Keeping these in the back of your mind might make you a better citizen.  Or depressed.  Or perhaps these tidbits aren’t true at all.  I’m just in an emo mood, I guess.

1. Statistics can be interpreted to mean almost anything.  Depending on how the survey was conducted, what context the statistics are presented in, or what manner the statistics are announced, they can mean anything.  Moreover, if you try to investigate, you might be confused because the statistics are lies or archaeic, confusing language is used to hide faults in the study.
2. Everyone is motivated by self-interest, one way or another, including the author who is writing this.  If you see a so-called unbiased article or scientific study, consider the fact that the author might just be presenting one side of the story.  Sure, there are plenty of reputable journalists and scientists out there, but it’s hard to suppress self-interested motivations.
3. Everyone can be manipulated, whether we like to admit it or not.  This is especially true in terms of advertisements on television.  Not every advertisement works on every person, but every once in a while, some corporation or political group will grab your soul and make it act in the manner they desire.  Remember, they’ve been studying the purchasing and voting psychology of people just like you and I for years.  They know how you work.
4. When in doubt, follow the money trail.  Money gets people into power, and keeps them in power, so those with power agree to do what those with money want to stay in power.

For those of you who don’t know, Pandora is a free online radio service that plays music for users based on their individualized preferences.

Pandora is a wonderful, easy to use website.  To get started, you type in the name of one of your favorite songs or artists, and the radio begins playing similar music.  To fine tune the player, you can add more songs or artists, or mark a song with a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” to indicate your preferences.

Pandora is also very good at finding good music, for me at least.  When I initially went to Pandora, I typed in my favorite artist, Ben Kweller, and was instantly showered with some of my other favorite artists including Weezer, Ben Folds, and the Barenaked Ladies.  In addition, I discovered more great artists I had never heard of before including Sherwood, whose first CD “Sing But Keep Going,” is on my list of all time favorite CDs.

But due to pressure from the RIAA, Pandora, along with many other similar online radio services such as Last.fm and Slacker, may be shut down.  From Pandora’s Founder:

Hi, it’s Tim from Pandora,

Note: If you’d like to keep track of whenever I post a new article about this paper, check out the sustransitpaper category.

Proposed Transportation Solutions

The world needs to answer a serious question. How can the problems of resource depletion, congestion, and environmental degradation be addressed without sacrificing the benefits of mobility? No doubt, this question is a global one. These three problems exist across the planet.

Nevertheless, it is important for developed nations to lead the way. There have been a number of policies enacted within Europe intended to address these problems, however, in the United States, national action has been lethargic. For global progress to be made, the US must step forward and take leadership on this issue by exploring various sustainable transportation policies.

There have been many proposals for solutions to these transportation problems. Each of these has various costs and benefits, and some are more politically feasible than others. The following is a consideration of the details, benefits, costs, and shortcomings of a number of policies that could be enacted within the United States.

1. Raise the CAFE Standards

Background Information

Note: If you’d like to keep track of whenever I post a new article about this paper, check out the sustransitpaper category.

The Three Major Transportation Problems

The current state of transportation in the US has three major problematic characteristics. For one, it relies on crude oil, a resource that is being rapidly depleted. Secondly, increased per capita driving is causing massive congestion problems in major cities and the suburbs. Finally, transportation is causing serious environmental degradation.

A. Resource Depletion

The world is running out of crude oil, also known as petroleum. Crude oil is one of the most important commodities in the world economy. Today, it is being consumed at a rapid and increasing rate. At the same time, it is in finite supply, and projected to run out within the next 30-65 years.[1] Currently, no feasible alternative fuel has been developed in its place. Therefore, the world has a resource depletion problem.

Note: If you’d like to keep track of whenever I post a new article about this paper, check out the sustransitpaper category.

Canals to Cars: History of the Transportation Problem

To improve the current system of transportation in the United States, it is important to identify how this system came to be and why it is important. During the 18^th and early 19^th centuries, the US had a humble, slow, and expensive transportation system, yet it would evolve rapidly over time.[1] Much of the evolution of transportation was a result of three key factors: the necessity of a fast and affordable means of transportation, increasing per capita income, and the proliferation of the automobile.

Continental transportation was a great burden to the US shipping industry in the 18^th and early 19^th century. It suffered from three serious problems: slow speed, high costs, and irregular service.[2] This had serious commercial ramifications. For instance, shipping perishables was often impossible, and shipping goods over long distances infrequently occurred due to high transportation costs. Furthermore, because the United States economy was focused on international trade, internal transportation improvements, such as building and maintaining roads, were ignored.[3]