The campaign against CO2 started back in the 60s when nuclear power was going to produce all of the electricity we would ever need. It appears from the record that Gore and Kerry may have been shills for the nuclear industry at that time. It was later that they adopted the position that CO2 in the atmosphere was the cause of global warming, a position that has no scientific support, but one that Kerry holds to this day. He recently claimed that the oceans are heating up, a claim that is so stupid It's hard to believe he is serious.
I’ve long used the phrase “boiling the oceans” to mock the hysterics and got a real laugh out of Gore actually saying that yesterday. Top clown he his.
They also claim that atmospheric CO2 will acidify the ocean. it's just one crazy idea after another. I wonder where you as a Green Leap Forward proponent, would get the energy we need?
Why do urban cycling enthusiasts always seem to sound vaguely fascist after they pass a certain level of passion?
Oh, and any discussion of what cyclists on city streets are "owed" by their neighbors must include a discussion that they are held FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR FOLLOWING ALL THE SAME TRAFFIC LAWS AS THE CARS THEY HATE SO MUCH, AND ENFORCED EVERY BIT AS VIGOROUSLY. Spent a night and morning in the emergency room for a friend who had her skull split open and was concussed by a hit and run cyclist going through a crosswalk at a red light who felt they were saving the earth hard enough to grant them exception to the law.
But to give a quick tldr, bikeway advocacy is a massive echo chamber filled with what Thomas Sowell famously coins “the anointed” and/ or those who adhere to his “Unconstrained Vision” framework. From both of these comes a notoriously obnoxious feeling of moral and epistemic superiority over others. Many of these folks also believe they are saving the world with getting people out of cars and into bicycles.
A lot of bicycling advocates also have little clue of the history of the rules of the road. They were intended to apply to them as well which includes yielding to pedestrians. Bicyclists are after all in most places granted the same rights and duties as drivers of vehicles.
In most major cities in Japan where bike use has been normal (and not a political virtue signal) forever, traffic laws are scrupulously enforced against cyclists as most pedestrian accidents involve them.
I realized after making my comment that "fascistic after achieving a certain level of passion" describes how most urban planners of any sort read to me- the human ant farm of data points that need to behave properly for the spreadsheet to work.
I was given an equivalent $100 ticket when I discovered I was on a path intended for pedestrians only. My cop friend, translating the complicated Kanji in the charges, said it was the same charge as if it had been a car mounting the pavement.
Sorry about the ticket, that's no fun. They don't mess around over there.
That's just the thing about Japanese cities, they're so compact and dense making private automobile ownership and use more of a hassle.
Japanese driving licensing is far more strict than most other places and many Japanese cities require automobile owners prove they will park the vehicle on private property as there is little public street parking too.
Much like the ballyhooed European cycling meccas Amsterdam and Copenhagen - most Japanese cities were laid out prior to the invention of the automobile.
Mention Japan to the typical bikeway advocate though and you'll get a deer in the headlights look though since it's not located in the promised land of Europe.
Madrid has done something quite different though. Instead of blowing millions on unsafe and often poorly used specialized infrastructure like Sevilla did, they mandated cyclists ride in the street - in the center of the right-most (slow lane) as the lane widths are typically too narrow for bikes and cars to share side to side. To aid them further, they lowered the speed limits just for those lanes so other road users would stay out of them unless they were also going slow or preparing to turn right.
As for the Amsterdams and Copenhagens, their bikeways are far better designed than those pushed by NACTO et. al. But they've also had problems of their own, especially now that e-bikes are a thing.
>> they mandated cyclists ride in the street - in the center of the right-most (slow lane) as the lane widths are typically too narrow for bikes and cars to share side to side.
This is what they did in my small Japanese town. And I didn't mind the fine, it was a learning experience in my early days in the country. My friend had said that they would normally go easy with a warning but tend to come down hard on foreigners so they learn the cops don't play.
The campaign against CO2 started back in the 60s when nuclear power was going to produce all of the electricity we would ever need. It appears from the record that Gore and Kerry may have been shills for the nuclear industry at that time. It was later that they adopted the position that CO2 in the atmosphere was the cause of global warming, a position that has no scientific support, but one that Kerry holds to this day. He recently claimed that the oceans are heating up, a claim that is so stupid It's hard to believe he is serious.
