Italy is Better Prepared

We recently enjoyed a two week tour of Italy.  We we treated to beautiful scenery,  breathtaking art  and history.  I had never been to Europe before, so for me it was definitely time to check some of the impressions I have developed over the years.

One impression I had was that Europe, and industrialized nations in Europe (Italy being one of course), have a much better mass transporation system than the United Stated.

This impression supported my deep concern that the United States is so dependent on individual transportation via automobiles and trucks, that we are at an increasing disadvantage in the global economy as oil reserves are used up.

I envisioned Italy as a place of trains, buses, mass transit, with few freeways, cars and long haul trucking.

And what did I find?  Los Angeles!

Yep, that is right, Italy has lots of freeways (toll roads), lots of cars, R.V.s, and large diesel run eighteen wheelers.

Granted many of the cars are smaller, and the long haul trucks are not quite as large, but they are everywhere.  Rome's traffic reminded me of the Bay Area, way too many cars for way too small of space.

Italy supposedly is in a deep recession.  You couldn't have told that from the vehicle volume.  The gas prices would cause a revolution in the United States, standing at over $8.00 per gallon.  But, the cars are smaller, and I did notice more people occupying vehicles (obviously car pooling is being done).

The big difference is there  are lots of passenger trains as well,  and electric trollies, and public buses.  These are well used, but seemed to me to have excess capacity.

This is the BIG difference I expected to see, and it was confirmed.

In short, as gas becomes more rare, Italians have a plan B, the train systems, and other mass transit alternatives are available.

We do not.

The United States passenger train system, especially in the west, is a joke.  Public bus systems do exist in large cities, but are a mere fraction of the need, once we have to shift millions from their unaffordable gasoline run cars to buses, trollies; etc.

The most upsetting impression confirmed  was that Italy, is way more prepared for the inevitable distress that dwinding oil resources will bring.

I will only mention their socialized medicine system, that takes up a fraction of the national economy compared to ours; more about that later.

Italy, regardless of my conservative friends "American exceptionlism" nonsense, is way more prepared for the future than we are.  That's right folks, the Italy that Americans like to make fun of as being so dysfunctional, is way more prepared for the energy deprived future that is inevitable for the world economy.

Americans are fooling ourselves.  We are so used to cheap energy, expecially oil, that we have built an economy and life style, that is now stuck in the past, and ill equipped for the future that will bring increasingly expensive energy costs, with practically no alternatives to getting ourselves to work, to vacation, to anywhere.

Italy is better prepared.