A Sunday Morning Thought - A Very Short Rant

[cadfael]

Reading the Sunday papers and reading the news on CNN's website I was struck by a recurring thought I 've had since I was a kid prowling the streets of Brooklyn, New York.

We produce a wide range of goods and services in this country and in the industrialized world. We have access to the finest minds on the planet. I am mystified, for example, that we cannot produce a subway system in NYC that does not make everyone deaf (over time) caused by the screeching of metal on metal. Or why we allow automobiles and trucks to produce and release so much pollution into the atmosphere.

Put concisely, why don't we design products in a manner that helps the world population live more in harmony with nature. Please don't tell me its the profit motive of business executive like the asshat VP currently in office. That is too easy an answer.

I know that my blood plasma has not yet been fully replaced by coffee yet, so I haven't expressed this so well. But, I would be willing to contact my elected representatives and ask them THE question if we could articulate it properly.

Please have at it, whatcha think?

Comments

noisy subways

[karriesterling.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised by this question. During our recent trip overseas, I was incredibly impressed by the metro in Paris, mostly by the convenience and efficiency (and I felt safe), but I didn't notice much noise either. The light rail here in Mpls also seems relatively quiet to me. Is the subway in New York just worse than other parts of this country as well as other parts of the world or am I just insensitive to loud noises (I was congested the whole time)? Maybe it's just that the New York system is older than most other underground systems?