost of creating oil out of tar sand, of course.

   In response to the second letter’s question:
   It just makes ya wanna weep, at the thought of all those western European cities that didn’t buy into the suburban design model - partly because of the prohibitive cost of gas - not enough people could afford a 50-mile commute by car.
   So….it kept the lid on the sprawl, and encouraged alternative transportation modes - that being trains. trams. light rail of all sorts.
   How much European “gas tax” paid for these things - I’m not really sure.
   But the point is, if a substantial tax is implemented to pay for alternatives to the superhighway parking lot mode of getting around, eventually we may see a crossover - where more money is available to go into public transportation choices that work…..(than to feed the asphalt beast) and wouldn’t that be just lovely?
   A bit of pain at the pump - that ultimately primes a far more realistically sustainable infrastructure - (which in many cases would just be bloody well replacing what used to exist in the first place!)
   Ever watch old movies and newsreels of LA’s original public transit? (circa 20’s, 30’s)
   Makes ya wanna weep……..

2. T on May 19th, 2009 3:25 pm

   We already pay a state and federal tax on gas… Depending on the state it can be somewhere from $.30 and gallon up to $.79 a gallon.

What do you think?