A Brief History of Motion

A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next by Tom Standage

People have had different ways of moving around on land. For most of history, humans have moved by foot. Even early people that had the wheel did not use it extensively. Animals, such as horses, provided a means of faster movement. Rails were an improvement that allowed for greater mobility, but were still pulled by horses. Then engines came about. The age of rail was started. Later engines were mounted on bicycles and carriages to launch cars. (The good roads movement made this possible.) Henry Ford's assembly line helped make cars cheap and accessible to all. People saw cars as a great improvement as they eliminated the manure problem. However, they have produced their own pollution. First the particulate matter was observed. The emissions were made cleaner, but then global warming and CO2 was seen as a big problem. Now electric cars are making in roads. Will this cause issues? the author posits that the data collected by electric cars may be a problem. Maybe. But more likely it is some issue that we have not yet brought to the forefront. The rare-earth metals needed for batteries. good be an issue. Electricity production could also be problematic. (Is anything really "full sustainable"? Wind, solar and hydro all need to be built with materials and have a lifespan.) There is also transmission cost. And this doesn't include all the infrastructure devoted to roads. We have rebuilt our cities based on how we choose to get around. We often find short term improvements, but what is the long term cost?