3.29.2011

They want to ban cars and make the baby Jesus cry!

As expected, this hysterical headline,
EU to ban cars from cities by 2050
has drawn quite a bit of hysteria from those who call environmentalists hysterical alarmists.
But, if you actually read the white paper [PDF], most of what's in it is very reasonable. For instance, point 4 of section 2:
Curbing mobility is not an option
Much of the hyperbole on the right involves statements that are self-fulfilling anyway, similar to someone in 1970 saying that by 2010 no one will drive cars with big-block engines that take leaded gasoline anymore. Given how Europeans already diversify their daily transportation needs (some people I know register their cars only during the summer vacation season), we can expect that, given how congested the roads in cities already are, people 40 years from now will choose to go over to micro-electric personal vehicles and maybe keep their ICE vehicles in the garage most of the time. The white paper addresses questions of how to do that safely and how to make it possible for people to choose those options in the future. But, you say something like that, and in the world of the crazy right, they hear SOHSHALIZM! GRR!