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Monday, August 1, 2011

Richard Conlin on the Road to Carbon Neutrality

Posted by on Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 10:36 AM

Don’t try to make people feel guilty about driving; rely on urban design to reduce trips as much as possible, and then on economic incentives and system design to draw them into the best choices for the trips they do take. And acknowledge that the private vehicle is going to be part of the equation, and that there will be a lot more people in our metropolitan area, so that even as we reduce per capita trips we will reduce total trips by a much smaller percentage. That means designing systems that will make automobile travel easy using efficient electric cars, but that will have significant disincentives to using cars when there are other possible alternatives available — and making sure that there are lures to get people to use those alternatives.

Discuss.

 

Comments (21) RSS

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1
http://publicola.com/2011/06/23/council-…
Posted by Geologic on August 1, 2011 at 10:48 AM
meanie 2
I hate the stupid greenie liberal group think about transportation that goes like this:

"we need tons of roads cause soon we will be driving around guilt free in electric cars!"

I would call it stupid if it wasn't so dangerous and willfully ignorant.
Posted by meanie http://www.spicealley.net on August 1, 2011 at 10:48 AM
3
Looks like it didn't come through ,but... http://publicola.com/2011/06/23/council-…

talking out both sides of his mouth, again.
Posted by Geologic on August 1, 2011 at 10:52 AM
4
@2: I'd call it stupid if it didn't sound like a straw man argument you've concocted in your head.

Who are the 'greenie liberals' who say this?
Posted by tiktok on August 1, 2011 at 10:56 AM
5
Are we going to build a dam or are we going to build a nuclear plant to power all of these electric cars?
Posted by Reg on August 1, 2011 at 10:58 AM
sikandro 6
He makes some good points, which is why it's harder to hear about bus routes being cut and reduced, and why it's been hard to see fare prices increase so much over the last few years. Infrequent and unreliable routes are already a disincentive for public transportation.

All I expect is another turn of the screw that will increase the divide between those who are making it, those who are struggling, and those who aren't making it at all.
Posted by sikandro on August 1, 2011 at 11:03 AM
7
Nobody in this world will ever make me feel guilty about driving.
Posted by Tire tracks all across your back on August 1, 2011 at 11:09 AM
Matt the Engineer 8
Sounds like typical political speech. Make it sound like you're supporting one direction while driving the other way. *I want everyone to take alternative transportaion. But since we don't have any of that I'm building roads.*
Posted by Matt the Engineer on August 1, 2011 at 11:28 AM
rob! 9
You tell people we blew a trillion dollars (+++) on the Iraq war, and their eyes glaze over because there's no sense of what a trillion dollars is.

A trillion dollars could put 4000 watts worth of grid-tied solar panels on 40 million homes, at $25,000 apiece.

That's 160 gigawatts of generating capacity, or about 160 coal/nuclear plants. Without adding a major infrastructure burden, since it's already distributed.

Major economic stimulus for the U.S., even if we had to buy all the solar equipment from China.

That's how you power your plug-in hybrids.
Posted by rob! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZBdUceCL5U on August 1, 2011 at 11:31 AM
10
a better designed stimulus package could of done the same thing
Posted by goldys pounded his daughters clit and cummed on it on August 1, 2011 at 11:39 AM
11
What a disingenuous POS. This is the guy who is leading a new car-only highway and led repealing the head tax (a $25 yearly tax on employers for single car commuters to fund pedestrian/transit urban design).

Meanwhile, right now Portland is building a new bridge that ONLY carries peds, bikes, and transit (no cars), a 5th light rail line, a 2nd full streetcar line, and improving what is already the best bike infrastructure on the west coast.

One of the most important actions to move us towards carbon neutrality is to remove Conlin from the city council. He is taking us away from carbon neutrality, not helping in the slightest.
Posted by raku on August 1, 2011 at 11:53 AM
TLjr 12
He talks the talk, but he doesn't walk the walk. He does, however, drive the drive.
Posted by TLjr on August 1, 2011 at 11:58 AM
Baconcat 13
This is the same crap Rossi heaped on us when he proposed his transportation plan in 2008. Avert social engineering! Green megaroads! More better cars! Personal choice!

Freeeeeeeeeeedoooommmmmmmm!!!!!
Posted by Baconcat on August 1, 2011 at 12:09 PM
Will in Seattle 14
Richard Conlin is directly responsible for four major decisions which, over the lifetime of those decisions/projects, will DOUBLE King County global warming emissions.

Pay attention to what he DOES, not what he SAYS.
Posted by Will in Seattle http://www.facebook.com/WillSeattle on August 1, 2011 at 12:12 PM
15
Definitely way more into the talk than the walk, more a politician than an elected representative. First get elected then say whatever it takes to get reelected and above all, DO what pleases those who dispense the media message. The bored tunnel is a dreadful mistake, but Conlin isn't allowed to consider the least thought regarding that contrary viewpoint. There will be no debate over its clearly evident fatal flaws, nor debate to even consider debate.

Plus, he's a dead ringer for Alfred E Neuman smiling,
"What me worry?" How scary is that?

Posted by Wells on August 1, 2011 at 12:22 PM
Baconcat 16
@14 like killing the Monorail?
Posted by Baconcat on August 1, 2011 at 12:23 PM
DeaconBlues 17
@ 14: CITATION NEEDED
Posted by DeaconBlues http://radzillas.blogspot.com/ on August 1, 2011 at 12:28 PM
gloomy gus 18
Wait, so is "the tunnel is Rossi's doing" the PSN comeback to LMF's bullshit "McGinn and Eyman want to stop the DBT"?

Tit for tat in the nonsense department - I love it!
Posted by gloomy gus on August 1, 2011 at 12:35 PM
Will in Seattle 19
Try reading the stranger, @17.

By the way, anyone who talks about "green" housing who lives in a mansion is fooling themselves.
Posted by Will in Seattle http://www.facebook.com/WillSeattle on August 1, 2011 at 12:35 PM
Lose-Lose 20
@14: 4 major decisions? You're probably right, but I would love to see the citation for that. The monorail alone is worth several annual tons of CO2.

Conlin: the epitome of the hypocritical environmentalist. He paints himself an easy target for the anti-enviro haters (Limbaugh, etc) to attack and mock, while covertly working with Limbaugh's allies in Big Oil to perpetuate America's dependence on fossil fuels. It's amazing that he spurts the above quote while blindly leading the charge for the SOV-only $4billion tunnel, and absolutely fails to connect the two.
Posted by Lose-Lose on August 1, 2011 at 2:50 PM
DeaconBlues 21
That's not how claims work.
Posted by DeaconBlues http://radzillas.blogspot.com/ on August 1, 2011 at 7:05 PM

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