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This rant is almost a continuation of my other Carbon Footprints and Food post but it’s also a indicator of how society is changing towards a reduction in cars. I will try to contrast my life now compared to 1990 when I got my license. We’re hearing every day on CNN about how the oil is going to dry up. In the mean time, prices continue to soar as many people refuse to change their lifestyle. I suppose these are all great reasons not to drive.

Aside from the doom and gloom of shrinking oil supply, you have other factors why driving is either a bother or just not necessary. People who are addicted to computers like me already know what a tremendous amount you can accomplish without driving a car. There are a few things that I never drive for anymore.

• Any kind of ‘movie rental’ store like Blockbuster. These days, Netflix and my mailbox keep me up to date in movies.
• Any kind of store that sells music on (gasp!) CD’s. It’s iTunes for the win (OK, obvious one there)
• I buy all computers and computer parts online. Big box stores like BestBuy are a huge ripoff most of the time. Online competitors like Amazon.com and Newegg.com have them beat.
• Even paying my car taxes is done online.
• Banking is done online most of the time.
• Selling things is much easier. Instead of driving things to the pawnshop, I can use eBay and Craigslist.
• Don’t even mention the things you can get off eBay like cloths, books and computer parts.
• Last year we had an enormous table from World Market shipped from online. We’ve ordered quite a bit of furniture with ‘free shipping’ sales.

So, you get the point. In 1990, I would have had to drive around for much of that stuff. I’m to the point now where I only go into stores to buy food or some piddly diddly item like a spatula that will cost more to ship than the gas it takes to pick it up. Even then I’m asking, “why the hell am I waiting in line for 15 minutes?” I still drive to yard sales still. I drive to road side farmer’s markets.

The onslaught of idiot drivers

One thing that was different in 1990 was that there was plenty of open road here in Western North Carolina. Driving was plain fun. I can remember jumping into my 1973 Chevy Nova and heading off to the lake on a weekly basis. That was the American dream. On Tuesday evening, you could drive an empty road and feel the wind in your hair. Even if you got near an idiot driver, you could safely avoid them.

Now when I go driving, I come back stressed and in need of alcohol. People are aggressive. Cars are packed into highways. The baby boomers are going 40mph in the right lane and kids are going 80mph in the left lane. You get pushed back and forth as you try to get home. Don’t even mention all the foreigners from other countries who are used to driving like bats out of hell. Adam Carolla always bitches about that one. Los Angeles is one of the scariest places to drive now because the majority of drivers are not from this country. Plus every God fearing, red blooded American family has a fucking SUV, so you’re in constant fear of getting crushed to death as they tailgate you with about 12 inches of clearance.

I tell you, I would seriously get rid of our car if my wife would let me.

Wouldn’t that be nice? Well, it’s a bit too perfect. We do need the car from time to time. Even though I work from home and Dawn can walk to work. For now we’ll keep the one car. Actually, we do pretty good to share one vehicle between two people. Every now and then we talk about getting rid of the car and getting a rental when we need it.

But, it gets you to thinking. The future will hold many opportunities for people to drive less. As more people become comfortable with using the internet, maybe they too will stop driving so much. Maybe families will share one car instead of using two. We’re going to start seeing some things happen soon, like BlockBuster going out of business. That will be the end of an era. We’ve already killed Circuit City and many CD stores.

I look for the cities to re-emerge. People will start living in smaller condos instead of suburban housing. Housing prices will never recover. Incomes will go down as we compete with countries who can live on 1/3 of what we do. If we tore down some of the suburbs, we would have much more space for farmland. I don’t think living in the city has to be as nasty as it’s often portrayed. Buildings can be integrated with gardens and parks. New train networks—that Obama is pushing by the way—can be built to connect cities.

We’re also seeing the emergence of multi-use communities. These are the types of places where the condos are upstairs and the stores and restaurants are downstairs. The gym, grocery and even an industrial park is located a golf cart ride away. The whole idea is to build a mini-city where people don’t need a car. Asheville’s own Biltmore Park is being built like this.

And one last point. The ‘time’ we waste in cars for no good reason—social networks can do that now.

In 1990, I found myself driving aimlessly quite a bit just because ‘driving was fun’. I may cruise up and down town to see where my friends are. Sometimes I would take a long drive to ‘think on something.’ Now I can collaborate and talk online with people. Today, I often wonder how much of the traffic on the road is ‘really necessary’. Are people coming home from work or are they just headed to BestBuy to ‘look around’. In 1990, we didn’t quite have the internet revolution that would begin 5 years later with Windows 95. Now we have Facebook, Twitter and plenty of other online social network sites that not only allow interaction with friends, but also to waste good valuable time.

I dare say that I find myself combining car trips so I can have more time to waste on FaceBook.