Fight the gas prices

[Jarulf]

I still don't think you're fully understanding my point about the difference in the US compared to Europe.

I think you need to get rid of the idea that Belgium is representative of the population density of Europe.....

It is just as wrong equating Europe with Belgium as it would be to equate USA to Nevada (although you seems to pick it as the reason for the whole USA).


Sure one can need cars to travell long distances, but that doens't say one need to do it in short distnaces either. Or say that because one lack good infrastructure on non car usage, the solution is to cut gas prices (perhaps building up the infra structure should be a complement as well). By the way, I would say that a far more important reason than the size of the USA compared to Europe (which isn't that big really) is the way things such as towns are actually constructed (designed or whatever you want to call it).

Completely unrelated but in part telling I recall one time I was in USA, at a conference in Atlanta. We was at the big conference hotell outside town and asked the recpetion for a grocery or some other place were one could shop bit, such as bottles of water or something else to drink. They looked at us and asked if we had a car. No we did not, but we didn't mind a walk. They looked baffled at us and we could hear how they sighed at felt sad for us for our "mission impossible". It would really be tough and tiresome then, a really long walk and they adviced against it but if we really wanted to, there was a shoping mall quite some distance away. We had to walk out and follow the street on to the left. Later wee would come to a big road which we had to cross but they really adviced agianst it, it could be hard to get across with the trafic and all. And then on the other side we would then find the mall, but it would certainly take some time going there. Well, having nothing better to do, we thought we should take our chances, we could even get a nice tour out of it so of we went. After a mere 5 minutes we got to the big road we had to cross, considering the lack of traffic, it was no problem, never the less we took advantage of the traffic lights and crossed when it signaled green to walkers to cross the street. The mall was just on the other side, perhaps another 50 meeters (well, it was a big parking lot as well but the shops we wanted was on our side of it).

Well, we got ourself a laugh. No idea if this has anything to do with the topic or if one can draw any conclusions, I still like the horror story of going shopping something to drink without the car.


PS! No, we don't have good publi transportation in northern Sweden either. Yes, it is isolated with not much people living there. Admitadly, no desert but still (different climate I would say being the reason). Yes, people complain there too about how they have to travell far and wide for work, shopping, friends and everything one can imagine. Not all of Europe is like in Rhur!

PPS! Of course our cultural history and many other things has made USA and Europe quite different in many aspects which leads to the differences in views on things, I suppose we just have to accept it and feel "the others" are a bit off.