Does everything in the Big Outside have to be a "resource?"

No, not at all. Why, then, does the revenue from the sale of motor vehicle license plates (in Pennsylvania) go into a pot known as the "Wild Resources Conservation Fund?"
This is especially egregious because it is the automobile, and our society's century-old addition to it, that has destroyed so much of Wild Nature (and continues to).
Go a hearty walk.
Burn some calories, not gasoline.

A thought about cars and nature

From the late great writer Ed Abbey: "We've got to close the parks to private cars if we want to keep them as parks. The parks are for people, not machines. Let the machines find their own parks."
Hah. One could easily apply this thought to any number of places/sites/neighborhoods/municipalities/counties/states and make, in the process, real contributions to the betterment of our collective quality of life.

Traditional vs. McMansion

This is the old, traditional New England house: Small front yard, perhaps 20 feet, at most, set back from a sidewalk; probably some turf grass and likely one or more big shade trees (sugar maple, sycamore, etc.); and a driveway (likely a dirt-and-gravel affair) leading around to the rear of the house and a one-car garage or carport; a bigger yard out back where the first family’s children played.

The modern, sprawl version: A McMansion (ranchette) set way back from a street capable of sustaining three lanes of traffic if need be, likely 50 or more feet back from the curb/sidewalk (if there’s one at all); a three-car garage that dominates the street view and takes up roughly half of the house’s frontal appearance; a two-lane driveway filled with cars, at least one of which is parked so as to block the sidewalk; lots and lots of turf grass, the boundary of which is marked by a little white flag left behind by the chemical fertilizer applicator; a parade of small shrubs stuck in the clay-like soil around the foundation (nearly all of them exotic species like, e.g., Japanese yew, Japanese barberry, mugo pine; and one shade tree, likely a Norway maple (another invasive, alien species) whose trunk is buried beneath a mulch volcano of dyed-red bark mulch.

That’s a quick look, for sure. But the one thing that stands out when considering the modern, trophy home is this: The way in which cars are treated as royalty, even to the point of giving them a luxury bedroom (aka the garage).

More often than not, the “modern” home is at least a mile (likely much more) from the nearest retail store and likely even further from any grocery. The paltry walkability of such houses is easy to determine: Click on Walkscore.com, type in a given address and click again to get the walk “score” for that address.

My own home – a condo, actually – in sprawl-happy Williston has a weak score of 38. That means it is a hike (a real hike) to reach the nearest super-duper market and all the other necessities of daily life (except the local gas station, which is only a quarter-mile away).

What this all means, in the end, is this: Nearly all errands require a car, and that means more pollution, more personal income devoted to caring the automobile (i.e., fuel, insurance, an occasional wash; some detailing perhaps; annual registration; tags and safety inspection, . . .

The car-centric society of which the modern house is a flag-bearer means paving over Wild Nature. I’m reminded of a trailside sign at Bande

lier National Monument, N.M., which carries this headline: “How Much is Enough?”

How much “growth” is enough? Has enough land been set aside to preserve our natural heritage, the diversity of life we are all dependent on?

What automobiles emit (and walkers breath)

Most motorists will neither care nor give a damn about these facts. Too bad. My daily fitness walks take me right up to the sidewalk vs. street border of the 5 Corners intersection in Essex Junction, Vt. Walkers like me get to breath all this “stuff” as we do our thing, burning calories not a fossil fuel, aka gasoline.

Vehicle emissions are created from the incomplete combustion of gasoline or diesel. Other factors such as emission controls, engine design, and vehicle maintenance may affect vehicle emissions.
Vehicles emit many pollutants into the air, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and volatile organic compounds. These pollutants then combine to form secondary pollutants such as fine particulate matter and ozone. While emissions from an individual vehicle may be minimal compared to an industrial source, emissions from many vehicles on the road at one time can have a serious impact on air quality.
Pollutants emitted from vehicles can lead to poor visibility and health problems such as asthma and respiratory illness. Pollutants also can damage buildings and affect the quality of water resources.
Under the Clean Air Act, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set protective health-based standards for ozone and other pollutants in the air we breathe. Failure to meet the ozone and other standards over a period of time can result in an area being designated nonattainment by EPA. States strive to achieve attainment with the standards to ensure that public health is protected, promote economic growth, avoid the potential loss of federal highway funding, and preclude the time and cost required to develop and implement plans to re-attain attainment status. Learn more.

The most effective way to reduce emissions from your vehicle is to use it less.

• Ride the bus, carpool, and share trips to reduce the number of cars emitting pollutants. If possible, choose nonpolluting travel such as walking or biking.
• Reduce commuting. Choose to live close to your work.
• Organize a carpool at your work. Call 345-POOL for help.
• Combine trips to the same areas. Once you arrive, park your car and walk between destinations.
• Avoid driving during peak traffic hours or in stop-and-go traffic.

All cars emit some pollutants; poorly maintained cars emit the most. A properly tuned car runs better, gets better gas mileage, and pollutes less.

• Get regular tune-ups. Vehicles with worn spark plugs or clogged fuel or air filters do not run efficiently and emit more pollution.
• Keep tires properly inflated and wheels aligned to reduce tire drag on the road. Gas mileage drops 1% for every pound below the recommended level of pressure.
• Do not top off the gas tank. This allows harmful chemicals to escape into the air.

The harder your engine works, the more gas it burns, and the more tailpipe emissions you create.

• Avoid carrying unneeded items. Each extra 100 pounds increases the amount of gas used by 4%.
• Place items inside the vehicle instead of on roof racks. Remove roof racks when not in use. The wind drag from a rack increases gas consumption by almost 1 mile per gallon.
• Drive at a medium speed. Most cars get the best gas mileage between 35 and 45 miles per hour.
• Drive at a steady speed. Avoid stop-and-go traffic and take it easy on the brake and gas pedals.
• Use the air conditioner only when necessary. Air conditioners can reduce your gas mileage by 20%.
• Avoid long idles at drive-up windows or when waiting. Restarting a warm engine takes less fuel than letting it run for just 30 seconds.
• During hot summer months, fuel vehicles in the evening to facilitate dissipation of volatile organic compounds that contribute to ozone formation.

Gasoline prices this summer: Flat, no spikes forecase

Of course, "news" of this sort only serves to embolden American motorheads, who blithely go out and burn the stuff on "pleasure" rides. Our atmosphere would be better served if gasoline were taxed to the pointof making it $10 a gallon. Then, Americans might think twice about living in suburbia AND start walking and cycling.

Why promoting walking conserves human habitat and makes ecological sense

I'm a dedicated fitness walker; have been for four-plus decades. I was attracted to this article by the headline above (which I have repeated above). It's not just human habitat that's conserved, though. It's the habitat that's critical to the lives of our fellow brethren of Earth (the only planet we have). Sure, it's easier to get inside a car and isolate one's self from the world at large, but that's not what life is about. Walking burns calories, not a fossil fuel. Walking does not pollute the air; motoring about in an automobile does.

Forecast: Only moderate rise in gasoline prices

OK, that's good news for the gazillions of American suburbanites who commute hours and hours just so they can get enough cash to keep filling it up. The NY Times has this coverage. Actually, if American motorists had to pay what Europeans do, we might finally start using a lot less gasoline to keep ourselves moving.