Cars Are A Curse.

There are well over one billion cars driving around on planet earth each day.

As India and China grow in wealth this figure is going to rise very quickly and hugely.

You wonder what is causing global warming? "American drivers consume about nine million barrels of gasoline per day" from www.americanenergyindependence.com....

"The world uses 85 million barrels a day." from slipr.com....


What about the impact on animals? The Independent Newspapers suggests, "The results were depressing. A minimum of 30 million birds are killed on Britain's roads every year. Depending on the assumptions made in the statistical analysis, the death rate could be even higher: 70 million a year is not impossible." from www.independent.co.uk... death-toll-be-reduced-malcolm-smith-on-the-wildlife-holocaust-1384964.html

You may think as you drive around in your automobile that it has no impact on you personally. You are very wrong. On a nice hot day as you make your journey think about all the fumes coming in through the air conditioning. Think of all those chemicals that make the interiors of your pretty little car and how they are giving off horrible fumes.

May I suggest the obvious that obesity prevalence runs hand in hand with the onset of automobile use. Fast food and driving a car are killing you.

I am in my late forties. I still have a 28 inch waist, just as I did when I was 16. I cycle everywhere and do not own a car. I do very little harm to the environment. I never kill an animal.

Think, human! Stop destroying the earth, the animals and yourself. There is a curse upon you for this selfish and lazy behaviour. Call it car karma. As you sow so shall you reap.

I have only skimmed the surface here on the horror of what automobiles are doing to the planet and human health, too. Research it for yourself, that is if you have any care left?

Man, I wish I was just like you.

It's hard to get from work to home to pick up the kids after school to get them to baseball and piano practice, and hit the supermarket at the end of the night, on my Cannondale.

I don't know how you do it.

Carma. That's cute.

And while you're at it, think about all those fumes from automobiles you're breathing as you're pedaling down the road. Bicycling is killing you dude. But at least you'll leave a good looking corpse, right?

I don't know what you expect people, or society, to do about this. The Amish pretty much have a lock on living healthy while not destroying their environment, and modern society is never going to join them. I know you know that.

And you never followed through with your rant to where you offered a solution to this "problem". Pointing out faults without solutions doesn't give a cause credibility. It just means you're angry.

What about all of the good things cars have done for humanity?

You have hit on a subject that is near and dear to my heart. Modern vehicles are an abomination. We can agree on that much, but not much further past that.

The automobile changed everything for humanity. Instantly things became possible through collaboration that would have taken much more time on horseback. Trains are cute, but they had a line that must be followed.

Cars kill birds? So do wind turbines. So do solar arrays. What is your point? Think you can live here without killing anything? Yea right.

Cars consume oil.. They emit pollution. I get you and you are not wrong. There are alternatives nonetheless. Will they be implemented on a massive scale? That is doubtful. Hobbyists like myself work on it though.

The real curse you should have called out is industry in general. Technologies have been around for as long as the automobile that would have changed the course of events, but this was not to be as there was little profit in it for the upper crust.

Don't hate on cars... They are not the problem. People needed to move about the planet freely to accomplish many beneficial things that would have been impossible before the industrial revolution.

Cars were once beautiful. They had personality and charm.. They served a purpose. They enabled a freedom that is slowly being taken away.

Your post is passionate, and I appreciate that. The target is a little off point though in my opinion.

a reply to: Revolution9

Automobiles are not the problem,it is simply the fuel they currently run on that is the problem,the tech is there for clean fuel .... money is the problem

Cyclists... There are good ones but they are outstripped by the bad ones. "Oh, I think I'll just turn off here". Oops, where'd that car come from? True, there are bad drivers as well, but we get it in the neck all the time. In this country, we now even have to give way to buses. Having said all that, I'm keeping my car thanks; it has low emissions and stuff anyway.

I going to drive round the corner to the shops now instead of walk just because of this post

And I will try and hit as many birds and badgers on the way as I can

a reply to: Revolution9

You are right. Cares ARE a curse. Too bad it is too expensive to live in the apartments that are close to where I work to bike too and from work. Instead of whining about cars, how about thinking up a solution to replace cars? Because lord knows we aren't going back to bicycles, no matter how stubbornly you refuse to upgrade.

Besides, before cars, we got around on horses. It's not exactly like you get exercise riding on a horse either.

