Take what? The Prius isn't going to save anything. At "best", if you can even call it that, it may allow our insane car-crazy infrastructure to continue a bit longer. And with America already sunk in debt in a downward spiral economy, increasingly not able to buy $25,000 cars, it's going to be a wee bit.

All of the green smoke car manufacturers have been blowing up our collective ass is simply astounding, though not as astounding as the amount we've bought into it. "Buy this car, and help the environment!" Any 3,000-lb. machine built using copius amounts of energy - the vast majority non-renewable - isn't "green", even if it is never ever used. The portrayals of these "green" cars is completely ridiculous. I have a brochure for a Prius that depicts green leaves coming out of the exhaust! "The more you drive it, the more you help the environment!" Bullshit. A more accurate description might be that you're hurting the environment less. That's it. You aren't "helping" shit, and I will even go so far as to say you are helping to avert real progress from being made. My favorite thus far was an SUV video ad showing a guy mountain biking, with the captions paraphrased as: "Driving this SUV will help preserve our environment. It also also give you the power to help enjoy it." I can't believe people are this stupid. I have a better idea: use a bike and skip the SUV altogether, and save what, 99% of your money? If this is the best we can do - pretending that hybrid cars are going to save us - we are doomed.

It's time to get over the obsession with cars. It should be obvious by now that it's been a terrible idea to design everything and anything around them here in the USA. Unfortunately, almost everyone seems obsessed with pouring absoltely all of our resources into keeping them going, all the while bitching about $x gas and unwilling to use any of their own energy to walk or bike around. The few of us who know better - those who can see past tomorrow - forsee what a terrible mistake that is going to be.

Personally, I can't wait until gas hits $5, and especially $10, that is - if our shitty economy will allow it. And before any of you jump all over me, consider this:

I own a Prius.

The difference is, I don't pretend that I'm going to save anything with it.

Didn't you just vitiate your own point?

Nope, my point wasn't that government was better, but that the free market isn't the silver bullet that will save us. I don't think it has to be exclusively one or the other - probably a healthy mix of the two.

-Fab

Your statements ring of blind religious faith. A series of small self centered actions are somehow going to change the fundamental paradigm that has organized our urban, suburban, exurban and rural forms ? Courtesy of GMs buyout of streetcar lines, the Interstate Highway system, etc.

If you truly believe this, then look at what real estate developers have built for half our population. They are out to make a buck, slap something together and turn over a new subdivision in 18 to 30 months and then walk away forever, leaving former farmland with an unsustainable mess.

If not required to by the central, socialized authority the streets would not even line up with the streets from the subdivision next to them. The streets and sewers would collapse in a decade or so,

There *IS* a solution ! But it can *ONLY* with collective, governmental effort. Look at France, a complete non-Oil Transportation system is largely in place (but still growing after 25+ years of modest level effort).

TGV lines radiating from Paris in all directions (more lines bypassing Paris under way) for intercity travel. Urban Rail in almost all cities and towns of 100,000 and more. And now rent-a-bikes (first half hour free) in many French cities. All collective effort,

Switzerland could not have survived and functioned after a 100% six year oil embargo with a series of small individual efforts.

Best Hopes for Collective Efforts,

Alan