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Cambridge to warn gasaholics
By perruptor on Sat, 12/26/2020 - 11:20am
Cambridge will put warning stickers on gasoline pumps:
Cambridge, Massachusetts, has become the first US city to mandate the placing of stickers on fuel pumps to warn drivers of the resulting dangers posed by the climate crisis.
The final design of the bright yellow stickers, shared with the Guardian, includes text that warns drivers the burning of gasoline, diesel and ethanol has “major consequences on human health and the environment including contributing to climate change”.
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Comments
Cool
I hope the stickers are made of all natural materials in a carbon neutral facility with a diverse workforce and employees earning at least 15 dollars an hour.
Go Cambridge !
Government over-reach
This is a classic example of government over-reach.
Climate change is an important issue and needs some way to address it. Shaming people who drive a car is not the solution. Cambridge itself is known all too well in the Greater Boston area for its often over-reaching progressive agendas, to the point that it is often mocked by people in surrounding communities -- and that across all age spans. If you have lived here long enough you likely have heard it called "The People's Republic of Cambridge." It's a running joke. That in turn, detracts from the actual message of most progressive agendas, including climate change, immigration, homelessness, hunger and more.
Shaming labels is not the solution. You need a working energy policy that addresses the consumption of fossil fuels and moves to renewable sources. This is a clear example of a city government that has no clue on how to address how government works, and this issue is beyond the end of their own noses. It is also a "make the people feel good" type of response that has no empowerment what so ever.
This is like Facebook shaming. "Click this and like if you agree. If you do not you're the bad guy." Do they really expect that people will pull up to the pump and read it, then not fill their tank to get to work? Maybe the MBTA doesn't go there.
This will make national news and fuel the arguments of the arch conservatives. Sometimes you need to elect people to office that know how government works.
Next week they might put warning labels on Cheetos as being flammable. (Google is your friend on that one.
Sooooooo......
Has Cambridge converted all of its city vehicles; police / fire / trash / building inspectors, etc. cars (including contactors vehicles such as snow plows and school buses) to CNG or electric?
Probably not. More Do As I Say, Not Do As I Do from Fakerville-Sur-Charles.
Lead by example Cambridge, not diktat.
Warning labels are diktat?
Life is hard in Cambridge. The Secret Warning Police are always whispering in my ear, telling me how bad things will be if I smoke, or drink while pregnant, or don't wear my mask. I live in constant fear of being inconvenienced. It's practically North Korea.
forget CNG and electric
It doesn’t take long to bike from the center of Cambridge to the edge. Any city employee who is physically able and not carrying too much stuff should bike by default.
Something had to be done!
So something was done.
Politician’s syllogism
1. Something must be done
2. This is something
3. Therefore we must do this
Why stop at gas pumps? Why
Why stop at gas pumps? Why not put one on every electric meter in the city that isn't feed by 100% renewable energy (which is an option for electric customers in Cambridge)? And electric vehicles that are charged by those non-renewable energy services as well.
Why not?
Because nobody looks at electric meters, so nobody would read those warnings.
As for renewable energy not being an option for Cambridge residents, when did the city outlaw rooftop solar and residential windmills?
Because nobody looks at
But they DO read all of the existing warning stickers on gas pumps, right?
Especially the warnings which
Especially the warnings which are groundless folklore, like how using a cell phone will cause the gas pump to explode. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fuelish-pleasures/
i put gas in my car 1-2 times
i put gas in my car 1-2 times a week. i couldn't tell you the last time i checked my meter. you check yours as often as you put gas in your car?
No.
No.
I'm saying that as often as people gas up their cars, they hardly take notice of all the labels that are already on the gas pumps. They will pay little attention to any new label - and even that for only a little while.
Like the California prop 65 warnings
“Alarm fatigue” is a well studied phenomenon in human factors work. Whether it’s the control room of a nuclear power plant or an ICU floor in a hospital, if you create a situation in which people are constantly bombarded by alarms, most of which don’t actually require action, very quickly they learn to tune out the alarms.
Cambridge’s well intentioned efforts to raise awareness will actually have the effect of further training us to ignore warning labels
They are working on a warning label for that.
It should be released in 6 months.
While I approve of the sentiment behind this,
no one's going to even *read* that sticker, especially with this wordy and small-print design.
Ivory tower circle jerk
Ivory tower circle jerk
Ironic
Cambridge requires this right around the time that state massively cuts public transportation.
To paraphrase a usual comment of mine
The City of Cambridge does not run the MBTA.
Hence the part about the state
But it's hard to expect people to drive less when the most viable alternative to driving is ripped away.
Bikes can supplement the T but they can't realistically can't replace it.
And even apart from the T cutbacks, carpooling and ride share is questionable during a pandemic.
But you grasp that the City of Cambridge is doing this
And their idea that people will see this an magically stop driving has little to do with state policies, except that perhaps this will encourage people to crowd onto the T again, thus alleviating the fiscal issues the T is facing.
I mean, the reason the T is in rough fiscal shape is due to a marked ridership decrease. You do know that, right?
Guess I was wrong
I was under the impression the decrease in ridership was due to a pandemic and people following public health recommendations, not a sudden lust for the open road.
Given that the T didn't care about overcrowding even before the pandemic, it's unlikely they'd increase service even if the signs worked and ridership skyrocketed.
Cambridge would be better off posting signs saying, "If you're driving because you don't have a choice, remember that next time you vote".
You're confusing cause and effect
Then again, I'm still awaiting Michelle Wu's plan to run the T at February 2020 levels without charging fares. Honestly, that she refuses to release this plan is troublesome. We'll give her the credit when she does and whoever ends up paying for the difference ponies up the money.
i personally like this
i personally like this ambition. it will likely have to do with proportionally taxing the communities rich with public and private transportation options.
she is only running for mayor so she could only lobby to the state her proposal.
And if toads had wings
They wouldn’t have to hop everywhere.
An idea without a plan is a dream. I prefer plans to dreams when it comes to government.
If the cities and towns that
If the cities and towns that fund the MBTA don't have a say, who does?
I'm sure we all agree that
I'm sure we all agree that this sticker initiative is 100% useless.
So what could Cambridge do to make a difference in the amount of gas being burned?
Well, they can investigate why people drive in Cambridge, and encourage the alternatives.
For example, they could advocate for new bus routes to the places people drive to, like the 128 office parks.
And they could remove zoning restrictions that prohibit retail like small grocery stores and restaurants in residential areas.
This from the city that uses gas-powered leaf blowers
The city ordinance on leaf blowers exempts the city itself and the city uses gas-powered blowers with abandon at its larger parks. It's always both fun and easy to call Cambridge on its hypocrisy.
How about those parking
How about those parking spaces behind City Hall reserved for the City Council? Those signs should get the guilt stickers too.
Wait...
Cambridge still has gas stations?
How much gas is wasted by
How much gas is wasted by unsynchronized traffic lights with long reds? The ones that make MBTA buses slow and expensive to operate.
How about that time an intercity bus started serving Harvard Square, and Cambridge ran them out of town? Way to support car-free transportation.