BAN CARS
I hate cars. I mean, I HATE cars.
They have caused us to pave over nature, warm the planet, make ourselves lazy and fat, divide our neighborhoods into grids in which it is dangerous to socialize outside, build dangerous “stroads” because of parking mandates, destroy low-income communities by putting freeways thru their neighborhoods, suffer isolation and depression, contract multiple diseases like asthma, drain our bank accounts, kill 40K people a year, and slaughter 7% of animals on our roads each year. Actually, the animal part is much worse. We are causing some animals to be nocturnal, we split animal species who will NOT cross our roads so that they cannot mate and thrive [and hence, threatening extinction], and the noise from cars is ruining animal communication.
If you want to go into a deep depression [sure, why not] read Crossings by Ben Goldfarb. He explains the catastrophic results of our addiction to automobiles on the animal world. It is so impactful that you will never look at the world the same again. All I see is pavement covering nature, dead animals, and pollution. It’s fun….join me.
I’ve ridden my bike across multiple countries and I’ve barely missed being killed several times. When I rode across the USA, we needed to get permits to ride on the freeways in the west. It’s really the only reasonable way to get across the country if you are limited by time. It took us 6 weeks, riding an average of 85 miles a day, and we had 5 days off. It was beautiful but, from the beginning, I was shocked by the road kill. Enough so that I counted it every day and posted it on my blog. The smaller animals that you don’t see [probably have no idea you’re even killing — like small snakes, birds, insects, and rodents] is astounding.
And yes, thank you for asking, it is very stressful to be a hypocrite…..to own a car and be so pious. I’m trying to balance out my need for a car [living in a rural community] and what I hope the positive results my projects will effect on nature. I’m doing the whole “VP Al Gore climate change teachings vs his living a life of excessive consumption” arithmetics in my head. Sure, he flew all over the place and his lifestyle is way off the charts….but, he reached over 2 billion people in the world and almost single-handedly got millions of people to alter their habits to reduce climate change. He has a “get out of jail free” card for life. And yes, I do think I just compared myself to Al Gore. Good for me. If it means anything, I try to ride my bikes for everything. I have multiple carts for dogs and cargo….and I only drive about 5K miles a year…..4 of which are going to and from Wisconsin every summer…which, btw, is much better than flying.
Yeah, I’m conflicted. I hate owning a car.
There are lots of solutions. We need much more public transit, we need to increase the cost of gas, we need to close down or charge people for car travel in inner cities, we need to reduce the speed limit, research the European countries automobile policies…..I could go ON AND ON [clearly], but I’m taking action by going to planning commission meetings, starting a Strong Towns group in my little town, and meeting with friend & neighbors about how we can transform growth to bring in MORE tax dollars, make it safer & healthier, and promote biking & walking. I’m considering serving on a city board or commission as well.
If you would like to learn more about cars in the USA, research alternatives, or even get involved, here are some great resources:
climate town - the single greatest human to ever live, Rollie Williams
how the auto industry carjacked the american dream
parking mandates
crossings by Ben Goldfarb
And just yesterday, CBS Sunday Morning did a segment on animal bridges being built in the USA. You can watch that here. How this was an afterthought boggles the mind, but I’m happy something is finally being done.
