Why invest in a car? Sharing makes more sense, if you can do it.

...I’m a huge fan of car sharing, mostly because it upends the typical model of car ownership. Typically, owning a car involves a lot of fixed costs – costs that you pay regardless of whether you drive the car a single mile or 20,000 miles a year. These include the cost of the car, insurance, taxes and registration fees, emissions inspections and the like. The variable cost of owning a car – fuel and maintenance – are comparatively of little consequence on a per trip basis.
The effect of this is that once you own a car you have a very strong incentive to use it for most trips. I vividly recall arguing with a friend who claimed that it was cheaper for him to drive across Burlington than it was for him to pay $1.25 to board a local bus. Countless times I’ve been told, ‘I really wanted to take the train, but it was just so much cheaper to drive.’ Of course, in both cases driving was the more expensive option, once the fixed costs of owning a car were taken into account. Carfreebtv
With carsharing, all of your costs are paid on a per trip basis. This creates an incentive to drive only when necessary or especially convenient and use alternatives for all other trips. I’d rather take the train or a bus for longer trips and would hate to be in a situation where I’d feel compelled to drive long distances because it was “cheaper.”...

Major oil firm, 2009: profit $20B, corp tax $0

ThinkProgress » Home Page: "Last weekend, Americans around the country organized “Main Street Movement” protests to stand in solidarity with organized labor and demand that corporate interests pay their fair share. As ThinkProgress has reported, many of the nation’s largest corporate interests pay literally nothing in corporate income taxes. ExxonMobil made nearly $20 billion in profits in 2009, but paid nothing in corporate income taxes. Other extremely profitable companies GE, CitiGroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Boeing similarly have had entire quarters or years without paying corporate income taxes."

7 Ways the Koch Bros. Benefit from Corporate Welfare | The New York Observer

7 Ways the Koch Bros. Benefit from Corporate Welfare | The New York Observer: "Charles and David Koch, the secretive billionaire brothers who own Koch Industries, the largest private oil company in America, have spent millions bankrolling free-market think tanks and pro-business politicians in order, as David Koch has put it, 'to minimize the role of government, to maximize the role of private economy and to maximize personal freedoms.' But a closer look at their dealings reveals that for the past 35 years the brothers have never shied away from using government subsidies to maximize their own profits, even while endeavoring to limit government spending on anything else."

Actually, we can’t afford a car — Carfree with Kids

Actually, we can’t afford a car — Carfree with Kids: "We actively choose to live our lives without a car. When our truck died, way back in 2004, we probably could have found enough money to get another one if we’d really wanted to. We wouldn’t have been happy about it, but we could have done it. Really though, we were just happy to see it go.

Since then, our financial situation only improved (what with finishing grad school and actually getting jobs, not amazingly well-paying jobs, but it doesn’t take much to beat grad student pay). We paid off all our debt (well, other than our tiny condo), saved up a nice emergency fund, and bought our house, all in no small part due to our savings from not owning a car. I’ve always assumed we could get a car if we wanted one, but since we don’t, we just enjoy that extra cushion in our cash flow and try our best to save it or put it to good use."

Auto system externalized costs - your precious time

Much talk -- no progress -- fossil fuel still the rule

Analysis: Roaring fossil fuels outpace green energy | Reuters: "(Reuters) - Fossil fuel investments will continue to outstrip low-carbon alternatives this year, darkening a sector struggling to shake off the financial crisis and sagging political momentum on climate change.

Soaring fossil fuel prices, where the European oil benchmark is pushing $100 a barrel, favor oil and coal producers, while falling gas prices have undermined wind power generation especially in the United States.

And the financial crisis has hit capital-intensive renewable energy projects, trimming demand for wind turbines, while the near-term solar future is clouded by cuts in European subsidies."

Letter: Environmental agenda must include transit | The Burlington Free Press | Burlington, Vermont

Letter: Environmental agenda must include transit | The Burlington Free Press | Burlington, Vermont: "When talking about energy and environment, transportation must be included in the agenda.

WAYNE MICHAUD
Bristol"