The M2 it is

It’s always amusing to see whenever the Bay Area experiences a heatwave, San Francisco remains a mild and comfortable mid-60s. Thank the heavens for our marine layer, nature’s air conditioning for our city. This is why we pay the big bucks to live here, despite the fact the same money can go much further elsewhere. Upper 90s every single day during the summer months? That can’t be me.

What I do wonder is how much longer this natural air conditioning of ours will last. Climate change is happening right before our eyes in scary high definition. There’s unprecedentedly massive flooding in parts of Germany, China, and Great Britain. Just last month I traveled to Seattle during its historic, record-shattering heatwave. We are sitting way too comfortably here in San Francisco to not worry when it is our turn to feel the wrath of the climate gods.

Of course it’s rather useless to think about things we have no control over. The best we can do is limit our own burden onto the environment. We use reusable bottles for our drinks, and we bring our own bags to the shops. San Francisco mandates proper garbage sorting. The trucks that comes to collect actually have separate compartments for recycling and compost.

One of the big drivers of climate change is the passenger car. Lately I’ve often contemplated about selling my BMW M2 for something fully electric. The internal conversation stops once I remember that I actually don’t have a commute. I pollute nothing into the atmosphere because I walk. The few weekend trips to the shops isn’t worth buying a brand new car. Keep in mind, automotive production requires lots of material and energy. You can’t discount that when you want to go green by switching to electric.

It’s better for the environment that I keep the M2. Hooray!

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Portland union.

China is working hard to be green

I’ve now gone home to Guangzhou for the past five Januaries, and every single time, the city amazes me with how much it has advanced in quality-of-life aspects. I can remember back in 2016 I could barely breathe the air it was so choked full of smog; had similar conditions occur in San Francisco, we’d be advised to stay indoors, and classes would be cancelled. Fast forward to now, air quality in Guangzhou have improved so much that I have no problem spending two weeks there.

Mind you it’s still not the cleanest of air. I’d compare the current Guangzhou to a particularly bad air day in Los Angeles: not ideal, but very livable. The city government - and I’m sure the same is true for every major city in China as well - understands that smog and pollution is big issue, and it’s doing everything it can to address it.

On last year’s trip, I was utterly surprised to find the entire public bus fleet in Guangzhou have switched over to pure electric, a hefty undertaking that eliminates a huge source of emissions from the surface streets. The smug of you may say what good are electric buses if the power supplying those batteries comes from dirty coal that China is stereotypically known for. Well, bad news for those of you: Guangzhou is powered by nuclear energy.

I can’t even imagine San Francisco doing something similar, switching the SF MUNI fleet to electric. I’d be shocked if such a thing happens within the next twenty years.

On this most recent trip to Guangzhou, I found the city have begun a massive garbage sorting campaign. Propaganda was absolutely everywhere, and residents are now required to divide up their garbage properly before throwing out into the corresponding bins. Perhaps it’s bad on my part, but I honestly never thought I’d see the day that people living in China would have to sort their garbage like we do. With so much land and landfill, it’s far easier to simply lump it all together and haul it out - as it has been done for as long as I can remember.

Everyone sort of expects China to be this gross polluter, with its cities filled with smoggy skies. If Guangzhou is any indication for the rest of the vast country, then China knows it’s got a problem too, and it’s doing something about it at a pace and scale that’s impossible in the West.

I look forward to many days of clear blue skies in future trips back home.

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There’s a fire in the sky.

Six months without car

It’s been about half a year since I’ve sold my beloved MX-5 Miata to go essentially car-less, so here’s a bit of a report on how the public transport life have been going thus far.

A few weeks back there was a report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that we are headed for irreversible climate calamity - if we don’t change course drastically - by as early as 2040, which is decidedly within our lifetimes. While there’s not much we can do individually to influence governmental policies in those regards other than vote, on a personal level the best we must do is to be as green as possible in our daily lives.

It’s fortuitous then that I’ve switched to commuting by bus this year; one less car polluting the air on already impossibly congested Bay Area roads. On the positive side it’s dramatically less taxing mentally to simply sit down (or stand) and enjoy podcasts rather than navigating the roads myself. I get to work incredibly fresh, no risk of being still angry at the idiot driver that cut me off earlier. Not owning a car also means not having to stress over San Francisco’s notorious parking restrictions and street cleaning schedules.

The one negative of riding the bus is the increased commute time compared to driving. It ends up being about 45 minutes or so daily, which is a lot of potential productivity I could otherwise be doing. Podcasts have been a lifesaver in that regard: learning via listening.

On some nights coming home from work when the bus is late by half hour, for sure I’ve entertained thoughts of immediately buying a car again. Those moments are few and far in between however; SFMTA have been providing fantastic service overall, with a predicable and reliable schedule nearly every day. A dependable routine is what I like, and commuting by bus have become just that. Indeed it would be weird if I suddenly switch back to driving.

As for my vehicular needs on the weekends, luckily I have access to the family car. For the times where it isn’t available, UBER, Lyft, or a favor from a friend is always good.

After six months of public transport life, I can say I don’t exactly miss having a car for the daily commute. Unless I move somewhere else or the job situation changes I don’t foresee daily driving making a return. At the very least, public transportation will always be the first option explored; I must do my part in helping conserve the precious environment.

It’s on the weekends where I really, truly miss having a proper sports car to toss around. Having a driving simulator at home is great and all, but nothing can replace the thrill of the real machine. I even miss the mundane ancillary parts like maintenance and detailing. This is why in another six month’s time I’ll be buying a car purely for the weekend. It’s 911 or bust.

How…. symmetrical.