transport

Better cars are not the answer

Posted 40 weeks 2 days ago by Philip Brewer

Wise Bread is an optimistic place. There are some people who can't see the congruence between optimism and frugality. I'm talking about the people who point to our progress from 360 square foot houses to 2400 square foot houses and say that, if your vision of the future doesn't have us all in 16,000 square foot houses pretty soon now, it's a pessimistic one. This article, though, isn't about houses. It's about cars.

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The two-mile challenge

Posted 41 weeks 6 days ago by Philip Brewer

Extra Commentary

A bicycle next to a bike path, with sunbeams shining through tree branches

Bicycling for transportation is something that's important to me, so I was immediately attracted to the 2-mile challenge. Check out their site and see what's within 2 miles of your address.

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Rolling Stone article on ethanol

Posted 50 weeks ago by Philip Brewer

Filed Under: Extra Commentary

Corn truck

In my recent post Plan for expensive fuel, I mentioned sustainable fuels in a somewhat dismissive fashion. I'll have more to say about that eventually, but in the meantime, I wanted to link to Rolling Stone magazine's excellent article on the limitations of ethanol as a replacement for fossile fuels:

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Plan for expensive fuel

Posted 51 weeks ago by Philip Brewer

Filed Under: Budgeting, Cars and Transportation

Gas station sign

Does your budget include a contingency for fuel to get much more expensive? Because it ought to.

I learned about the need for contingencies early. My first attempt at setting up housekeeping took place in 1980-1981, right at the peak of an inflationary spurt that saw the consumer price index grow at 14%. My budget was completely destroyed by prices that went up by more than 1% per month.

So what's your contingency for a spike in fuel prices?

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Bottled Water, Bottled Hype Part 1

Posted 1 year 13 weeks ago by Andrea Dickson

Green Living, Food and Drink

When we buy bottled water, especially bottled water from overseas (like Fiji), we're deciding against using that we have immediate access to, something that pours freely into our sinks at the twist of a handle. Instead, many of us prefer to purchase water. Water, ubiquitous water, now arrives in plastic bottles, bottles that are polluting to create and polluting to get rid of.

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