Could it be that time is one of the largest contributors to global warming? No, the batteries for my watch aren’t that big a factor. Even if it does not charge up with sunlight. I’m talking about the scheduling problem. When we say yes to everything, time becomes the main reason we all want to drive our own cars. We need to get from point A to point B quickly, and without consideration of who else may be heading in the same direction, because their calendar exists within a completely different agenda. My kid needs to have every opportunity, so I’ll plan for him to be involved in every activity possible. We book them for lessons, practices, and groups. Is it logistically possible? Hmm, if the piano lesson can be changed to a little earlier, I can still get child B to their practice at school Z. We seek the best possible competitive activities, and we don’t mind if it is across town, or even across the state. Did we have fewer children than our parents so that we could be sure to accommodate their every potential, or was it because of the population explosion? I can’t remember which came first, can you? Then, I idle my time away in my mobile shelter, waiting to make the return trip or to transport child A to the next appointed session.

Would it be possible to have children become happy, fully developed human beings if they had fewer interests to choose from? Or would that amount to a failure of parental responsibility? My mom was the eldest of 13, so she didn’t have very far to go. There was a baby on her hip from the time of her first memory. Gardens of beans to pick bugs off of, wood to gather for the morning breakfast bisquits, and a long walk to school. Fun was a hoop and a stick or a doll that was in the stocking a few winters before. Our Dad spent all of his time at the skating rink during the winters in Green Bay. Said that he never felt his feet for weeks at a time. There was basketball and baseball to play the rest of the year. How is it that they could be happy growing up with so few options? When I was a kid, I remember riding my bicycle to swim lessons, tennis lessons, and even art lessons. If it would have required a car ride from a parent to get there, it probably wouldn’t be an option. Baseball was the exception. We walked across the street for that activity, but rode in cars to the more distant diamonds when I was older. Cube that and you have an idea of what my kids have to choose from. But they are still bored.

So if we rode our bikes to stuff instead of driving, could we get there in time? Check out http://www.carfree.com/to see the ideas around going carless. My bike commute requires an early rise from bed, and over one hour to complete the journey if I don’t get a flat. Got to be there, so I have to allow an extra half hour before the first class.  Twenty minutes by car or an hour and fifteen minutes by bike is the choice. That time difference is a much greater factor than the feeling of riding on a cold day. Much more of a consideration than the choice of which bike to ride. Check out http://www.bicyclinglife.com/PracticalCycling/commuteguide.htm to learn about riding a bike to work, or http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/commute/index.htm and http://commutebybike.com/2008/04/04/insanely-long-bike-commute/ to learn even more. I have the return trip to consider. Sure, getting up is simple even if daylight savings time has sprung forward. But the true battle is with the expected taxi service post school day. When I look at my version of the American lifestyle, I have to point at the agenda as a major portion of my carbon footprint. At least as big as my less frequent choice to purchase, purchase, purchase. Because it is all of the extra trips I make to give our kids their opportunities that ties me to my car. But if that car became unavailable, would my kids lives be that much worse? I think we may find out pretty soon if the price of gas keeps rising.