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Today’s post is by senior editor Donna Paris.
What I know:
Cars are bad.
What I should do:
Park my car, smash the headlights, throw in some dirt and plant morning glory seeds so the vines and flowers will twist up and out and all around the hunk of metal and make it look pretty.
Why I can’t:
Because I love my car. I want to hate it because it causes so much pollution, is a waste of resources and is unnecessary, as I have access to public transit. But I don’t because my car allows me to do things I wouldn’t be able to otherwise, like getting to my son’s hockey games, taking my mom and her friends to church, and lugging props around for work.
The irony of it all:
My dad never drove when we were growing up, so we never had a family car. Honestly, we never missed it – I guess it’s like anything else: you don’t miss what you never had. Then I grew up, got married to a car dealer and got a car (I’m sure it’s just a coincidence). What an incredible sense of freedom just to be able to go wherever I needed to go, whenever I wanted to and blow past TTC city limits! How, I wondered, did we ever survive without a car? Oddly enough, my 18-year-old son doesn’t have his driver’s license yet.
10 things I can do so I can live with myself:
1. Buy a hybrid.
2. Take the TTC to work two days a week.
3. Shop at the grocery store near my home so I can walk there.
4. Walk when running errands less than 2 km away.
5. Buy a bike (maybe I will be tempted to ride it).
6. Take the train instead of driving to visit my sister in Ottawa.
7. Keep my car properly serviced, which can minimize environmental impact (I am scraping the bottom of the barrel).
8. Work from home a few days a week (better run that one by my boss first…)
9. Move closer to work, so I can walk there, save money and the environment, and get in a daily walk.
10. Inform my mom and her friends I will no longer be driving them to church on Sundays (just kidding, I’m still going to do that).
How often do you drive, how much do you love your car, and what do you do to reduce emissions?
Today’s code word: car
Read more:
• Cut your gas usage by up to 30 per cent
• 7 easy ways to fight smog
Donna, funny blog. I couldn’t make a car garden either, I love the freedom my car gives me. I guess the people who make cars had better come up with a better alternative!
Comment by Christine — March 26, 2008 @ 10:56 am
Try living in Saskatchewan without a car - not very possible. But it does make you more responsible with your trips when fuel is such a high price. I like to group where i go once I get to the city a keep it in a circle so I don’t start and stop as much as that is what really takes up your fuel.
Comment by Shirley — March 26, 2008 @ 1:45 pm
Living in the suburbs even in a city like Calgary, makes you more vehicle dependent than we would be living closer to downtown. Part of it is mindset though. I live a block from a grocery store and most of the time end up driving rather than walking; rationalizing the drive by making excuses like: I’m in a hurry/can’t lug the heavy stuff home in the stroller/it’s cold/rainy/the kids need a nap… We’re slowly changing our habits and at least one or two trips to the store are made on foot these days. I’d take a bicycle but I don’t remember seeing anywhere at the front of the store where I’d be able to lock it up.
I also do like Shirley does and group my outings and plan the route so it’s the most efficient use of my time and fuel. The side benefit being we’re done sooner so the kids(ages 6,3&1/2 and 2) spend less time cooped up in their carseats.
Comment by Erica — March 26, 2008 @ 3:08 pm
Good article, I look at it this way…I walk when I can, this way less pollution, and more exercise
Comment by Lauri — March 26, 2008 @ 3:20 pm
The only thing you have to do if you want to cut down on pollution using your car, is to try to change your habits..i know it is hard (about like smoking)but if we really want to leave our children a better place to live is to try to teach them in the early age to try to do their bwest to protect our planet…cause we have only ONE….
Comment by gaby — March 26, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
I cannot walk very far- a chronic condition entitles me to a disabled parking sticker. I live in a suburb of Ottawa, where the bus transport is actually very good, but I’m not a good enough walker to take the three buses it requires to get me to work.
I find also that although my kids are now in older high school grades, the need for them to lug stuff back and forth from school has not diminished, and I end up driving them at least once a week. However, we do try and plan it, and I try and “group ” other activities around this.I also car-pool whenever I can, but that can be frustrating as few of the people willing to pool have schedules any way similar to mine.
