Sometimes it seems like the only reason to keep living in Texas is that it’s so exciting to think about how we could improve things around here.
Take the press release that came in a little while back, reporting rather breathlessly (of course) that Texas has now emitted more global-warming pollution than 178 entire countries. And indeed, more than the emissions of 122 of those countries combined. Yee-haw! And they wonder why Texans are so prone to boasting.
On the other hand, another press release, this one from transportation, housing, and environmental honchos in the Obama administration, suggests to Static that Fort Worth, in some ways, may be moving with, rather than against, the healthy tide of progress on the planet. The federal agencies are partnering up to support “sustainable communities,” and some of their ideas look a lot like what’s happening in Fort Worth.
The idea is that federal dollars should be used for projects in which housing and public transportation support one another and also improve the environment – like, say, a modern streetcar line that would connect Fort Worth’s business district with museums, restaurants, and residential neighborhoods new and old.
A list of “livability principles” will guide the interagency cooperation, including “supporting existing communities” – like the Near Southside, where developers are salvaging old buildings for housing, and the gritty little Linwood neighborhood that’s hanging on despite development pressures.
Do you think that kind of cooperative spirit could ever move, say, the Texas Legislature to look beyond party warfare and lobbyist dollars to support
a more sustainable, livable Texas? Start holding your breath … now.
More Bragging Material
“I can’t believe this moron is doing 52 mph in the left lane on I-freaking-20,” Dal F. Worth screamed while pounding his fist on the steering wheel. “The left lane is for passing!!!”
He swerved around the Sunday driver, and somehow managed to squeeze his 13-foot-long Honda Accord through a 10-foot gap between two cars. He barreled down the road but within a few seconds was stuck behind another car.
A few shouted expletives later, he stomped the accelerator and used his front bumper to push the slow-moving vehicle into a ditch. When police arrested him, he was still breathing heavily and muttering about passing lanes. Asked why he went berserk, he said, “I was angry that New York beat me out for the title of worst road-rage city in the U.S, according to the fourth annual In the Driver’s Seat Road Rage Survey commissioned by AutoVantage, a leading national auto club.”
Only the Big Apple’s motorized maniacs rate higher on the rage-o-meter than Metroplex drivers.
If that doesn’t make you think twice about flipping off the guy who just cut you off, consider this: According to the survey, about 1 percent of drivers nationwide act out their road rage by “slamming into the car in front of them.”
