"I don't drive. But my life is dominated by cars."
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 11.12.05
We try to have decent automobile coverage here on Treehugger. Not because we want people to buy more cars and drive more often, but because we are not quite idealistic enough to believe that a majority of people reading our stuff will immediately give up their vehicle. We figure that some information on how to make better decisions regarding cars should be available and that it has more chances of making a positive difference (and then maybe lead to more) than just repeating "cars are bad" over and over again... But sometimes, it's good to be reminded of the evils of the 4-wheel beasts. This article by Andrew Simms does exactly that, summarizing the social, environmental and health problems - both on the local and global scale - that can be linked to a society that has an over-reliance on cars and that shapes things around them instead of humans. The title of this post is the introduction of the essay... ::Warning: Driving Kills, via Cycledog
This article speaks so truly. In Southern California, the public transportation system is so defunct, a mere 10mi trip takes over 1.5h! Having recently been diagnosed with epilepsy, my driver's license was taken away, at this point only temporarily but it may become permanently if the medications can't control the seizures. This area's reliance on personal transportation, including my own until the recent diagosis, has caused the complete failure of the public transportation system. Think of all the people that had to commute just 10 miles but had to start their day 2 or 3 hours before everyone else! This is insane! Things have got to change - cars really do affect everyone's health!
And LA used to have the largest public transportation system in the world - really - the red line. They ripped it out per the auto/oil industry, and now all that's left is a few tracks and a giant hole coming out of downtown - Belmont Tunnel, now a graffiti park.
I've since moved to Boston, where is it easier to walk, and scary to drive ;)
Interesting blog,but
I doubt that gadgets will save the industrial world.
http://avidorstudios.com/!Bicyclopolis.html