Also odd because conservatives consistently defund public transport. In many parts of the state, there aren’t even sidewalks so you’re forced to either walk through the grass (potentially impossible if it’s overgrown or fenced) or in the middle of the street.
It would be a marked improvement if Texas started suddenly caring about uninhabitability. The rich will simply get better generators and let the heat waves and downed power grid cull the masses.
Can’t stay rich without people to buy your shit. Genuinely don’t understand how they don’t realize that. If the middle and lower class dies, so does their income stream. And even besides that, if all that’s left are rich folks because everyone else either cooked to death or left the area, being “rich” loses meaning because you’re now all on an even economic playing field. In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is a killer metaphor - as in, anyone left with a bigger cash stash than you becomes the de facto upper class and you do not.
Wait wait wait, climate change is fake! Why would not driving do anything? I’m gonna double down and idle my RV and hummer and spare cruise ship burning bunker fuel in my driveway!
“You can help prevent ozone pollution by sharing a ride, walking, riding a bicycle, taking your lunch to work, avoiding drive through lanes, conserving energy and keeping your vehicle properly tuned.”
Oh, and stop rolling coal you dumb fucking rednecks!
Dow chemical is located in Lake Jackson, TX and probably out-pollutes all the passenger cars in TX
Not to mention the ship channel, oil refineries, coal burning, petrochemical plants, and so many other high pollution industries. But sure, blame the citizens.
Also, if you want citizens to use their cars less, invest more in public transit (TX has none)
Don’t. It’s a train, it’s literally impossible for it to service an entire city. Unless you live within walking distance, without some way to get to the train it essentially doesn’t exist. Same situation if you live on a line, but the place you’re going isn’t within walking distance.
“There is a train” will never be enough. You also need bus routes to handle “last mile delivery” so to speak, and even then the closest stop may not be within walking distance.
DART rail is fine if you live near a station. The vast majority of people do not. The rail lines are alright, but the bus system is laughably bad, so getting to and from a station is often an extra hour or two just to go a few miles.
And that’s if they even serve your area. My daily commute isn’t possible via public transit, because there are no busses or trains that go anywhere near where I live. Like if I look up my commute on Google Maps, the “Bus/Train” option is just entirely greyed out.
Houston has a couple tram lines and a handful of bus lines. And a lot of traffic. And an Amtrak station nestled in a hidden spot at the intersection of 2 major interstates.
But yes, I also wonder where are the “suggestions” from Texas officials for oil and chemical plants to try polluting less for a bit?
I can ride my bike to work as its about 10k away, but it’s so damn hot im sure I’ll get heat exhaustion before I get there. In May there was a heat advisory and basically told people, unless you have to, stay indoors after 10. The only way to be outside is in the shade in front of a fan drinking something cold.
Plus, riding your bike while the air quality is at “concerning” levels just doesn’t seem like the ideal solution. You screw up your lungs to make a teaspoon of a difference while every factory in the area keeps churning out buckets of pollution.
North of 95F your body will start having trouble regulating temperature and hydration, ventilation, and shade become critical. On a bike you can only reasonably control hydration (can’t depend on strong wind, moving at a constant speed, or staying under building and foliage shade) so basically 9 months of the year you’re putting your health at risk to commute by bike. Riding a bike to the nearest bus stop and going from there might be the best middle ground.
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