Comments on: Addicted to Cars? Try The Patch http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2008/07/26/addicted-to-cars-try-the-patch/ Dispatches from the Youth Climate Movement Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:09:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: RS http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2008/07/26/addicted-to-cars-try-the-patch/#comment-66851 Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:15:11 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.wordpress.com/?p=5083#comment-66851 Those emissions associated with creating asphalt, etc are probably not normally counted under the transportation sector- more of an industrial issue. You could cap cement and asphalt makers under cap and trade and make them pay for their carbon and find alternatives.

]]> By: danawv http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2008/07/26/addicted-to-cars-try-the-patch/#comment-66832 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:39:33 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.wordpress.com/?p=5083#comment-66832 I’m equating costs to energy consumption here, hope that makes sense.

]]> By: danawv http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2008/07/26/addicted-to-cars-try-the-patch/#comment-66831 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:38:43 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.wordpress.com/?p=5083#comment-66831 If we stopped driving today, we would have hardly any infrastructure costs. I just heard on the radio that costs of infrastructure maintenance have already gone as a result of higher gas prices and people driving less this summer. That is to say, some projects people thought would need started on by the end of summer haven’t been started, because the road wear wasn’t as bad as anticipated.

]]> By: Mattie Reitman http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2008/07/26/addicted-to-cars-try-the-patch/#comment-66820 Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:59:32 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.wordpress.com/?p=5083#comment-66820 I’ve got a source that I’ve been sitting on for a while that makes this conversation irrelevant:

“an embodied energy factor of 1.50, or 150% direct fuel use is required to build and operate a car (cell G90). Fifteen percent is additional energy to build the car, and 35 % is the indirect energy consumed to build the physical infrastructure needed for automobile use (highways, bridges, etc.).”
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/footprint/calculations%20transportation.html

In English, it’s saying that about 1/3 of our transportation sector energy consumption is spent just building and maintaining infrastructure. If this source is correct, this means that even if we completely stopped driving and building new vehicles today, we would only cut transportation energy consumption by 2/3.

Any informed thoughts on whether this is accurate?

]]> By: RS http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2008/07/26/addicted-to-cars-try-the-patch/#comment-66818 Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:19:19 +0000 http://itsgettinghotinhere.wordpress.com/?p=5083#comment-66818 IPCC reported that 85% or so of energy use is in driving, not production.
Don’t the hybrid batteries get recycled?

http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg3/100.htm

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