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Pitch

Cars need to be replaced with buses, LRTs, trains and any other public ways of transportation.


Description

Guidance on collaborative pilot

This is a pilot test of a new, collaborative approach for getting work done in the Climate CoLab. It will run during March and April of 2012.

Just like in the 2011 activities, anyone can create a proposal. But there is also a community proposal, where members are encouraged to work together in a collaborative way. Any member can contribute to the community proposal as long as they are logged in.

The community proposal is like a wiki, so the history of edits is tracked, and you can revert to prior versions of the proposal if desired.

Please also use the Comments to express your opinion on whether or not you would like to see this collaborative approach used in the Climate CoLab in 2012.

Feel free to organize the proposal as you see fit. One thought—it's good to have a brief summary of the overall proposal at the top, as an aid to readers.

Proposal Text

Summary

  1. There is no doubt that individual vehicals/cars are contributing to the CO2 emission.
  2. Replaing cars on the roads with public transportation means such as buses, LRTs, trains,etc. can reduce a considerable amount of the emissions.
  3. Production line of many car manufacturing plants can be converted to producing required vehicals.
  4. This can create more jobs and learning skills for many employees as well as unemployed.
  5. More train or other type of tracks will need to be built which again leads to more employment.
  6. More and closer stations and stops will also need to be built which will encourage people to use buses, trains, etc.
  7. Traffic congestion problem will be solved, which will lead to saving time and less frustration. 


Category of the action

Reducing emissions from transportation


What actions do you propose?

  1. A train or bus can deliver the many people, who will be driving their personal vehicals, otherwise.  This will definitely reduce the emission levels due to everyday transportation.
  2. Instead of manufacturing more and more cars; buses, trains, LRTs will need to be produced.  In this regard, production line of some car manufacturing plants can be converted to produce the needed vehicals.
  3. Many more stations and stops will need to be built which are closely located in the neighbourhoods so people do not have to walk long distances to get there.  This will encourage them to use public transportation.
  4. Manufacturing more public vehicals, building more stations and stops and the approprate tracks will create more jobs and learning skills for employees of the converted plants as well as unemployed.
  5. All this will also solve the traffic congestion problem which is wasting time and causing frustration as well as so many health problems.
  6. People will be happier and healthier since they won't be sitting for long hours in traffic getting frustrated and breathing the exhaust of other cars.
  7. Everyday commute will become much safer and less accidents will happen on the road.  This will lead to much less emotional and financial burden on people.
  8. The very individualistic attitude of people will start to diminish and people will be nicer to each other since they will be interacting or at least seeing each other on a regular basis.  
  9. This also can lead to less crime to a certain extent since when people see each other face to face everyday a sense of community will grow which is a very important factor in preventing crime. 

 

 

 

 

 


Who will take these actions?

Governments and industry both need to be involved and work together.  Of course the idea must be promoted and therefore, PR organization/businesses need to participate and take action to promote the idea and encourage individuals for support.


Where will these actions be taken?

It needs to occur all over the world.  However, it can start in North Amercia where people are so dependent on driving their personal cars due to lack of efficient public transportation systems, which in turn is due to car manufacturing industry that was never in favour of the idea of public transportation.

Fortunately Europeans have very effective public transportatin system, which can be used as a model for other countires.

This proposal will definitely need to occur in other populated countires such as China, India, Brazil, etc. sooner than later.


How much will emissions be reduced or sequestered vs. business as usual levels?

If this propsal is taken seriously and implemented in fifteen years, then the emission levels due to transportation can reduce by 85% of its current level.


What are other key benefits?

  1. No more land will be devoted to barren parking areas and current ones can be converted to parks with many trees, which will help our stressed environment.
  2. No more highways will need to be constructed which are major contributors of destroying the natural environment.
  3. Paved areas such as parking zones and highways cause significant temperature increase in their vicinity.  By reducing the parking zones and highways this problem will also be eliminated.
  4. Less raw materials will be consumed since to manufacture a bus or a train less material is used than the equivalent volume of the cars.
  5. Also less energy will be needed to manufacture a public transportaion vehicle compared to the same volume of cars.


What are the proposal’s costs?

This proposal needs investments from both the governments and industries.  In long term, putting more cars on the road does not seem to be even imaginable.  So, there is no other way rather than making this proposal to happen.  Costs will be definitely cancelled out with many social, environmental and financial advantages.


Time line

  1. In short term (5-15 years) two or three car manufacturing plants  that volunteer will be converted with governments' bailouts.  In the meantime, more tracks, stations and stops will need to be constructed.  PR organizations need to educate people and promote the idea.
  2. In the medium term more car manufacturing plants will be converted and more tracks and stations will be built accordingly. All the parking areas will be converted to parks and no more highways will be constructed.
  3. In long term the idea will expand to longer distances between cities and states/provinces and will also include cargo transportation which will eliminate the need for huge trucks/trailers and they will be off the roads as well.

 


Related proposals


References