Ed,
Firstly, let me confess to being guilty of overuse of cars, too. Owning
a Morgan is so conducive to getting out and about, sometimes I can't
resist - that is NOT overuse. But I also use my other boring cars too
much. Like Harris, I don't want to be a commuter, but my work is in the
city and my home is in the suburbs. I take full advantage of the
flexibility of my hours, but I'm still required to make the occasional
trip in rush hour. No matter which car I use, it takes me at least 30
minutes to get to work (does that make some of you jealous?) - I get
frustrated, I have to pay for fuel and parking, and I create pollution.
It takes me 35 minutes to cycle to work - I get my daily exercise and
all without cost and without adding to the environmental woes. Maybe I
eat a bit more.
Here's how I define overuse of cars:
Overuse of cars (yes, maybe overuse of gas is a better term) is using
cars for commuting when trains and buses would do the job more quickly
and with a lot less pollution. It results in making millions of miles of
roads and countless parking bays that, to my mind, are rather
unattractive and generally are built over good wetlands, parklands etc.
It also depletes the finite oil reserves - which have a multitude of
other productive and beneficial uses. Pollution from cars has also been
linked to increased rates of cancer, asthma etc.
And while many rightly mourn the loss of 60,000 US soldiers during the
whole of the Vietnam war, or 300 killed in a plane crash, how many think
about the 45,000 US citizens lost - EVERY year - to road accidents? And
many, many more are injured.
Cheers,
Terry
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