Lowering vehicle emissions looks good on paper, but is it good enough for the planet? Alex Steffen, editor and CEO of the blog WorldChanging, isn’t satisfied by newfangled, eco-friendly technology. He’s posted an in-progress manifesto that calls for a carbon-free culture shock, and claims that even the most efficient cars can’t survive the test of sustainability.
His essay, called "My Other Car is a Bright Green City," takes a comprehensive look at our carbon emissions, unhealthy dependence on cars, and why the electric car isn’t the solution. “…The answer to the problem of the American car is not under the hood,” he writes, “and we’re not going to find a bright green future by looking there." Steffen’s essay looks where most environmentalists don’t: deeper, at the source of our carbon addiction. Steffen says the culprit is the American economy, and its obsession with status and prosperity.
He writes:
…for the several billion people in the developing world who are rapidly climbing out of poverty, our lifestyles are the measure of prosperity. If they replicate the American way of life several billion more times, our goose is cooked. The natural systems on which we depend cannot survive the tidal wave of pollution and ecosystem degradation it would take to enrich billions of people using current technologies, designs and lifestyle choices.
Transportation, Steffen notes, is the biggest producer of carbon emissions, generating more than a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gases (according to the EPA). He references a recent study by Teresa Zhang of UC Berkeley, which found that car use accounts for the majority of a person’s carbon footprint over a lifetime.
Steffen addresses other, behind-the-scenes pollution created by cars, like the energy it takes to manufacture and transport vehicles, and to construct roads. Car-centered infrastructure also contributes to global warming, he says. “With a massive network of roads and an average of more than three parking spaces per car (less in dense cities, more in the suburbs), auto-focused transportation infrastructure contributes mightily to the heat island effect, which worsens air quality and increases energy used on air conditioning,” says Steffen.
Steffen’s essay also touches on other implications of auto addiction:
All that driving takes some pretty big social tolls, too, of course. Car accidents are a leading cause of death and disabling injury in the U.S. Auto-dependence is a major contributor to obesity and other chronic illness. In addition, more and more people are finding themselves driving longer commutes: more than 3.5 million Americans now drive more than three hours a day to get to and from work, spending a month of their lives on the road each year. Meanwhile, people who live in the newer fringe-burbs are reportedly the least happiest of Americans, and the long commutes they endure are a major reason why.
The breadth of Steffen’s argument against cars makes this manifesto worth a read. He’s also soliciting ideas from readers, so if you have contributions or addendums to his thoughtful tirade, feel free to toss in your two cents.
Photo via flickr by Narisa.
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Toxic tailpipe fumes are a major downside of riding – not enough to stop me from riding completely, but enough to ensure that I don’t ride in rush hour if I can avoid it. Every time I ride a bike, I’m quite literally poisoned by car drivers, and for that reason I refuse to wait at red lights, inhaling the chemical cocktail their vehicles produce.
I look at a road, and I see a sea of invisible fumes.