Any idea around what model year this started to take off? I drive a 2000 so I’m not worried now, but thinking of upgrading to something slightly newer.
There are EV conversion kits available, so it is possible to turn an old car electric. They won’t have the storage capacity of a natively electric car, but it is an option.
Citing a Wikipedia article that categorizes things as green or not green is not a reputable source. Anyone could edit the page right now and invalidate your claim. I’m not convinced you are right or wrong but I’d like a stronger argument.
I agree and disagree with this. I don’t think the US inherently must be car centric because it’s big. But I do agree that Europe has superior pedestrian infrastructure because it developed for most of its history without cars. Auto and oil industry lobbying has instigated the situation in the US, but their agenda was only achievable because the technology existed to make large scale changes to the terrain, mass produce vehicles, etc. It’s very likely that there were people throughout Europe’s history who tried to monopolize bridges or horse wagons or other forms of transport, but the technology wasn’t sufficient for it to materialize. Warsaw was destroyed during WWII and rebuilt, and it’s developed to be very car-centric compared to other cities in Poland and Europe.
If you haven’t been to Mississippi or the south in general I suggest visiting, because it may give you a more nuanced perspective. Rural America - and the south especially - has been exploited for profit for the last several generations. Farming is no longer a viable profession because of big ag consolidation, skilled trades are on the decline because of outsourcing overseas, and land is bought up cheaply by developers to turn a quick profit with strip malls, to name a few examples. For those whose value in society has been diminished and marginalized, all of the traits you mention are more common. Without money it’s difficult to move to a place with better jobs or go without pay for the 2-4 years to complete a degree. It’s understandable why so many turn to religion when they have nothing else. Community has been bulldozed - physically for urban/suburban sprawl, and socially by our individualistic consumerist culture - and church is a place people can feel valued. Religious devotion is incredibly prevalent in the older generations of Eastern Europe who experienced the hardships of Soviet rule.
West Virginia was a blue state until the 2000s, when the Democratic party became out of touch with the working class (I’m not saying the Republicans are any more in touch because their messaging is very different from the policies they end up enacting). It’s not a person’s fault if they’re born into an impoverished family in a coal mining town and working as a miner is how they support themselves. But to belittle or even blame someone for doing this work an a sure way to alienate them.
The enemy is not our fellow citizens but the corporations, politicians, and elites who benefit by dividing us.
This isn’t true and how dare you suggest otherwise! 🌼