to civilly ask you to use your cars less

[mosquitofeast]

My last thread was deleted because I was not being "civil" enough, I don't actually think it is a subject there is much room for civility in, but I will try!

My last post was to try and answer some questions about me. Here they are

I think I have answered these.

No I am not a strict vegetarian. I don't buy milk or dairy, but eat it in other peoples houses,

no I don't fly,

foodmiles, well, I take them into consideration, but they are not the only indicator of the environmental impact of food. Tomatoes grown in a heated greenhouse 2 miles away might have more environmental impact than tomatoes grown outside in Spain, and flown in.

I have 2 adopted children, 1 is an adult no longer living at home I currently have 3 foster children, but that is likely to change this week

Yes I have a pet, it came with one of the adopted children.

No I don't smoke

If we want people to use their cars less then we need to invest in a decent public transport system outside of London.
My nearest city has a tram system but it's still a 2 mile journey to my nearest tram stop ( up a really, really steep hill so not practical to walk) and it's so expensive. My DH has a subsidised tram pass but it still cost 1000's a year and he still needs a car!

I work a 40 min drive away. Public transport either means 2 buses and a 3 hour journey ( have to get a bus going in the opposite direction first) or a bus and a train where the train fare is £25 a day because it crosses a county border.

Public transport just isn't practical for many people.

If we want people to use their cars less then we need to invest in a decent public transport system outside of London.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. I am lucky enough to have been able to make the choice to live within 4 miles of my work, so I walk or cycle. I see the queues of cars crawling through my area on their way in and out of the city, and do feel that no one would choose such a drive to work if there were acceptable alternatives.

OP, I think you’d be better off campaigning for such a change rather than haranguing Mumsnetters.

You do you, l'll do me OP

...No thanks.

I don't drive much at all, but the only way for me to go anywhere is to drive. I have no interest in moving elsewhere purely on the basis of the availability of public transportation, and frankly, threads like this make me want to go for a nice, long drive just for the heck of it.

If you are worried about the environment you should look to China, the emissions we are producing are a drop in the ocean compared to them.
It would be lovely for there to be fewer cars here, but like for many on here, the public transport in my very large town is pathetic. I can say this as someone who was forced to learn to drive when I was 40 because I couldn’t get bloody anywhere!!
The worst bit is if you need to go anywhere the next town along, you have to swop buses and bus companies and it all costs a fucking fortune.
The difference for me is hours on buses or minutes in a car, there’s no competition.

DH wouldn't be able to get to work without the car. It's an hour from home and no station there. The only alternative would be to get the train to the nearest city, which is 45 minutes from here, then get a bus to work which would be an hour+ on top of the train journey.....only the train times don't fit at all with his hours. The first train from here would get him to the city for 8.10 ...then the bus on top of that - he'd be very late.

Wow, another thread on this OP?
You really are very needy of attention aren’t you. Maybe consider getting some real life friends. Or professional help.

For the majority of people to be able to use their car less MAJOR change is needed. Change costs money and requires political will. We don't have enough of either.

So it becomes a personal responsibility. For some people environmental concerns are massive, for others not so much.

I put the environment in my top three for decision making all the time but have my weaknesses too (I love gadgets - mostly solved by buying second hand)

We always reduce our car use (we're stingy with petrol you see). We car share where possible. We trip chain all the time to ensure maximum bang for our carbon emission buck. We've managed with only 1 car for 13 years. No buses here, no safe route to school for walking without a diversion.

We recycle so much our landfill bin only goes out (half full) once a month.

We reduce our meat consumption and shop local. We pick energy efficient ways of cooking (rarely use our oven).

Our energy bills for gas and electricity is £80 pcm (4 person household, 3 bedrooms)

I make my own washing powder. Don't have a tumble dryer.

I bf and cloth nappied my DC. I use a moon cup.

Recycle batteries, lightbulbs and plastic bags (not the shopping kind, the food kind)

We haven't flown since 2016. It'll be next year or 2022 before we fly again.

Don't indulge in fast fashion. Stopped using my hairdryer. Bought a carpet sweeper to cut down on use of vacuum.

There is so much more we could do. I'm not perfect. It's a family passion. I want others to do the same but I cannot expect it of them.

I have the privilege of being able to do these things because it takes time, planning and even money. Not everyone has the same resources.

Someone might use their car often but be an green angel in other areas of life. I have a friend who holidays a lot (preCovid) but she is a lifelong vegan and has never had any children. So she is probably greener than me!

My cousin has composting toilets and is off grid for water.

Everyone is different. We must all do our best. Someone else's best is not the same as yours OP.

🖖 live long and prosper.

You know I think the complication around this stat is probably the definition of "necessary"

I consider getting to school and then to work then doing the reverse at the end of the day necessary. It's a short trip. Time is the crucial factor. Driving let's me do it in a total of 16 mins (two journeys) rather than 80-100 mins (again two journeys). Plus we don't have a direct safe route to school for walking or cycling or any public transport for the journey.

None of our car journeys are unnecessary to us.

However last Friday we took a trip to the beach. Arguably that's an unnecessary journey? It was a longer journey (30 mile round trip - special secret beach! Can't swim in the sea near us as too polluted ironically)

Everyone can reduce their car use. The problem is we rush around too much, even if we don't actually need to.

Example, I went out for an appointment this afternoon in a neighbouring town 5 miles away. I drove. I could have easily cycled. Think about that multiplied across the country and all those unnecessary journeys.

The OP said: use your card less. Not "don't use your car at all". We can all cycle and walk more.

Will you cut down your internet use then?

I live in central London - no way would I ever cycle.

"The OP said: use your card less. Not "don't use your car at all". We can all cycle and walk more."

The luxury of being able to cycle 5 miles. I'd have nowhere safe to put ds for a start as they don't do attachments for 15 year olds.

Well by virtue of lockdown I am using my car way less.

But beyond that, frankly, I can't afford the alternatives.

I am caring for an elderly and infirm family member who struggles to walk 200 yard, never mind 2 miles. I need the car to take them to the places they need to go. Which means I'm stuck paying tax, maintenance, and insurance. "Pay per mile" insurers refuse to quote for the area I live in.

So a bus ticket costs more than fuel. I want to buy a bicycle but I haven't saved up the money yet and anyway last I heard Covid-19 had created months-long waiting lists on many models. The family member can't afford a mobility scooter and I'm not sure if they could safely use it with their vision problems anyway. I certainly can't afford an electric car plus the cost of converting our front garden to an off-street charging space.