Urbancentric

The embattled General Motors and Segway announced they are developing an electric, two person, urban vehicle.  Pretty darn cool.  But where do I put my skis, dogs, groceries, parents...

It seems to me that much of this green technology is very urban centric.  Which make sense since living in cities can be considered highly efficient.  But much of this country and in fact the world, does not live in cities.  Much less, there is still a large number of people who do live in cities but like to get out of them every now and then.

But this green technology development is sorely lacking in it's focus on rural and yes, I know it's not politically correct to talk about, suburban folks.  Where are the substitutes for trucks to haul hay or new technologies in irrigation that reduce water consumption?  

We have a long way to go to reduce our dependence on oil.  In the meantime, homogenizing everyone as if we all live in a compact European town isn't going to solve anything.  And of course, there are all the issues which don't get discussed on whether electricity is any better than oil.  At least in the Pacific Northwest, the salmon are not so sure the dams that generate cheap electricity are such a great idea.

The creativity is good, but really in the end, technology is not going to solve this problem.  We may actually all have to re-think how we live.  Uh-oh, does that mean I have to give up skiing?