Saya kutip:
Using more sustainable modes of transportation:
costs less money
is healthier, for us and for the planet
means a better quality of life
--
http://www.yale.edu/transportationoptions/choicematters/index.html
Why Your Transportation Choice Matters
Why Your Transportation Choice Matters
Transportation is a part of everyoneâs life, the details of which are often
passionately discussed and defended. Missing from the discussion and debate
until recently, has been the significant economic, social and environmental
impacts of our current transportation network.
The majority of attention this topic has received has focused on alternative
fuel sources for our vehicles, which is a step in the right direction. However,
alternative fuels are only a small part of the solution. Driving alone, even in
an alternative fuel vehicle, has significant environmental, human health and
quality of life impacts. Biodiesel vehicles don't solve traffic congestion.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles don't solve the obesity problem created by driving
to every destination. Electric vehicles don't solve air pollution--since much
of the electricity that powers them is still generated from the combustion of
coal or oil.
With the establishment of the Yale Office of Sustainability in 2005, Yale
Transportation Options in 2007, and the recent publication of the
Sustainability Strategic Plan for 2010-2013, Yale University has joined a
growing number of governments, businesses and institutions around the world who
are acting on our collective responsiblity to develop sustainable solutions
that address our collective environmental impact.
The Transportation Options Program was created to begin addressing the issues
above. Sharing a ride, using public transportation, bicycling, or walking are
choices we can make as individuals to start having a positive impact--one
commute at a time. Using more sustainable modes of transportation:
costs less money
is healthier, for us and for the planet
means a better quality of life
Walking and cycling are the foundations for sustainable transportation. They
are free, burn calories, and generate zero emissions. Of course, our feet and
our bicycles aren't always enough--sometimes we need to go further than they
can propel us.
HOWEVER, forty percent of trips taken in the United States are under two
miles.* A one-mile distance can be covered on foot in 15 minutes. A three-mile
trip by bike can be accomplished in 15 minutes. Think Yale's campus is too big
to walk or bike? Click here for a radius map of Yale that puts distances in
perspective.
A 15-minute walk or bike ride can help you avoid the gym. Commute and exercise
at the same time for maximum productivity!
If it is true that you can never be too thin or too wealthy, then driving alone
to every destination assures these goals will remain unachievable.
Driving and Obesity
"Active Transportation" which includes any method of travel that is
human-powered (but most commonly refers to walking and bicycling) is being
promoted as a logical way to help Americans lose weight, reduce the risk of
heart attacks and strokes, and spend less money on health care. John Pucher at
Rutgers University has generated a significant body of research on the direct
relationship between obesity and car dependency, as well as indicators that
active transportation prolongs life and reduces health care costs. His findings
include this chart.
"Each additional hour spent in a car per day was associated with a 6% increase
in the likelihood of obesity." Obesity relationships with community design,
physical activity, and time spent in cars, American Journal of Preventive
Medicine.
"The data on more than 10,500 people in the Atlanta area indicated that the
more time a person spends in a car, the more obese he or she tends to be."
Weighing in on City Planning, Science News Online.
"The obesity epidemic is paralleled across much of the developed world, a world
in which the built environment has increasingly been designed to accommodate
travel by car at the expense of walking and cycling" Unfit for Purpose: How Car
Use Fuels Climate Change and Obesity, Institute for European Environmental
Policy
Driving and Cost
Nationally, Americans spend 18% of their income on transportation, according to
the US Dept of Energy.** And because only 0.7% of those expenditures were for
public transportation, it can be safely assumed that the majority of this
expenditure can be attributed to car costs.
In their 2010 âYour Driving Costsâ brochure, the American Automobile
Association (AAA) estimated that on average, Americans spend between $5,636.00
and $12,410.00 per year to own, operate, and maintain their cars. *** This
would certainly support the argument that driving is expensive.
The perception that driving takes less time and is more convenient is not
always correct. Detours and delays caused by accidents and construction
projects in New Haven and the region are always bearing that out. Further, the
University is increasingly using its valuable land to build housing, academic
buildings, and research facilities where parking lots once stood--making
low-cost parking facilities a distant memory. Please conduct your own
cost/benefit analysis using the tools and information on this site.
* US Census National Personal Transportation Survey 1990.
**US Department of Energy Transportation Data Book
http://cta.ornl.gov/data/index.shtml
***2010 Driving Costs from AAA It should be noted that AAA's estimates were
based on the average price of gas in late 2009 of $2.60/gallon when their
brochure went to print.
Last Updated: September 15, 2011 (HP).
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