I'm beginning to wonder if we aren't collectively getting over our car fancy juuuusst a little bit. I'm old, I grew up in the Midwest, I like my vroom-vroom V8s

I'm beginning to wonder if we aren't collectively getting over our car fancy juuuusst a little bit. I'm old, I grew up in the Midwest, I like my vroom-vroom V8s and the like. But, man, I'm beginning to get so done with cars, ICEs at least. Part of the reason is because viable options are becoming available. We've had a Leaf for almost eight years, for example. Because of our ownership, I foresee the end of our owning things that run on tiny fuel explosions. Attrition will replace the ICEs we own now. If we need to drive any distance, we'll more than likely be driving the RV (which unfortunately will probably be ICE for quite a while). Electric or not, I'm also getting kind of done with a 3500 lb. steel cage to get my scrawny ass the short drive to work. I've tried to use alternatives (and usually do), but the alternatives are kind of a pain, too. Motorcycle saves time (HOV lanes) if I go Redmond->Seattle, but I work in Bellevue now (next door to Redmond) and the motorcycle takes longer than the car with all the gearing up. Motorcycle isn't that much more ecologically-friendly than a car, either. Bicycle is nice, but I have a non-trivial hill both ways. A lot of days I don't mind, a lot of days I do. I get exercise, but it pretty much triples my otherwise 20 minute commute. But I still do it, it's fun and healthy and not bad. I do my exercise when I'm home, so most days what I really want is an ecologically-friendly way to get to work that isn't a pain in the ass and doesn't take forever. I think my solution is an electric scooter. I bought a Xiaomi M365 and have ridden it the seven miles to work each day. It adds 15 minutes to a 20 minute commute, but instead of dealing with shitacular WA drivers, I cruise next to a river. I've enjoyed it enough in the past week, and it has proven itself to be practical enough, that I put a deposit down on one of Boosted's considerably better-built and more expensive scooters coming out soon. We'll see how it goes come Seattle winter. My long-winded point isn't for everyone to go buy scooters, but rather (as the article points out), there are tons more options lately than just plopping your ass in a car seat. Not just pain-in-the-ass options, practical options. "Practical" being the key word. Lithium batteries might be the single greatest thing to get us out of our cars.