BellingenNSW

The end of the road trip?

The culture of 'the drive' requires sisyphean road maintenance, especially in a climate emergency.

Mobile sprawl as a form of 'recreation' eliminates the landscape. It is the annihilation of space and time. Motorists want to get from their door to the spectacle in the fastest way possible. The 'in-between space' viewed through the car window vanishes.

The pleasure cruise from A to B does not just degrade the landscape, but also eradicates possibilities of a livable planet. The overuse by the masses in their fossil fuel boxes makes the hillsides crumble, leads to landslides and erosion. After flash flooding, drought and heatwaves the roads have to be rebuilt over and over again.

Here are three cases of 'scenic drives':
California, Victoria and NSW

Extreme weather is changing California. These road trips show how
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/28/climate-extremes-california-road-trip

Climate Risk : The Path Ahead for the Great Ocean Road
Unsustainable Tourism
https://www.earlywarningnetwork.com.au/news/the-path-ahead-for-the-great-ocean-road

Waterfall Way scenic drive, NSW
https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/driving-routes/waterfall-way-scenic-drive
Why is the road called Waterfall Way ?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-15/waterfall-way-in-dorrigo-coffs-harbour-wet-weather-nsw/12986532

#TheDrive #Cars #roads #ScenicDrive #vehicles #MobileSprawl #tourism #FossilFuels #hazards #RoadTrips #culture #So50s #BigAuto #MobilityDesign #dromology #speed #GreatOceanRoad #WaterfallWay #Dorrigo #NSW #GlenifferRoad #landscapes #erosion #RockFall #FlashFlooding #ClimateCrisis

Extreme weather is changing California. These road trips show how

In a year of historic storms, drought and the aftermath of wildfires, a Guardian reporter hit the road to see how three popular routes are faring

The Guardian
Dec 29, 2023 at 5:18amWeb
Show threadMr TDec 29, 2023

@Bellingen All true, but if you try telling the average road warrior that, you will get attacked and hit with all sorts of bullshit defences.

The fact is, the average person just doesn't care. I've been writing on renewables and sustainability for nearly 30 years, and fewer people each year are interested in the message, as seen by our steadily declining readership, something that has been reflected by all publications in this area, whether in print or online.

From what people say on social media etc, you would think the opposite is true, but when it comes to actually making a personal sacrifice for the betterment of the planet, and even protecting their kids' futures, the vast majority simply refuse, no matter how small the sacrifice.

The fact is, the western lifestyle as lived by countries like the USA, Australia and Canada, is completely unsustainable, and always will be, but humans, being the selfish and wilfully ignorant creatures they are, just won't accept the facts.