News and notes from Reston (tm).

Friday, June 4, 2010

The DRB Is Going to Need a Bigger Boat

Screen shot 2010-06-03 at 12.09.33 PM.jpg
This exciting image from one of those "interactive web sites" put together by some group of SUV-hatin' hippies shows what it would look like if Reston was at ground zero of the BP oil spill, only instead of oil, maybe it would be red mulch spreading rapidly out of control, beyond the boundaries of our fair community and the ability of the DRB to do anything about it. Oh, the humanity!

Posted by Restonian at 9:22 AM

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12 comments:

  1. The Convict in the GulagJune 4, 2010 at 11:07 AM

    The oil slick has arrived here already!?! I thought I felt a little greasy when I got out of the shower this morning.

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  2. scubadiverJune 4, 2010 at 1:11 PM

    That wasn't the BP oil. That was campaign speeches for the upcoming election.

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  3. DavidJune 4, 2010 at 3:47 PM

    Looks like the patio bar at Jackson's probably wouldn't make it. And the prospects for ATR and McCormick & Schmicks wouldn't be so great either. Guess we'd all be forced to someplace like suburban Philly to find a comparable collection of bars with a 10:1 guy-girl ratio.

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  4. AnonymousJune 5, 2010 at 7:30 AM

    As long as there are no white rocks, I think we're okay.

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  5. AnonymousJune 5, 2010 at 10:55 AM

    An environmental disaster of epic proportions. Can people stop sucking on the oil spigots?

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  6. The Convict in the GulagJune 6, 2010 at 10:16 AM

    That's easy enough to say, 10:55. The fact of the matter is that the price of gas has gone down from the high-$2.90 of last month to the mid-$2.70 of this week. This is unusual because, during the summer driving season, gas prices tend to rise, topping out just after the July 4th weekend.

    In short, there's no real incentive for people to change their oil consumption habits. Cost and convenience are the primary considerations when it comes to driving habits. As long as there's cheap, plentiful gas at the stations, people will continue to drive even though they may have access to alternatives for some of their trips. After all, walking is a heck of a lot harder, longer and healthier than mashing on the accelerator pedal.

    And, to be sure, plenty of people are outraged at this disaster, but as long as it doesn't significantly, it will never move beyond the "tsk, tsk" stage. Contrary to the graphic, it's not as if Reston's wildlife is choking on spilled oil.

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  7. AnonymousJune 7, 2010 at 9:02 AM

    I agree, and i'm just as guilty as the next guy, but I get the uneasy feeling that this disaster does not bode well for the future of humanity. We shouldn't be poking holes in the planet without knowing exactly what the outcome will be.

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  8. HCKDJune 7, 2010 at 2:10 PM

    Anon 9:02,

    Certainly not at 5000' deep where they are not easily accessible or remedied when a spill occurs.

    And that dolt of a Governor of ours wants to open up the VA coast to this madness...

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  9. AnonymousJune 7, 2010 at 2:58 PM

    We should use the outrage to create a change for the positive. I suggest a $.20 / gallon environmental tax on gas to go toward the clean up and to prevent future environmental destruction.

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  10. DavidJune 7, 2010 at 5:40 PM

    "I suggest a $.20 / gallon environmental tax on gas"

    between taxes and tolls, we're going to be paying a lot more than that for the toy train when it reaches Wiehle Avenue

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  11. The Convict in the GulagJune 8, 2010 at 9:47 AM

    I would do something a heck of a lot more Draconian. If people won't change their fuelish habits until it's either too costly or too inconvenient, then I say let's make it costly and inconvenient by taxing gas up to a price of $5/gal. All of that extra tax revenue can be used to fund the shortfall in our transportation budget. (The Examiner is reporting a $2.2b for the next three years, primarily because of Tyson's redevelopment and BRAC road issues.)

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  12. AnonymousJune 12, 2010 at 12:30 AM

    Raise the gas tax to get people to change their fuelish habits (I agree) to fund more roads to make it easier to drive (I disagree). How about use the extra revenue for more mass transit/bike lanes/sidewalks or maybe to clean up the oil spill? Back here in the real world, what politician on either side of the aisle would vote to raise the gas tax? It works in Europe, which is exactly why it will never happen here.

    ReplyDelete

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