Lloyd Alter @ TreeHugger reports on the unpaving of America:
[John Laumer, author of Trend Watch: Unpaving Rural America “Back To The Stone Age“] noted that there were some environmental benefits and concerns that should be considered:
- Asphalt is a refining byproduct. Less will be needed (either way).
- Vehicle speed is slowed as a practical matter, which means higher mileage.
- Rolling friction is increased, which means more fuel consumed
- More car washing is required, absolutely.
- More erosive sediment movement from the cartway and into streams and lakes.
- More cracked windows and chipped paint and broken headlights, which mean more materials consumed.
…
So in the end everyone pays anyway; much higher gas consumption, and probably more car maintenance, more SUVs and fewer Prii or other smaller, lighter, energy efficient cars. Wouldn’t it make more sense just to have a road tax that covered the cost of actually maintaining the roads?
I’d rather pay a higher tax than replace my vehicles at shorter intervals. I should imagine there’s more safety issues involved as well.
