Speed limits

A commenter recently questioned whether the upcoming generations are really apathetic and claimed that I'm in a location where people really don't care, but elsewhere it is growing trend. That could be true, there are signs as you enter Utah that read, "Welcome to Utah, please set your watches back 20 years and 10 minutes". Anyway, I don't doubt that there are differences depending on locale, but I want to take this point a little further.

I want to take speed limits as an example. There is currently a movement by some to reduce the speed limit to 55 mph in order to reduce gas consumption and vehicular emissions. I think it's a great idea, reducing the speed limit may reduce the speed of drivers a little, but it would certainly increase the size of the ticket for the select few who were actually pulled over for exceeding the speed limit.

Here's the thing, it is currently not illegal to drive 55 on highways. I am unaware of studies on the safety of it, but I could see potential hazards. Here's the point that I want to make. We are debating a reduced speed limit when everyone on the road has the option of reducing their speed, saving money and reducing their CO2 output by slowing down. Why do we have to change the law for that to happen? I drive 55 on the highway, I accelerate very slowly and I make sure that I never leave my car idleing. I would guess that I get ~30% better gas mileage than someone who excedes the speed limit, accelerates quickly and spends a lot of time idling in the same car.

I hear people complain about gas prices, but I hear those same people complaining about the 'idiot' who drives the speed limit in the fast lane (suggesting that they are generally exceding the speed limit). I hear almost everyone complaining about gas prices, yet on the corner where I live, almost everyone accelerates quickly, even when there's no traffic coming. I see lines of people waiting in drive thrus, all with their engines idling. When are we going to take personal responsibility for the amount we are paying for gas rather than asking for the government to impose regulations? The pedal on the left is the brake, it is not illegal to use it.

I see similar things with recycling. Sure, recycling is becoming more popular. I think that's great, but do you know what would be better? It would be better if consumers would demand products with less packaging so the stuff that we currently recycle never had to be produced in the first place.

The apathy that I see, may not be apathy, but rather a lack of initiative. Rather than making the environment into a personal matter, we are waiting for the government, or for our place of employment to act. The government and businesses are waiting for it to be financially adventageous. Do you know what makes items with little packaging financially advantageous for the producer? CONSUMERS THAT WON'T BUY STUFF WITH LOTS OF PACKAGING. It's the individual choices that change the world, and upcoming generations (and by that I mean people under 40)aren't taking the initiative to improve the world we are inherritting.

Vacation

I think I forgot to post that I was going on vacation. That is why I haven't posted in over a week. I took my boys to their Grandma's "house" and my wife and I went and hiked into Havasu Canyon which is a branch off the grand canyon. I'll post some pictures and do a better post later, but first I want to share some thoughts.

I have been doing pretty well with my bike commuting. Aside from a couple of snow days and bike repairs I have commuted by bike every day. Up until we left on vacation I had more miles on my bike for the year than we had on the car. I was quite pleased with our fuel budget that we set at $50/month and we never came close to that.

That all changed. Our vacation put around a thousand miles on the minivan putting me way behind in cycling miles. I don't know how far behind I am and frankly I don't think I want to know. We spent hundreds of dollars on gas. I feel like a recovering addict that just went back for "one last" hit. Don't get me wrong, we're back on the straight and narrow. I took the bus this morning and picked up my bike at the bike shop (I needed a new rear wheel built up) and my wife rode her bike to do the grocery shopping this morning. Still the big car trip is tough to swallow.

Was it worth it? Yes. I got to visit my mom and my boys were able to spend time with their G'ma. Additionally, my wife and I were able to go on our first "date" without kids in many years and we were able to go to one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Family relationships are one of the most important things in the world and they need nurturing.

Do I wish it had been different? Yes. I wish I hadn't had to put those miles on the van or support the oil industry, but I did. I wish family lived close enough that we could ride our bikes to visit. We currently live in Utah and have parents in Colorado, Arizona and Washington State. If we want to visit family, we have to drive (or fly, but that's even worse). Alternatively, family could come visit us (which we would love!), but it still has the impact on the environment, even if the miles don't accumulate on my wife's car. I wish family all lived within an area where we could use bikes, buses or trains to visit, but they don't and it's still important to visit.

Despite my disappointment in having to do a lot of driving, the vacation was a lot of fun. I'll post pictures soon and tell a little more about the hike we did. I should be posting more frequently now that my killer semester is over. Now I'm teaching two golf classes and working on things that are more at my own pace so I should have time to do the important stuff like blog.

Today I'm going home at 1 in the afternoon to help my wife unpack and weed the garden.