I’ve long used the phrase “boiling the oceans” to mock the hysterics and got a real laugh out of Gore actually saying that yesterday. Top clown he his.
They also claim that atmospheric CO2 will acidify the ocean. it's just one crazy idea after another. I wonder where you as a Green Leap Forward proponent, would get the energy we need?
Interesting. Not surprising the central planners are involved in this area too.
Oh yeah: https://ti.org/antiplanner/?p=19111
Thanks for the share. It’s on point. Driving = freedom.
Why do urban cycling enthusiasts always seem to sound vaguely fascist after they pass a certain level of passion?
Oh, and any discussion of what cyclists on city streets are "owed" by their neighbors must include a discussion that they are held FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR FOLLOWING ALL THE SAME TRAFFIC LAWS AS THE CARS THEY HATE SO MUCH, AND ENFORCED EVERY BIT AS VIGOROUSLY. Spent a night and morning in the emergency room for a friend who had her skull split open and was concussed by a hit and run cyclist going through a crosswalk at a red light who felt they were saving the earth hard enough to grant them exception to the law.
I’ve been exploring that over here actually. https://principledbicycling.substack.com/p/coming-soon
But to give a quick tldr, bikeway advocacy is a massive echo chamber filled with what Thomas Sowell famously coins “the anointed” and/ or those who adhere to his “Unconstrained Vision” framework. From both of these comes a notoriously obnoxious feeling of moral and epistemic superiority over others. Many of these folks also believe they are saving the world with getting people out of cars and into bicycles.
A lot of bicycling advocates also have little clue of the history of the rules of the road. They were intended to apply to them as well which includes yielding to pedestrians. Bicyclists are after all in most places granted the same rights and duties as drivers of vehicles.
Actually the person who came up with them in the late 1800s in New York never even drove a car in his lifetime. The history is fascinating https://thinkbicyclingblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/my-bike-or-my-2-ton-land-missile/
In most major cities in Japan where bike use has been normal (and not a political virtue signal) forever, traffic laws are scrupulously enforced against cyclists as most pedestrian accidents involve them.
I realized after making my comment that "fascistic after achieving a certain level of passion" describes how most urban planners of any sort read to me- the human ant farm of data points that need to behave properly for the spreadsheet to work.
I was given an equivalent $100 ticket when I discovered I was on a path intended for pedestrians only. My cop friend, translating the complicated Kanji in the charges, said it was the same charge as if it had been a car mounting the pavement.
Sorry about the ticket, that's no fun. They don't mess around over there.
That's just the thing about Japanese cities, they're so compact and dense making private automobile ownership and use more of a hassle.
Japanese driving licensing is far more strict than most other places and many Japanese cities require automobile owners prove they will park the vehicle on private property as there is little public street parking too.
Much like the ballyhooed European cycling meccas Amsterdam and Copenhagen - most Japanese cities were laid out prior to the invention of the automobile.
Mention Japan to the typical bikeway advocate though and you'll get a deer in the headlights look though since it's not located in the promised land of Europe.
Madrid has done something quite different though. Instead of blowing millions on unsafe and often poorly used specialized infrastructure like Sevilla did, they mandated cyclists ride in the street - in the center of the right-most (slow lane) as the lane widths are typically too narrow for bikes and cars to share side to side. To aid them further, they lowered the speed limits just for those lanes so other road users would stay out of them unless they were also going slow or preparing to turn right.
https://cyclingsavvy.org/2020/08/madrid-model/
As for the Amsterdams and Copenhagens, their bikeways are far better designed than those pushed by NACTO et. al. But they've also had problems of their own, especially now that e-bikes are a thing.
>> they mandated cyclists ride in the street - in the center of the right-most (slow lane) as the lane widths are typically too narrow for bikes and cars to share side to side.
This is what they did in my small Japanese town. And I didn't mind the fine, it was a learning experience in my early days in the country. My friend had said that they would normally go easy with a warning but tend to come down hard on foreigners so they learn the cops don't play.