I attended an event earlier this month, part of the Edinburgh Art Festival, which was a discussion, based around an art project which monitors CO2 levels around Edinburgh during the festival. Here's their blog: http://co2edenburgh.wordpress.com/ The exhibition is at ECA's Evolution House on the Westport. It's a good project, exhibition closes tomorrow (22nd August) so try and catch it if you can.
Anyway, one speaker (a researcher at Heriot Watt) was talking about a worthwhile project to better distribute electricity demand, so as to utilise fluctuating renwable energy output better. Energy efficiency was key, eg. if everyone in the UK switched off their fridge freezers for 30 minutes each day, that's the equivalent of an entire conventional power station's output saved. He's trying to develop a smart minotoring system which uses push tech to suggest things like, for example, when it's windy that it would be a really good idea to switch on the washing machine...
After his talk I piped up with the observation that, outside London, the mileage driven in private cars is still increasing, so arguably there are a lot of non-essential CO2 emissions that could be targetted. Yet the government policy seemed to be to increase car usage if the current road building programme is any guide.
This drew an immediate defensive response from another audience member, that governments need to weigh all kinds of complex factors, etc. Then another respondent (who I understand was an architect) proceeded to (rather patronisingly) explain that cars are not just a mode of transport, they bestow upon their owners feelings of empowerment, esteem, and 'freedom' (my quote marks). I smiled at him and waited for anyone else in this room of people desperately concerned with climate change to counter his view.
Nothing. Not one peep. Maybe everyone round the table was a bit too polite. Nonetheless I found it quite astonishing that in this forum on CO2 emissions, there was no other challenge to the idea that private motor cars are these incredible, self actualising creations that people all want to drive so much, even if it's not really necessary.
I suppose that shows just how addicted to private motorised transport this society is. Even many 'green' people can't imagine life without it. Which really sums up the scale of the task to try and change thinking on transport, I'm afraid.