by formandfile » Tue 03 May 2005, 14:04:16
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eric_b', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', 'F')rom MSNBC:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7670771/The number of commuters living more than an hour from their workplaces is skyrocketing. Their long drives are made even worse by traffic congestion.
(...)
That picture of the river of gridlocked traffic in the Atlanta area
made me sick. It's insane. Atlanta has a nice climate, but I don't
see any other reason anyone would want to live there. Skirted
the greater Atlanta area once, and the traffic was beyond belief.
And people wonder why asthma rates have skyrocketed. Hmmm.
Could it be from constantly inhaling combustion byproducts?
Nah....
And the other link on the drought out West was just plain depressing.
Read an article recently that Atlanta may soon be facing water
problems. Apparently due to geology they have little groundwater and
must get most of their water from a local river, which will soon
be tapped out...
Yeah, problems we have. Lately ground level ozone is better (mainly due to lower temperatures) but particulate matter is still nice and high. Its mostly a cultural thing here: people still believe that more road construction=less congestion. There is also an ingrained hatred for all things transit that is taking a long time to get over...Gov Perdue refuses to fund both MARTA and the state DOT commuter rail and intercity rail programs...both of which are key to the future of Atlanta and Georgia as a whole.
As far as the water situation goes, i view it as a blessing. Florida and Alabama also rely on the Chattahoochee river, and if the courts decide to limit our usage of water then they in effect are limiting our capacity for growth and construction....which i think would be just what the doctor ordered in Atlanta's case. Anything to destroy demand for housing in outlying greenfields