Sprawl, cars and climate
Transport set to be Australia’s top-emitting sector by 2030, private cars (SUVs) still dominate.

“If you’re in suburbia or regional Australia and you’re trying to make a journey, often you’ll find public transport is just not a viable option and you have no choice but to drive."

"Experts have pointed towards an Australian love for US-style SUVs as a contributing factor to the rising death toll on roads nationwide, which has climbed every year since the pandemic, with NSW the highest of any state." >>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/07/sprawling-city-public-transit-work-sydney-right-track
#sprawl #cars #SUVs #DeathToll #transport #climate #PublicTransport #NSW #MobilityDesign

Biodiversity under the wheels

Koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and other wildlife are forced to dwell in fragmented spaces having to cross many roads to go about their life. Mobility design is primarily for combustion machines to fly along their supply chains. The mobility needs of the un-motorised is not taken care of with the existing infrastructure.

"Tens of thousands of collisions with animals are recorded each year across Australia and the number appears to be rising. According to NRMA Insurance claims data, there was a 21% rise in animal collision claims from 2024-2025."

"Many large animals, including kangaroos, are most active at dusk and night, often moving to feed along roadside vegetation. Insurance data shows collisions are concentrated on regional and rural roads, where higher speeds, limited lighting and greater exposure to wildlife increase risk." >>
https://theconversation.com/crashes-involving-animals-spike-in-winter-heres-how-to-avoid-them-281531
#biodiversity #wildlife #MobilityDesign #vehicles #roads #speed #RoadTrauma #kangaroos #wallabies #koalas #wombats #birds #crashes

Harvesting fruit and vegetables 'in the middle of nowhere': The Pacific Islander farm workers scheme

"With about 30,000 PALM workers in Australia as of October, that equates to about 30 deaths per 100,000 people — more than six times the national average of 4.8 per 100,000."

"Back home, I usually drive for no more than 30 minutes before reaching my destination. Here, I'd drive for hours... after working 12-hour shifts." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/palm-workers-urged-to-obey-australian-driving-laws-/104730954

"Two Pacific Islander farm workers dead" >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-06/manjimup-fatal-crash-pacific-farm-workers/106636166
#PALM #workers #food #farms #work #AgriculturalIndustry #SettlerSociety #roads #TyrannyOfDistance #transport #rural #cars #Australia #exploitation #plantations #MobilityDesign #WideOpenSpaces #FossilFuel #FoodMiles
Image: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, 1939

Make cycling ordinary again

Cycling "in Australia, is still closely tied to being male, wearing a lot of Lycra, owning an expensive bike and costly cycling gear and riding really fast."

"In places where cycling functions as everyday transport – such as large parts of Europe and Asia – people ride in work clothes, at relaxed speeds, on practical bikes."
https://theconversation.com/you-dont-have-to-be-a-cyclist-to-ride-a-bike-heres-how-to-start-again-280451
#BicycleInfrastructure #CarCulture #OutdoorGym #Energy #uncertainty #FossilFuels #Australia #Paris #MobilityDesign

Image: Drive the car to have a bicycle ride somewhere. It is 'sport' here. In many other places it belongs to active and fossil fuel free mobility integrated into everyday life. Bellingen recreational bike strapped to a car roof

It is not a fuel crisis,
it is a fossil fuel crisis!

Oh dear, We forgot to transition our mobility system
Go e-anything now without the matching active mobility infrastructure.

This fuel crisis could last for a while. It’s time for a new approach to fuel use – end it. >>
https://theconversation.com/this-fuel-crisis-could-last-for-a-while-its-time-for-a-new-approach-to-fuel-use-end-it-280454

#MobilityDesign #FossilFuels #CarDependency #oil #war #CarMinds #HabitFormation #idling #speeding #EnergyTransition #infrastructure #machinery #ActiveMobility #sprawl #walkability #bikepaths #EMobility #ClimateCrisis

The fuel crisis and Australians’ love affair with petrol guzzling monster cars

Now that the government is spruiking BIG car owners to "unload excess weight" and do their 'little bit' because of dwindling reserves, we are looking back on last year 's headlines to unravel how we got here.:

" Australians are obsessed with SUVs and huge utes, but experts say they are making our roads deadlier
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/13/australian-suv-huge-ute-obsession-roads-more-dangerous

* Big cars are increasing Australia’s emission and fuel bills – but what are the alternatives for families?
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/30/australia-fuel-efficient-family-cars-guide-best