Do you only eat the food grown on a local farm...or better yet your personal farm? If not then you can thank trucks for bringing the food to an area that you can ride your bike to. Speaking of that bike...did you get all the materials to make it and maintain it locally? If not, see above. Do you ride on only dirt trails or paved roads? Also, see above.

I applaud you for biking everywhere (though I am curious how you get children to the doctors and such) and not killing any animals in an effort to help save the planet and stay healthy. But you have to realize that you can do all of that thanks to modern society. If not then you'd be living basically as a primitive.

Humanity is in a transitional period. We need cars and fossil fuels right now. They've only been in use a mere fraction of a fraction of our history. We'll figure this out and move beyond the use damaging fuels eventually. By then we'll (hopefully) have the smarts to repair the damage we've done on our journey evolving from cave men to modern humans.

What's the saying? You can't make an omelette with breaking a few eggs.

Still - I do agree that we all should conserve irreplaceable resources/not be wasteful, recycle, and plant a tree every now and again.

People don't really need to drive these dajys.most office jobs could be done from home trips to the shop can be replaced by delivery. So driving to the office or the supermarket is mostly unnecessary. . Emergency services and delivery vans need to use roads. I'm looking forward to the self drive car. Having your own personal chauffeur without the worry of getting stopped for being under the influence

We need to demand public transportation options like light rail. We need to start using our empty train tracks to carry our goods instead of semis. We must develop cleaner energy for our transportation. We need to develop our cities and Towns to encourage walking and biking.

In short, we need to wake up from this consumerism coma and demand a better system as citizens.

a reply to: Look2theSacredHeart

The problem with more public transportation is that it really only helps the cities. Public Transportation in small towns would be a huge money sink.

See, it is easy to complain about the system, but implementing or thinking about how things would work without vehicles or with reduced vehicles makes it unlikely. We need to invent the replacement for cars, not try to do away with them. That isn't a feasible solution.

a reply to: Krazysh0t I think as a citizen who lives in a rural area that the money sink of a light rail would be a wise investment. Heck, I spend almost 140$ each month in gas. I would much rather put that cash towards clean transportation, and I bet quite a few others would, too.

Money is only a problem in the consumerist mindset. Citizens use money to make things happen. And if we can fund war, we can fund infrastructure.

a reply to: Look2theSacredHeart

I agree we DO need to fund infrastructure. Our collapsing infrastructure is also contributing to environmental destruction. I'm just saying, to realistically expect Americans, much less the rest of the world, to abandon the vast independence afforded them by having a car is particularly naive. Even in Japan, with the best light rail system in the world, they still use tons of cars (albeit not as many as us). This is why we need to make cars inferior. That is the only way to truly fix the problem.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Agreed, even in cities it only helps with residents living in the city.

For example I work in Baltimore but drive into the city. There is a train station that I could drive to from home (about 1/2 of my total commute), pay to park there, wait for a train, pay to ride the train, switch trains to get as close as possible to work then walk over a mile to get to my building. That would cost more and take twice as long as using my car.

In current form it's just madness > everyone in a car (at least how cars are today).
1st; they are deadly, why isn't there a war on cars?? they kill far more then terrorists do.
2; as said they are harmful for the environment, also look at how many roads are made and tunnels you name it, forever transforming the landscape.
3;If you live close to a highway (50-100 meters) you have 100% more change on hearth disease for example.
Should be easy to make a list of 10 but i leave it here for now.

I always find it 'funny'', people complaining about smokers but cars & industry do far more damage for our health for sure (as a side effect). But the whole economy is basically build around cars and their roads, let alone the taxes/money they give to governments so no no campaigns against cars.

a reply to: RedParrotHead

I know how you feel. Up until June I lived in Dundalk and worked in Hunt Valley. To take public transportation, I'd have to get on the bus on Dundalk Ave, take it ALL the way to Howard Street, jump on the light rail and take that up to the Gilroy Rd exit. It takes 2 hours total. I can drive to work in about 40 minutes.

Now I live in Stewartstown, PA and just drive down 83, there are NO public transportation options for me.

a reply to: woodwardjnr

But you contradict yourself!

People don't really need to drive these days...driving to the office or the supermarket is mostly unnecessary.

I'm looking forward to the self drive car. Having your own personal chauffeur...

a reply to: Krazysh0t
I see. Excellent point!