THE PERIOD immediately following World War II was a time of great possibility for the United States. After the victory over Germany and Japan, anything seemed possible and the future held great potential. The great car culture of America was born in this context and the automobile has dominated the country ever since. The American industry, culture and government touted the car as the wave of the future that would offer a cheap and efficient mode of transportation. They promised that the automobile was the solution to many of the country's great problems. Yet the car has become the cause of many of the greatest challenges our nation now faces.
Problems like pollution, traffic, and high energy prices all stem from our overdependence on the automobile. It is time to move away from the antiquated car culture of the past by investing in renewable energy and public transportation. The automobile obviously still has a place in America, but new modes of transportation should be our main focus now with the car only playing a secondary role. By making these changes, the quality of life for most Americans will go up and many of the problems our nation faces will be fixed.
The car has significantly decreased the quality of life for most Americans by causing a decline in health and wasting hours of valuable time in traffic. Each day, cars spew enormous amounts of greenhouse gases into the environment, contributing to global warming. Most major cities in America have significant air quality problems due to these car exhausts. All of these exhausts have led to an increase in the Earth's overall temperature and an increase in respiratory illness such as asthma.
Moreover, one study showed that people who moved from the city to the suburbs gained a significant amount of weight. The study concluded that, among other things, people drove more and walked less, thus demonstrating that the rise of the car has helped lead to the rise of the obesity epidemic in America. I think we can all also appreciate the decrease in quality of life that results in the time each of us wastes in traffic. With all of these things in mind, it becomes apparent that the car has decreased and not increased the average quality of life for almost all Americans.
Although the car has had many positive impacts on the American economy, the dwindling of the world's oil supply will eventually negate these benefits. Moreover, our overdependence on the car threatens the national security of our nation. High gas prices have already hurt every American and its effects can be felt on every sector of the economy.
The long gas lines of the 1970s broke the illusion of a cheap and convenient mode of transportation. Yet the car's negative impact on national security is possibly worse than its negative economic impact. Everyday, billions of dollars go to hostile regimes around the world that oppose the United States. The cost of our overdependence on the automobile has helped fund terrorists and undermines our national security. This is simply too high a price to continue paying for something that actually decreases our quality of life.
The solutions to the problem of the automobile in America are not extreme, yet they would have great positive effects on the country. Possible solutions for the short term include immediate large scale investment in alternative ways of fueling cars to help control pollution and green house gases. Also, solutions like ethanol and other bio-fuels would send American money to places like Iowa and not Iran.
However, to truly solve all of the problems associated with the automobile, we have to start thinking towards the long term. America has to move away from the car culture that has dominated since the end of World War II. Public transportation should be the number one concern of city planners and cars should only be a secondary concern. Huge investments should be made in new systems of public transportation such as subways and monorails -- not new highway systems. The car should slowly be faded out as the primary mode of transportation within cities because taking efficient public transportation and walking is clearly optimal. If these changes are made, then the health and overall quality of life for all Americans will greatly improve. If we begin to take these steps today, then the future will once again be bright and hold great potential as it did in those days following World War II before the arrival of the car culture.
Sam Shirazi is a Cavalier Daily Viewpoint Writer. He is a first-year student in theCollege of Arts and Sciences.
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