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Submitted by David on Sat, 2010-10-23 15:44
Next-Gen Mazda2 Will Return 70 MPG, Without An Electric Motor
The Prius hybrid, by comparison, achieves 50 MPG according to the manufacturer's claims. Of course, as the Mazda isn't a hybrid, even though it achieves better fuel economy, I'm guessing that it probably won't qualify for some of the same government incentives.
Solicitor receives £50,000 (and counting) over bad reference
"In the reference, the partner, Mr Hawthorne, said the solicitor had a "poor relationship" with members of the firm. He also mentioned, in answer to a question about how the employment ended, not simply that she resigned but also the fact that she had brought legal proceedings against the firm." - sounds like a crazy place to even try to get a reference from.
Stress That Doesn't Pay: The Commuting Paradox
"According to economics, the burden of commuting is chosen when compensated either on the labor or on the housing market so that individuals’ utility is equalized. However, in a direct test of this strong notion of equilibrium, we find that people with longer
commuting time report systematically lower subjective well-being." According to Jonah Lehrer, it's a weighting problem with people overweighting rare events (like the occasional visit in which you might use a guest bedroom).
Americans not hitting their walking stride
Some interesting stats on how far people walk each day in Europe vs. the US. I'd assume that Canada isn't all that far from the US in distance walked. BTW, since when does walking count as "moderate-to-intensive exercise"? Moderate maybe... but intense? I wonder how the CDC classifies jogging or sprinting.

Comments

Sarennah

Tue, 2010-10-26 17:46

The time it takes to commute is in a sense a type of lost time. There aren't many benefits to driving longer other than maybe cheaper/nicer housing locations. I think I'd prefer a smaller location if it meant being closer.

Walking in Europe as you know is a lot different than in Canada. People walk everywhere and use public transit regularly because it's so well integrated into the cities. You have to make a choice not to use it--while in Canada you have to make a choice TO use it. I know for my job I need a car just because of the unpredictability and last minute-ness of where I need to go. But maybe in Europe, they'd have smaller areas closer to home where it would make more sense.

David

Tue, 2010-10-26 21:15

A lot of the arguments that you're making might be translatable as focused on denser development. That, and reducing the degree of separation between employment, shopping, and home... the attempt to separate these seeming to be what lead to the development of a lot of suburbia.