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I think the prices of gas are artificially low compared to the rest of the world and in terms of internatinoal suistanible living standards.
Because of the relatively low costs of fuel, development on the fringe of urban areas has been very loose. This is commonly known as the suburbs, an area surrounding major urban centres where single use land uses exist, low densities are very prevalent, and power centres with huge Walmarts, Costco's and Sobeys dominant the commercial sector.
Yes thats right, this is all the result of the auto dependant society we live in. So you ask whats wrong with the suburbs, whats wrong with driving around everywhere. Well I'm sure some of you know, but the short term effects can be seen everyday. A loss of street life and pedestrian activity, a loss of community, and a loss of time due to congestion.
The long term effects are global warming, smog, increased pressures to the health care system because of polluted air.\
As you can see, the effects of an auto dominated society exist and are gettign worse as we continue to let development sprawl and grow uncontrolably. Today 80% of Canadians live in urban areas, and this is a very sustainable way for humans to live and coexist with the earth at the same time. Can you imagine 6 Billion people spread out in rural communities? We wouldn't be able to survive.
There are many obvious efficiencies in the city that exist including proximity to services, public transit, shops, cultural advantages, etc. The list goes on.
One of the most significant ways to deter this uncontrolled sprawl like they have in Europe is to increase the cost of gas. This will make people stop and think about the choices they are making concerning their living situation. Perhaps they would choose a more fuel efficient car rather than the increased usage of gas guzzling SUV's. Perhaps people would choose to live near a subway line, or live closer to where they work. These are all conscious decsions that we should be making anyway but with the attraction of relatively low gasoline prices, development will continue to grow in the current trend and all the problems that we see today will only get worse.
Put a $.10 gas tax on every litre of gas sold and use that money to fund public transit province wide. What would an extra $10/week cost if those who can afford the luxury would be able to drive on roads that weren't as congested as more people would be using a world renowed public transit system
/END[RANT]
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