William Watson: Forget the post-automobile future. Turns out 'green' millennials are car crazy fpcomment
Listening to CBC’s Cross-Country Checkup as I was driving — in my car — from Montreal to Ottawa on Sunday, I was struck by how many callers seemed to believe Ottawa’s new carbon tax would only make a dent in global warming if it were a prelude to a completely different society and social structure. On CBC’s Tapestry earlier in the afternoon, a David Suzuki sound-alike referred to this same kind of new world order as an “ecological civilization.
A subtext of some calls was that the new social attitudes required to bring about hugely ambitious changes in consumption patterns are on their way, as the millennial generation comes galloping over the hill like the U.S. cavalry in an old-fashioned western. A common view of millennials is that, unlike their baby boomer forebears, they have much more “green” and “sustainable” preferences.
To come to this conclusion Knittel and Murphy looked at both car ownership and miles driven per year in the U.S. between 1990 to 2017. The raw data do show that millennials have roughly 2,000 fewer “vehicle miles travelled” per year and own 0.4 fewer vehicles per household than boomers do. With mean car ownership in the U.S. being 1.39 cars, that basically means they own one car instead of the average of one and four-tenths.
To be precise, millennials’ car ownership is three one-hundredths of a car less than boomers . Plus, that difference isn’t statistically significant, i.e., it’s a result of the natural randomness that says it would be a fluke if the two numbers were exactly the same. As the authors conclude, “These results suggest that millennials’ preferences for vehicle ownership are not so different from prior generations.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
William Watson: Blood, toil, tears and Theresa MayI wonder when the point comes at which the British say, yes, a no-deal Brexit is a leap of faith, there are uncertainties and there will be costs. But to hell with it
Read more »
Austin Watson returns to Predators for 1st time since suspension - Sportsnet.caNashville Predators forward Austin Watson is returning to the lineup for the first time since he was suspended by the NHL more than two months ago for alcohol abuse.
Read more »
Watson returns to Predators for first time since suspension - TSN.caNashville Predators forward Austin Watson is returning to the lineup for the first time since he was suspended by the NHL more than two months ago for alcohol abuse.
Read more »
CTV National News: Turning classic cars greenJohn Vennavally-Rao reports on a startup company that is turning classic cars green.
Read more »
William Watson: Blood, toil, tears and Theresa MayI wonder when the point comes at which the British say, yes, a no-deal Brexit is a leap of faith, there are uncertainties and there will be costs. But to hell with it
Read more »
Dodgers' Kershaw gives up two runs in rehab outing - TSN.caLos Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw gave up two runs and struck out six in 4 1/3 innings during his rehab assignment for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday night.
Read more »
Watson returns to Predators for first time since suspension - TSN.caNashville Predators forward Austin Watson is returning to the lineup for the first time since he was suspended by the NHL more than two months ago for alcohol abuse.
Read more »
Austin Watson returns to Predators for 1st time since suspension - Sportsnet.caNashville Predators forward Austin Watson is returning to the lineup for the first time since he was suspended by the NHL more than two months ago for alcohol abuse.
Read more »
'I am Inuk': Natan Obed on his complicated childhood, challenging questions and the future of the Inuit | CBC RadioNatan Obed can count on one hand the number of times he's been angry. This, despite the fact that the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami has been called out for 'not being Inuk enough,' for not speaking Inuktitut fluently, and for growing up in the United States.
Read more »