A counter-example

Though a large part of the reason why I'm doing JVC is because I want to make a better world, I admit I often wonder if that is possible. Sometimes it seems like our current way of living is so entrenched that it's permanent, unchangeable. This feels most hopeless to me when I realize that it's my own habits I need to change, yet I am resistant to doing so. Habits which make my life easier seem especially resistant to change. For example, being able to think of virtually any item as trash and throw it away without so much as seeing a landfill is a habit deeply established in my affluent, Western psyche. Changing habits such as these are hard, especially when I'm tired and doing dishes and considering how much easier it would be to trash this plastic bag instead of washing and reusing it. Another common example is the car. I know that cars produce harmful pollution, but that doesn't stop me from using one. It makes life easier.

However, counter-examples exist out there, examples of people and societies that somehow have overcome the "easy" excuse and are making real changes. One counter-example I came across last night in the New York Times. The headline pretty much explains it: "Across Europe, Irking Drivers Is Urban Policy." In the car-dominated United States, transportation policies that favor pedestrians, mass transit, or bicyclists at the expense of cars often feel symbolic more than substantial. Sure, you can paint the bike lane any color you want, but woe to anyone voting for a policy that would lengthen a driver's morning commute. In contrast, read what's happening in Zurich, taken from the article linked to above:

As he stood watching a few cars inch through a mass of bicycles and pedestrians, the city’s chief traffic planner, Andy Fellmann, smiled. “Driving is a stop-and-go experience,” he said. “That’s what we like! Our goal is to reconquer public space for pedestrians, not to make it easy for drivers.”

When I read this, I thought something like "What? How does he get away with that? Don't the car companies hunt him down, or sue the city, or corrupt him with bribes?" (I apologize to anyone who has worked for a car company, I'm sure you're not all bad.) Apparently, he - and Zurich - gets away with it.

Cars still feel like a Goliath in the U.S.'s economy, but suddenly riding my bike or taking the bus to work feels less like a sacrifice and more like a habit I'm willing to freely adopt.