I'm from a small town in Florida, where the population is less than 8,000 but the distance between each building makes it impossible to walk anywhere. Unfortunately, this is a common theme in America. Since the invention of the car in the 1886 by Carl Benz, and Ford's assembly lines in the early 1900s, the car has epitomized the American way of life. And when Eisenhower approved the 1956 bill that created our massive highway system, not only was the car cemented as a way of life, but another eco-unfriendly monster was created: suburbia.
Suburban areas, like Satellite Beach, Florida, are offshoots of larger cities where millions commute to and from work every day. The car made this all possible. Realistically, the car could be blamed for several of society's evils, such as obesity and drunk driving. But what really makes the car, and subsequently suburbia, so malevolent, is what it's doing to the environment. Cars cause almost a quarter of current greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to the 42,000 deaths from accidents, car exhaust causes 30,000 deaths and 120,000 premature deaths. And that's just from one year in the U.S. Pollution and smog are the reason for a high increase in childhood asthma and stunted mental growth in children. Lucky for us (if you can call America's obsession with the automobile lucky), we have much stricter laws for pollution than many other countries, like Thailand or Mexico, where millions are severely affected by the overpopulation of cars.
Yet, we remained addicted to the socioeconomic value of cars. Globally, cars represent wealth and status, something for which humans have traded in their health and the health of our mother nature. Why do less than five percent of Americans use public transportation? Why do we love our long commutes and identical, indifferent suburban culture? Why are we willing to deny science and common sense and insist global warming is the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people?" Because we are literally addicted to cars, and we're unwilling to change our lifestyles to halt the eventual climate change that might possibly lead to human extinction.
So ask yourself this: is walking really that bad? Is the CTA so terrible? Are traffic and car payments and parking lots really that wonderful? All I know, is that since I came to Northwestern, I've had to walk everywhere or take public transportation, and I love it. I have time to really enjoy the life I'm living, and spend less time stressed about where I'm going.
Suburban areas, like Satellite Beach, Florida, are offshoots of larger cities where millions commute to and from work every day. The car made this all possible. Realistically, the car could be blamed for several of society's evils, such as obesity and drunk driving. But what really makes the car, and subsequently suburbia, so malevolent, is what it's doing to the environment. Cars cause almost a quarter of current greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to the 42,000 deaths from accidents, car exhaust causes 30,000 deaths and 120,000 premature deaths. And that's just from one year in the U.S. Pollution and smog are the reason for a high increase in childhood asthma and stunted mental growth in children. Lucky for us (if you can call America's obsession with the automobile lucky), we have much stricter laws for pollution than many other countries, like Thailand or Mexico, where millions are severely affected by the overpopulation of cars.
Yet, we remained addicted to the socioeconomic value of cars. Globally, cars represent wealth and status, something for which humans have traded in their health and the health of our mother nature. Why do less than five percent of Americans use public transportation? Why do we love our long commutes and identical, indifferent suburban culture? Why are we willing to deny science and common sense and insist global warming is the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people?" Because we are literally addicted to cars, and we're unwilling to change our lifestyles to halt the eventual climate change that might possibly lead to human extinction.
So ask yourself this: is walking really that bad? Is the CTA so terrible? Are traffic and car payments and parking lots really that wonderful? All I know, is that since I came to Northwestern, I've had to walk everywhere or take public transportation, and I love it. I have time to really enjoy the life I'm living, and spend less time stressed about where I'm going.
-Jennie van den Boogaard
2 comments:
well, my first reaction is an incoherent babble which would sound something like "i love you man!" But seriously, I agree with what you are saying. Our ability to travel farther is the reason that we have this 'urban sprawl' where everyone can live far apart from one another, with their own backyard, huge driveway, etc. So aside from the pollution cause by cars--and the disastrous drilling for oil to make driving possible--is this other effect of deforestation for the sake of "the American dream house."
Where my house stands, there used to be a prairie. But there wasn't enough space for both houses, and the prairie, so now you have to travel to the local nature museum to see what it used to be like.
~Michal Yablong~
I agree with most of your conclusions; however, coming from suburbia as well, the reason I choose to drive instead of using public transportion concerns cost, time, and convenience. If I have to drive 40 minutes to an El station to get to downtown Chicago, I might as well drive the extra 20 minutes. Accounting for sunk costs of purchasing an automobile, public transportation can be even more expensive than driving (primary costs include gasoline). Finally, public transportation rarely leaves on time, and I just have to wait too long for the train, rail, or bus to make it worth the long ride. Perhaps, if we improve public transportation, it could be a competitive alternative.
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