50 Acts of Green: Day Thirty - Transportation

“Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to point B very fast while other people dash from point B to point A very fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are often given to wonder what's so great about point A that so many people from point B are so keen to get there, and what's so great about point B that so many people from point A are so keen to get there. They often wish that people would just once and for all work out where the hell they wanted to be.” - Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

We all have a need to get from point A to point B sometimes. If point A is home, we need food, we need clothing, we need to go to work. All of these things require some kind of transportation. And even if it isn't you that gets transported, the items in question need to be transported since they don't all originate at point A. It would nice if our houses could produce all the goods we could possibly need, though humanity has tried the subsistence farming lifestyle and it didn't work that well. Some of us are better suited to making clothing and others to making food. Some of us are good at neither and need to find something else to do to contribute to society. 

Anyway, automobiles, cars, trucks, vans, account for a least a third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Unfortunately, greenhouse gases are not the only pollutants that come out of automobiles. Petroleum byproducts from making fuel, production emissions from creating cars, production pollutants and environmental damage from creating roads and bypasses and highways, all of these make a huge impact on our natural resources. 

I think this is one of the things we have been actually seeing a good difference made during the Pandemic shutdown. Since most of us are staying home more, there have been less pollutants and environmental damage during this time. However, as places start to reopen, we do have a chance to make a change. We don't have to return to our constant driving. There are lots of environmentally friendly options when it comes to transportation. 

Walking - the best, least polluting, mode of transportation. It requires no structural production or pollution. In populated areas, it is helpful to have sidewalk systems, but even still, that isn't required for actual walking. The only costs are food and shoe costs, but walking can help your body and mind become healthier. Walking is good for more populated areas, where you can walk from store to store or house to house to get where you need to go. I live in a small town, most of town is within ten blocks of where I live. I walk when I need to get somewhere in town and people are constantly amazed. Yet, it costs more and takes more time to drive my car three blocks and find another parking spot than it does to walk three blocks. 

Bicycles - a most wonderful mode of transportation. In terms of production, much less than a car. There are costs when it comes to the materials of the bicycle and some small upkeep. However, since bicycles also run on human power, the largest cost is in human fuel, food. Bicycling can also do wonders for your health as a low impact exercise. Bicycles are good for places you need to get that are further than you would like to walk, or require faster transportation, or require baggage which can be strapped to the bicycle. When it comes to human condition projects, giving homeless or rural people bicycles can change their lives forever. Having reliable transportation to get to a job and to stores can hugely increase the chance that those populations will have a good contribution to society. 

Mass Transit - buses, trains, planes. Unfortunately, now is not the greatest time to be taking mass transit, especially in densely populated areas. However, when it comes to environmentally friendly transportation, mass transit is far and beyond better than individual automobiles. Product costs are lower, the emissions per person rate is much lower, and the ability for hybrid technology is greater, and personal cost is usually lower as well. The newest problem mass transit is going to have in the next year is going to be air circulation in small places. 

On my travels, I have tried to take a low impact transportation plan, finding a combination of buses, planes, trains, bicycles, and walking to be most effective at seeing the world and keeping my environmental impact small. I do also almost own my own car (it will be paid off later this year). I will admit it is helpful in my professional life for hospital visits, carpooling, and other such endeavors. But as many can attest to, you'll more likely find me walking or biking than driving everyday. 

Many small acts of green, greenhouse gas emissions lowered and health gained!