Although the idea of a hybrid is good, I do seriously wonder if the newer fuel-efficient diesels such as those made (and about to be launched) by the likes of VW are not, in the long run, just as earth-friendly as hybrids are touted to be. I’m not in need of a new vehicle yet, but I’m looking in advance at this kind of thing.
Comment by Caroline — March 26, 2008 @ 7:38 pm
My job requires me to work on the road and public transit is not an option because of the areas I work. I do plan my route home and run most of my errands during the week. I use a car that gets great mileage (and will replace it with a hybrid when the time comes) My husband & daughter use public transit. Also we set aside one day each weekend as car free day.
Comment by Kim — March 27, 2008 @ 6:02 am
Hi Caroline,
Caveat: I’m not much of a car expert. But I *think* that diesel is a worse contributor to smog than gas. I also think that hybrids are better suited to city driving than highway (in stop and go traffic, when they stop, they stop - it’s pretty cool). So when buying a car, you really need to take your needs into account and do your research as different types of fuel-efficient cars are better for different things.
Comment by Kat — March 27, 2008 @ 9:09 am
Two years ago I was forced to give up my car as I could no longer afford it after my divorce. It was upsetting and made my life seem terribly complicated. I hauled my bike out of the basement and started by necessity riding it everywhere - to work, getting groceries using a huge backpack and saddlebags, banking, doctor appointments, haircuts,
meeting friends ……..I was astonished that the first year I did 600 KMs just riding around town doing errands. The following year I put 1100 kms on the bike!! My parents offered to put up some money to buy a beater car for me, but still without have the means to pay for the gas and insurance, I declined their generous offer. Truth to be told, I don’t want a car anymore. Between walking, public transit and biking I can get where I need. I can actually leave the office, bike to the grocery store, lock up the bike and still beat my car driving friends to the same location. My family bought me a brand new bike for Xmas - and I cannot wait to get on it once the snow disappears. All by saying, you can get used to anything and it may be good for you too! I lost 12 pounds and have increased my energy. As with all big changes, you just have to wrap your head around it and be creative and OPEN MINDED.
you can do it.
Comment by Jennifer — March 27, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
Thanks for your inspiring story, Jennifer. I’m also planning to get around by bike this summer. The one thing that always holds me back is fear of my bike getting stolen, so I think I’ll blow $50 or $100 on a beater bike that I don’t have to worry about. Plus a $200 lock!
Comment by Kat — March 27, 2008 @ 12:57 pm
Thanks for the comment, Kat. Diesel has a terrible reputation, doesn’t it? It used to be a justified one, but they have improved tremendously. As to whether they are worse for emissions than a hybrid, nobody seems to know. Hybrids require different technology (and more of it) and knowbody really knows yet about the long-term costs, both financial and environmental, of repairing and maintaining hybrid cars. Certainly, it seems that they are more likely to break down at present.
However, this is really a bit off-track, isn’t it? you asked about reducing car use, and I wandered off into changing car type. My bad, and I apologise. So Here’s some suggstions for reducing, too:
1) Buy a walker- the kind designed for old ladies, and the semi-crippled, like me. They have nice baskets attatched, and can also hold bags, sometimes. Walk it to the store, and use it instead of a cart.You’ll find you will buy less- smaller packets, less impulse buys, etc.
2)Go shopping with the kids and make them walk home with whatever “necessity” they add to your list. It’s good training for them.
3)For older kids, especially those who are working, you can cut down on the number of demands to be taken anywhere by charging a “bus” fare. My kids know now to work out whether it would be cheaper to get on a bus or to pay me a fee. I now do many less “little” trips than I used, and their friends know that they will have to cough up too, if they try and persuade my kids to persuade me to take them somewhere. Sounds cruel? It works well. And of course, I’ll still come and pick them up for free if it’s late, or dangerous, or some other emergency. My elder son, who now has his licence, pays me whenever he borrows my car, so he and his friends think harder before they ask for it. It really does reduce milage, and keeps the bus company viable.
Comment by Caroline — March 29, 2008 @ 4:06 pm