the future



John Pitcock wrote:
> Today's Times:
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2011758,00.html
>
> "Transport experts have seen , and it's got pedals"

Sadly, they seem to view this as a
unavoidable disaster; they don't mean
everyone will want to cycle, they mean
that everybody will be forced to cycle,
presumably against their will.

(because noone would cycle by choice, right?)

BugBear
 
John Pitcock wrote:
> Today's Times:
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2011758,00.html
>
> "Transport experts have seen , and it's got pedals"

Sadly, they seem to view this as a
unavoidable disaster; they don't mean
everyone will want to cycle, they mean
that everybody will be forced to cycle,
presumably against their will.

(because noone would cycle by choice, right?)

BugBear
 
David E. Belcher wrote:
>
> Nonsense. As all fans of Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights know, garlic
> bread's the future - I've tasted it! ;-)
>

It still doesn't help with knowing what the best thing was before sliced
bread.

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham
 
David E. Belcher wrote:
>
> Nonsense. As all fans of Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights know, garlic
> bread's the future - I've tasted it! ;-)
>

It still doesn't help with knowing what the best thing was before sliced
bread.

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham
 
bugbear wrote:

> Sadly, they seem to view this as a
> unavoidable disaster; they don't mean
> everyone will want to cycle, they mean
> that everybody will be forced to cycle,
> presumably against their will.
>
> (because noone would cycle by choice, right?)

Yes, most journeys would be made by bicycle or horse in "the bleakest
scenario".

--
Dave...
 
bugbear wrote:

> Sadly, they seem to view this as a
> unavoidable disaster; they don't mean
> everyone will want to cycle, they mean
> that everybody will be forced to cycle,
> presumably against their will.
>
> (because noone would cycle by choice, right?)

Yes, most journeys would be made by bicycle or horse in "the bleakest
scenario".

--
Dave...
 
bugbear wrote:

> Sadly, they seem to view this as a
> unavoidable disaster; they don't mean
> everyone will want to cycle, they mean
> that everybody will be forced to cycle,
> presumably against their will.
>
> (because noone would cycle by choice, right?)

Yes, most journeys would be made by bicycle or horse in "the bleakest
scenario".

--
Dave...
 
bugbear wrote:

> Sadly, they seem to view this as a
> unavoidable disaster; they don't mean
> everyone will want to cycle, they mean
> that everybody will be forced to cycle,
> presumably against their will.
>
> (because noone would cycle by choice, right?)

Yes, most journeys would be made by bicycle or horse in "the bleakest
scenario".

--
Dave...
 
Tony Raven wrote:

> It still doesn't help with knowing what the best thing was before sliced
> bread.

The bread knife?

--
Dave...
 
Tony Raven wrote:

> It still doesn't help with knowing what the best thing was before sliced
> bread.

The bread knife?

--
Dave...
 
> Yes, most journeys would be made by [...] horse in "the bleakest
> scenario".

Which just goes to show how silly the bleakest scenario is. Reading
between the lines it seems that in 50 years time we'll have reverted to an
agrarian society based around largely self sufficient villages with limited
travel.

The whole thing sounds weird, particularly as

"The most optimistic scenario envisages that a cleaner alternative to oil
is available in abundance, allowing the present trend towards greater
globalisation to continue apace."

doesn't sound nearly as far fetched.
 
> Yes, most journeys would be made by [...] horse in "the bleakest
> scenario".

Which just goes to show how silly the bleakest scenario is. Reading
between the lines it seems that in 50 years time we'll have reverted to an
agrarian society based around largely self sufficient villages with limited
travel.

The whole thing sounds weird, particularly as

"The most optimistic scenario envisages that a cleaner alternative to oil
is available in abundance, allowing the present trend towards greater
globalisation to continue apace."

doesn't sound nearly as far fetched.
 
Mark Thompson wrote:

> "The most optimistic scenario envisages that a cleaner alternative to oil
> is available in abundance, allowing the present trend towards greater
> globalisation to continue apace."
>
> doesn't sound nearly as far fetched.

I think the future may be somewhere between the best and worse
scenarios. After all 100 years ago there were cities and international
travel by rail and ship. However the cost of long distance travel and
transport will mean that both personal travel is more limited and the
standard of living is less.
Of course parts of the UK are only a couple of generations away
from being largely self sufficient. My mother was brought up in Lewis
in the 1930s and 1940s . I remember remarking that she seemed to know
everyone in her village and the adjacent villages but that if we went a
couple of miles further away she knew very few people. Her explanation
was that they just didn't mix. Few people owned horses or cycles so to
visit somebody 3 miles away was a 2 hour return trip.
At that time much of the food was grown locally or was from
local fishing. I remember even in the 1960s and 70s many crofts growing
barley and potatoes. Now food is so cheap and/or incomes so much
greater that very few crofts have anything other than a few sheep.

Iain
 
Mark Thompson wrote:

> "The most optimistic scenario envisages that a cleaner alternative to oil
> is available in abundance, allowing the present trend towards greater
> globalisation to continue apace."
>
> doesn't sound nearly as far fetched.

I think the future may be somewhere between the best and worse
scenarios. After all 100 years ago there were cities and international
travel by rail and ship. However the cost of long distance travel and
transport will mean that both personal travel is more limited and the
standard of living is less.
Of course parts of the UK are only a couple of generations away
from being largely self sufficient. My mother was brought up in Lewis
in the 1930s and 1940s . I remember remarking that she seemed to know
everyone in her village and the adjacent villages but that if we went a
couple of miles further away she knew very few people. Her explanation
was that they just didn't mix. Few people owned horses or cycles so to
visit somebody 3 miles away was a 2 hour return trip.
At that time much of the food was grown locally or was from
local fishing. I remember even in the 1960s and 70s many crofts growing
barley and potatoes. Now food is so cheap and/or incomes so much
greater that very few crofts have anything other than a few sheep.

Iain
 
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