There many creative ways to lower the carbon impact of transport. Some ways are zanier than others. Photo byRichard Masoner / www.cyclelicio.us
Climate change is not a joke. Here at TheCityFix, we realize that we need to get serious about our strategies to reduce carbon emissions from transport. The world needs to explore bold, creative approaches to climate change mitigation if we are to preserve this world for future generations. To illustrate this point, we have assembled the world’s top five most under-rated low-carbon transport solutions. Although seemingly far-fetched, we firmly believe they have the potential for truly transformative impact:
1. Teleportation While technology development is in its infancy, quantum physicists and transportation scientists are making progress toward human teleportation equipment. Researchers from MIT have demonstrated that energy can be teleported. As well, a research team from University of Science and Technology of China in Shanghai currently holds the record for transporting photons across a distance of 97 kilometers. Commuters could be next!
2. Government-controlled remotes to stop cars Recent events have demonstrated that American security agencies are capable of monitoring our personal equipment. Logically, if the United States government can hack into private phones, the same principle could be used for other devices – like cars. Imagine the utility of a mass car-disabling program: the National Security Administration (NSA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) could have the power to remotely shut down cars of commuters who are able to use low-carbon alternatives.
3. Withholding compressed air Research has shown that a vehicle with flat tires emits about 99.9% of the total carbon emissions of a car with fully functioning tires. Without adequately inflated tires, commuters are given a powerful incentive to find other modes of getting to work, like car-sharing, or simply working from home. This also leaves more compressed air for the important things, like blimps and birthday balloons.
4. Wheelie Shoes Since the turn of the 21st century, these delightful inventions have been increasing humans’ natural speed. While currently associated with juvenile behavior (and even banned in some communities) wheelie shoes have great potential to cut down on issue of last-mile connectivity. The exact carbon savings are still being worked out, but commuters will certainly gain extra points for style.
5. Riding Emus Humans have used domesticated animals for transport for centuries. There is ample room for animal husbandry to make a comeback, especially on the coattails of hip urban farming practices. One often-overlooked pack animal is the emu. Emus can run at a speed of to 37 mph, and have excellent agility skills to help dodge competing vehicles. This is a sustainable practice everyone should be encouraged to emu-late.
If you are already placing the order on Amazon for your personal emu, this is the time when we must tell you to stop, as this is an April Fools post! However, hopefully these ideas will compel you to think creatively about how you get around, because in all seriousness, there are many over-looked everyday solutions to low-carbon, sustainable transport. It can be as simple as riding a bike, or as whimsical as using a backpack-scooter combo apparatus. While the suggestions above may not, yet exist (we’re still holding out for teleportation), they are still plenty of fun ways to move around your city sustainably.