* ‘You have unmet needs’: the psychology behind Australia’s love affair with big cars
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/15/you-have-unmet-needs-the-psychology-behind-australias-love-affair-with-big-cars

* Road hogs: what is Australia’s love of big cars costing us all?
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2025/mar/16/road-hogs-what-is-australias-love-of-big-cars-costing-us-all

* The cars eating Australia: should we be trying to reverse our attraction to SUVs and utes?
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/17/the-cars-eating-australia-should-we-be-trying-to-reverse-our-attraction-to-suvs-and-utes

** The Government launches $20 million fuel saving campaign: "Every little bit helps" Along with asking the public to consider using their car less, the ads promote tips to improve vehicle fuel efficiency, such as "driving smoothly" and "unloading excess weight". >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-11/government-launches-multi-million-dollar-fuel-saving-campaign/106555004

Image: Australia loves huge SUVs and trucks. First Dog on the Moon
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/18/australia-loves-huge-suvs-and-trucks-will-nobody-think-of-the-car-parks

#FossilFuel #fuel #petrol #cars #vehicles #SUVs #CarDependency #PetrolDependency #EnergySecurity #consumption #climate #pollution #RaodTrauma #BigCars #BigCarparks #FuelGuzzlers #FuelSaving #TaxPerks #NegativeExternalities #RoadFatalities #RoadDeaths #speed #pedestrians #MobilityDesign #governance #Australia #love #big #ExcessWeight #roads

Suburban sprawl and public transport deserts

"From the 1950s, sprawling low-density suburbs have been built on the assumption that households would own cars and that public transport was unnecessary."

“It’s really too late to do much in the short term, because we’ve spent 70 years planning in the other direction...The hole has been dug.”

“If we’re interested in equity and justice in our cities, then we need to be providing people, no matter where they live, with a good quality level of public transport access that allows them to get jobs, services and education that are available to people in inner-city areas." >>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/apr/10/fuel-crisis-australia-public-transport-not-an-option
#FossilFuel #petrol #CarDependency #Suburbia #sprawl #biodiversity #extinction #PublicTransportDeserts #MobilityDesign #inequality #war #ClimateDisruption #CarMinds #malls #parking #obesity #walking #infrastructure #SmallShops #TyrannyOfDistance

World held hostage by reliance on fossil fuels,
Christiana Figueres warns – and climate health impacts are ‘mother of all injustices’

* "While the timing of the announcement – amid the US-Israel war on Iran – is coincidental, Figueres said the fuel crisis was “dramatic proof” of the global dependence on fossil fuels that is driving geopolitical instability and the health impacts the commission will examine."

“Companies should understand for their business continuation, they should reduce emissions. Governments should understand that in order for them to stabilise their economy, and protect their people, they should reduce emissions...I just think that enlightened self-interest based on scientific facts – which is what the commission is going to put forward – is a much more effective route to emission reductions than a legally binding agreement from which anybody can withdraw.”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2026/apr/08/world-held-hostage-reliance-fossil-fuels-health-christiana-figueres

* Sea-level rise is a health crisis and we must hold polluters accountable >>
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/07/sea-level-rise-health-crisis-christiana-figueres
#FossilFuel #climate #war #harm #oil #petrol #SeaLevelRise #coast #Pacific #inequality #ClimateCrisis #PolyCrisis #MobilityDesign #cars #accountability #liability

E-mobility as a cost-of-living fix

The Australian hip pocket nerve, not the motivation for a liveable future is forcing some people to take up active mobility without a safe network of walking and cycling infrastructure.
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/06/fuel-crisis-sydney-commuters-cycling
#FossilFuels #cars #MobilityDesign #walking #cycling #infrastructure #transition ##NoKerbsideChargers Ebikes #HipPocket #climate

Image: Bike on wood chips without a bike rack or cycle path, Bellingen

'Sounds of Australia' nominations

You think the combustion engine would be a winner but no it is the pedestrian button, also know as the beg button.

The beg button is 'an icon of Australian design' that makes distinctive sounds to signal to pedestrians that is o.k. to quickly interrupt the supply chain of combustion engine vehicles.

The sound of our cities: why the Australian pedestrian button belongs in our archives >>
https://theconversation.com/the-sound-of-our-cities-why-the-australian-pedestrian-button-belongs-in-our-archives-279559

The beg button sound>
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/item/pb-5-pedestrian-crossing-button
#noise #pollution #cars #pedestrians #soundecology #sounds #roads #MobilityDesign #BegButton #FootTraffic