Cutting CO2 Emissions: Are we missing the simpliest lifestyle changes?

Question

Traffic light changes would cut emissions

'Carbon dioxide emissions could be cut dramatically by changing traffic light sequences, says AA [...] tailbacks could be reduced by re-phasing traffic lights leading into cities

[...] more than 645 tonnes of environmentally harmful CO2 could be saved by cutting traffic queues by just one minute a day on three major roads leading into any city.

This would mean that car engines would not spend as much time idling and so pump out fewer emissions. The cut in CO2 would top that saved by switching off 2,000 street lights, calculated by one local authority to be 590 tonnes.

"Councils should be accountable for CO2 reduction, by upgrading gridlocked junctions, co-ordinating roadworks

The AA believes that 1,000 cars held up for 10 seconds every working day while heading to and from work produce enough extra carbon dioxide to fill three & a half squash courts'

Answer 1

When I was a kid I could jump on a bus just up our street which took me into the city center. I can't now.

As a kid if I wanted sweets I walked down to one of our corner shops. I can't now.

When I was a kid if I wanted to walk the dog I could walk a couple of miles out of the city center and play with my mates in the fields. I can't now.

I ain't that old. All these changes are still relatively new. It would only take small policy changes to make a massive impact on CO2 Emissions.

Lifestyle changes Permaculture Bella? cutting traffic queues by one minute a day into any city? bet most of us wouldn't even notice the difference.

Answer 2

Yes, synchronized light systems do cut fuel consumption, as do systems of one-way streets, and of course overpassed intersections.

All of those things will improve the situation until the improvement  once again attracts more people back to the roads to overload the arteries again.

Just moving parts of the city centre out to its perimeter... moving places of work and hence having people live closer to work can improve our emissions problem.

Cutting down the total number of miles driven in cars, as by car pooling, and cutting down the fuel they use is a big step. Cut each step in half and we are able to cut emissions by 80% fairly easily.

Answer 3

Yes cut out all the CO2 ,just stop breathing. Of coarse if u eliminate all CO2 the plants will die ,and then we will die. The plants need the CO2 as much as u do oxygen. CO2 is not the problem as the more CO2 the better the plants grow. When plants do good we will.

Answer 4

I agree wholeheatedly with the other two answerers.   How far do you take timed lights?  All intersections become cloverleafs like highways so no one in their cars has to slow down at all?  I think public transit, good urban design, a bit of elbow grease & hypermiling are better solutions than timed stop lights.  Timed lights work better for safety than fuel economy (you only get all green lights by doing the speed limit).

Not unexpected that the idea is being extolled by the Auto Association.

Answer 5

YES! We are missing the simplest of lifestyle changes, and not just in our vehicles! Turn off lights when you leave a room, leave the air conditioner off until it's actually hot in your house. Turn off the tv at night. Leave the tv off unless you're sitting down in front of it. This goes doubly for people with children, as this would also reduce the childhood obesity rate. Go outside and play instead of watching tv. Get more fresh foods from the grocery store that have the least amount of packaging. Recycle recycle recycle! Only go out for errands when you have all your ducks in a row, make several stops instead of going into town for one thing every day of the week.

There are SO many simple changes we could make, it's unreal. Thank you for bringing this up Bella.

Also, I have been studying up on your permaculture ideas, and it is a wonderful idea to harvest as much food in your own garden as you can. It reduces SO much. I am a little late this year to start a garden, but I am definitely on it next year!

Answer 6

Yup. Old news. People have been floating these kinds of ideas (and this one in particular) for a long time.

The big question is

How come nothing ever changes?

I can hear the chorus now about how much things have changed and how much things have improved.

Sure, at the margins.

But the fundamentals never change.

We were promised energy independence in 10 years in 1973.

It makes me wonder if we will ever get there without a global crisis or some sort of revolution.

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I've had plenty of time to mull over your suggestion. My dear departed dad used to grouse about it all the time, like I said, going back 40 years.

Combine timed lights, signal indicators and platoons.

We have the computer and communication technology to network all the lights in a region. Put little colored LED's along the roadway, on the telegraph poles, wherever, red, yellow, green. The LED's would alert the driver to conditions ahead. If all clear and traffic signal green, the LED's would show green. If appropriate to slow down in order to "make" the next light the LED's would show yellow. If you are not going to make the next light, they would show red. This is just using individual user control of the car. The next step would be to create platoons. Every car gets an indicator on the back bumper. Red, Yellow, Green and Blue. Red means car is stopping. Yellow means back off now. Green means you can close in or not part of any platoon. Blue means you are part of the platoon. Drivers who meet a requirement can become platoon leaders. These drivers follow the signal indicators. Every car that comes up behind attaches to the platoon.

The result would be "packets" of cars that never have to stop for a light for the whole trip. And you get the added benefit of passive drafting so all cars behind the lead car improve their gas mileage.

And this can be done without networking or indentifying individual cars in any way.  Traffic monitors on the roadway and proximity detectors on the cars is all that is necessary.  

Will anything like this ever happen? I'm not optimistic.

Answer 7

I very much agree with the earlier replies that point out that this method of relieving congestion will only lead to more car journeys and thus defeat the aim of less fuel use and less emissions (CO2 and other pollutants).

Instead of making traffic lights more efficient for cars we need ways of making public transport more attractive and car use less attractive.  Congestion charges in London are working well in providing funds for investment in public transport and in deterring needless car journeys.

Walking and pedalling need to be encouraged (they yield health benefits too) and our towns and cities need to be designed around such activities with new developments that rely on cars (out of town supermarkets) outlawed.

These suggestions are not expensive means of dealing with climate change; they are ways of cutting the cost of the growing energy crisis with spin off benefits for climate change, health and social cohesion.

Best wishes

Answer 8

first of all, it's *simplest*. Roundabouts are easier, more efficient, don't take any time to do, and would cut emmissions. They are already used in Europe. If they replaced traffic lights, emmissions would drop dramatically.

   also, one of the bigest cause of emissions are suburbs because NOTHING is in walking distance. One is forced to drive EVERYWHERE even if it is really close.