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This is what many of us see twice a day, but it isn't the only option.

"Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything."

-Travel Author Charles Kuralt

Commute Green

It’s something most of us do every day, and it’s one of the largest contributors to the world’s most pressing environmental problem: global warming. The transport sector contributes 25 percent of all the CO2 emissions from industrialized countries, the largest producer being, of course, the United States. For the past 30 years, the transport sector’s share of CO2 emissions has increased at a faster pace than all other sectors. Transport related emissions from industrialized countries nearly doubled from 1970 to 2000 and are still on the rise. Of these, 80 percent are from road transport and 60 percent are from personal vehicles such as cars, trucks, and SUVs.

Efficient public transport is the way to curb American overcomsumption of resources.

The American love affair with the car is largely to blame, but it isn’t just out of love. For many of us, it’s out of necessity. Efficient public transport in the US is limited to major cities, and although over 80 percent of Americans live in and around cities, many of them live in the surrounding sprawl, or suburbs, where public transport is limited, and walking and biking are not a reasonable, daily option. As a result, the majority of Americans are dependent on their cars for everyday use and as a result, are responsible for a quarter of global emissions.

The list of reasons to change our transport system and habits is a long one. Increased traffic congestion, health and exercise, decreased transport accidents and so-called “road rage” incidents, decreased sprawl and greater community development, to name a few. Decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, emitting less greenhouses gas, saving money, and of course protecting the environment.

Saving our forests is one of the rewards for burning fewer fossil fuels.

In the long term, Americans must make substantial changes in the way we live and demand that our taxes are spent wisely to meet these changes. Urban affordable housing should be available to working families who shouldn’t be forced to drive hours a day to get to and from their jobs. Public transport should be efficient, reliable, and cheap and should include those of us living in suburbia. We often drive distances we could easily walk or bike. However, many areas, particularly suburban shopping areas where we run many of our errands, are not pedestrian or bike-friendly.

In the short term, there is much we can do to address these factors individually. Check out the links below to find out how:

Get More from your Miles, Drive Less, Live Car-Free

For more information on climate change: World Resources Institute, Union of Concerned Scientists

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