America needs to re-think it's relationship with the automobile.

[Diamond_Dog]

How America is tackling its greatest source of emissions.

This is a bit long-ish read but very informative.

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Arlington, Texas has the strange honour of being the largest city in the United States with no public transport service – not a single bus line or rail track. Its 400,000 residents have only their own cars and a city-sponsored rideshare service to get around in. It's an extreme example, but not a huge contrast with hundreds of other American cities where travelling without a private vehicle is time-consuming and difficult.

It's easy to see why having a car in the US is synonymous with mobility and freedom to travel – without one, you're beholden to poor transit services that might include one-hour waits for buses that may or may not arrive, minimal or non-existent bike lanes and limited rail service, among other challenges. The car-centric infrastructure and culture of the US is also the crux of its greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2017, transport has been the single largest source of greenhouses gases in the US – higher than electricity or industry emissions – and these emissions are dominated by cars.

If the US is going to meet its climate commitments to reduce emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050, it's going to have to do something about this.

The country's skyrocketing car use isn't necessarily the fault of individual drivers. Historic development patterns and policies which continue to prop up car-dependent infrastructure mean there are often few other options. Incentives for people to buy electric cars can help reduce emissions, but many experts believe moving to clean transport also requires rethinking how we move about in the first place. Massive investment is needed to move American cities in the direction of bike and public transit-friendly metropolises in Europe and Asia.

More

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211019-climate-change-how-the-us-can-drive-less

[elleng]

1. 'America' doesn't think, so asking it to 're-think' sounds like a bit much,

IMO.

((At the same time, MSNBC/PBS showing Civil War Sunday night, so some heavy 'thinking' is being expected.))

[AllaN01Bear]

2. america should have never torn out old transit networks.

[MichMan]

3. I live in a rural area.

No matter what happens regarding mass transit, doubt there is ever going to be a bus or train station within walking distance from my house. Maybe we can go back 100 years to horses like our local Amish population does.

[thucythucy]

4. Mass transit for cities and suburbs

where the vast majority of people live, high speed rail and decent inter-city buses to connect urban centers, and electric cars for rural areas.

All this would be easily accomplished--that is to say the technology is available or soon will be, and we have the resources as well.

What's lacking is foresight and will.

[roamer65]

5. The semiconductor shortage lasts and we all will be riding horses.

…or driving modern day Trabants with no appreciable electronics.