Every so often when talking to friends the topic of transportation pops up and people are always surprised to hear that I do not own a car. Let me set the record straight I do not currently own a car, nor do I want one. I may get one in the near future for Maggie if she finds a job outside of the downtown core but I am perfectly content taking public transit.
My reasoning is simple, cars as they are right now are bad for the environment. Yes those hybrid’s on the road are bad for the environment too, they just “less bad” than normal combustion engine based vehicles. By not owning one I’m not just reducing my own greenhouse gas footprint, I also do not consume a vital finite resource.
I feel governments around the world should invest more in renewable fuels as well as increase funding and infrastructure of public transit in the metropolitan areas. The Earth needs the Western world to wane itself away from the car if we have a chance to save this beautiful planet. That or develop a carbon neutral fuel however the current alternatives like bioethanol or biodiesel also have their own problems.
I practice what I preach and I’m sure most of you are not as extreme as me (aside from Daniel who goes further!), that’s fine. I ask though keep an eye on your habits and when you purchase your next vehicle, perhaps get one that is a bit more efficient. The last thing the world needs is another person driving a Hummer, Escalade or Navigator to and from work. To those who do drive those types of automobiles, how do you like those gas prices? Well I’m glad they’re high…
Well, I think you are a hypocrate. This is the worst thread, ever.
Hello Jesse.
Thanks for your opinion, could you elaborate further? I think I’d be a hypocrite if I own a car, drove around and advocate to everyone else to take the TTC. 😉
Nov 07 3:49PM Edit: Jesse I see you’ve visited my blog since my comment, no reply?
Nov 13 11:38AM Edit: Jesse still no word? You’ve come back quite a few times already, I’m interested in hear your opinion.
I always wonder what the deal is with people like that. My guess is that his understanding of the English language is so limited that he figures that “hypocrite” is just a blanket insult like “poo-head” for the wannabe-educated-sounding.
[soapbox]
Cars will always be bad for people regardless of new technological advancements due to the infrastructure they require and to the social impact they have on communities.
Environmentally speaking, cars are the worst thing to ever happen to the planet — even if you exclude the air pollutants because of the infrastructural changes they incur. Roads are the single largest heat component to the “urban heat island effect” that’s contributing to global warming. The advent of the car also spurred on the degradation of urban centres and promotion of the suburb as a viable way of life. Thanks to the car, more and more arable land is being swallowed by development projects like those loopy-loop residential districts and long stretches of highways and bigbox stores. The environmental and economic cost of servicing these far-flung communities (water, power, roads, loss of arable land) are tremendous and far outweigh the economic benefits the automotive industry have given us… we just all haven’t woken up to this fact yet.
Cars can also be reasonably be tied to the erosion of social networks and communities. People in cars do not interact with the world around them. Their windows are up, the A/C on and their eyes forward. There’s no way for drivers to interract with their surroundings and so we find that neighbourhoods between a drivers “A” and “B” are falling apart. There’s no overheard conversations, chance meetings of friends and strangers, no interaction at all.
And people wonder why I hate cars so damn much…
[/rant]