Say No to Cars

[zach]

Very cool, thanks for sharing! I think whatever we can do to make alternatives as easy and cheap as possible will help.

[martin hanzalek]

Bikes are def the way to go. A human using a bicycle is one of the most efficient ways of self propelled power out there.

I really get a kick out of finding ways to get around without having to burn gas or spend money. I ebike a lot in the summer, but who knows where that electrical power comes from (unless I end up charging my battery from my solar pannel, which I do do sometimes). Lately I have been getting into kiting in the winter as a way of getting around. When the snow is here and the conditions are good, I can cross the tableland plateau and get all my grocery shopping done and then cross it back again in about 30 mins, saving me over 100km of driving if I were to drive around the Gros Morne Tableland Mountains myself in my car

Hooray for wind transport! More of you should try this at home!

[misisgreen]

Thanks guys for sharing. Really, bikes should be our number 1 transportation tool =)

[geminilee]

the cars is just like the junk food, everyone know it is not good for us but no one can just live without it~

[ShermaineTay]

But Hybrid and electric cars are too expensive to afford, wonder if the price will drop in the future?

[sinep]

Hybrid and electric cars may be a big improvement over driving a gas-guzzler, but there is still the problem of billions of cars. A lot of energy and resources go into the production of a single car. More energy and resources get dumped into maintaining the car for the 5-10 years it will typically be driven. Finally, it takes more energy and resources to recycle or dispose of the car.

To make matters worse, there will still be many millions of multi-passanger cars cruising around with only the driver in the car.

If we, as a society, really want to get serious about finding greener means of transportation, we should instead be promoting more of the following:

• Live closer to where you go to school, work, shop or play, so you can use alternative methods of transportation.
• Bulk shop, which requires fewer trips to buy things like groceries.
• Organize errands better so more can be done in the same trip and with less travelling back-and-forth.
• Use public transportation. Buses and trains are great to travel on (American really need more public transportation alternatives).
• Ride a scooter (60-80 mpg) or, even better, ride a bike (0 mpg and great for your health).

I'm not sure hybrids or electric cars are an improvement, actually I think they're a step backwards. Think about it, the only thing better about a hybrid is it uses less gasoline. Lets use the prius as an example.

The current prius gets 51 MPG highway and 48 mpg city. Pretty good however, to make a prius you must make a huge battery... The battery production process is extremely harmful to the environment and even worse is the fact that the average prius will need a new battery every 6 years to maintain proper fuel economy. That means every 6 years you're going to be throwing a battery in a land fill and that can't be good. If we take a look at the car itself things only get worse. It's slow, expensive, not very practical compared to other cars it's size, and it's definitely not very fun to drive.

So now lets look at electric cars. I'll use the Nissan Leaf as an example:
Uses no gas! hallelujah! however it's battery is estimated to maintain proper performance under normal use for only 5 years and if it is exposed to "lead foot driving" or quick charges Nissan says you may only get 2 good years out of a battery. This means that every 2-5 years you will be getting a new battery and throwing the old one away. And again things only get worse when you look at the actual car. It's dangerously slow, horribly impractical considering it's short range and small cargo space, very expensive, and every 2-5 years you're going to have to drop a couple grand for a new battery.

However, If we look at a traditional diesel such as a Volswagen TDI Jetta you will get nearly 50mpg highway and 40mpg city. It is cheaper, more practical, better on the environment over a long period of time, much more pleasant to drive, and you can expect no reliability issues seeing as it's a VW.

And from here it just gets better, if you buy a used one for even cheaper you will be keeping a car out of a junk yard and saving money along the way.

I just turned 16 a few months ago and bought my first car. After much thought about what would be the best compromise between fun/cheap/green I decided on a used 1991 Mazda Miata simply because it is economical (30/24mpg), fun, can take it racing on the weekends, and by getting an old one I ended up keeping it out of the junkyard. Mighty cheap too.

Keep in mind when shopping for cars, just because it gets slightly better gas mileage and claims to be "green" doesn't mean it is a net positive to the environment, plain gas or deisel cars can be just as efficient in 90% of cases.

[gallot]

Started riding my bike to work, now that the weather is nice...also trying to get the kids at school to do the same. A "green fitness blast"...consider it.

As for the road cutback thing...society would just not operate without roads...the people that go to work and stay there until they go home don't need roads if they're close enough to ride a bike. What about people who's job requires them to travel a lot during the day...delivery, sales reps, sales managers, etc.

Cool thought though.

[rohitkumar]

I agree with the same thought that bike are the best way for transportation, riding through bike has more fun & passion. Bikes are very suitable for those who have to run daily in busy market. But cars gives more comfort than bike. You can go by car for long route with so comfort & relax. Families can go out together by car. Car creates difficulty to park in busy cities like NYC, San Francisco. So all in all using cars have their own advantages & disadvantages.

[Mika Jones]

I hope all cities would ban cars and encourage people to walk or bike in certain areas. provide shades under rain and heat from the sun.