Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation | 
so-soI am a civil engineer who works in transportation, so I was very excited about this non fiction. It did tell some cool stories about how products are moved, but it also spent a lot of time on the processes of making some goods, which I was less interested in.
pickSurprising. That's my overall reaction to this audiobook narrated by Marc Cashman. I didn't notice until after I'd downloaded it that it's under the category "business/general." My reading is eclectic but rarely extends to business. Whatever. This book was full of fascinating information and ideas, very easy to absorb.
When Houston removed its red light cameras from intersections in 2010, crashes of all types at those intersections rose 116%.
On an average day, more than 10,000 UPS drivers will make a total of 1.2 - 1.3 million deliveries in Southern California, in the most traffic-ridden sprawl in the US. The company has had a "no left turn" policy since 2004, using computerized routing to save time and fuel.
Did you know that the Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach California has a diaper?
"Nets underneath have hung there for years to catch crumbling concrete that has been raining down from the bridge as the structure slowly disintegrates from heavy use. Port officials estimate that 15% of US consumer goods cross that bridge every day."
Habit pushes us to underestimate risk, wildly. One car death every 15 minutes and one crash every 3 seconds [in the USA] become little more than white noise to us. We couldn't get in our cars every day otherwise.
Driving your SUV, or even a midsize car, from New York to LA is worse for the planet than flying there.
... the discovery that gasoline could be more than its first incarnation as a remedy for head lice.
[I assure you that this photo was nabbed from the Internet]
The typical car sits idle 22 hours a day, for which privileged Americans pay an average of $1,049 a month in fuel, ownership and operating costs.
I'm only 30 minutes into this audiobook and already my mind is blown by fascinating statistics and facts. Must get the print edition! #recentnonfictionread @RealLifeReading
The collective transportation footprint on my cup of coffee is hovering at 100,000 miles minimum and that's not counting my 6.3 mile drive to Costco in my 2009 Toyota Scion xB, which has the most massive transportation footprint of anything I own.
I didn't expect to read all about ships.
So far it looks like an accessible and engaging look at how transportation has an effect on many industries and everyday activities. Coffee goes a long way before hitting your cup.
Kicking off my transportation conference with this tonight. I hope to be inspired!
A fun, surprisingly not-dull exploration of the ways that shipping and transit connect us all worldwide. For anyone who has ever ordered two-day shipping and then shaken their fists at the big rigs on the road!
